As a professional recipe developer and nutritionist, I write recipes that call for certain ingredients, like pistachios or whole-wheat flour, for health and culinary reasons. But as a busy mother of four, I often substitute ingredients when cooking for my family.
Knowing which substitutions still produce the desired flavor is a result of years of success and failure, but when it comes to oils, there are distinct differences between them.
Choosing an oil for your recipe depends on several factors. Are you making a salad dressing, preparing fried rice, or baking a cake? Each type of oil has its own flavor, smoke point, and viscosity. Therefore, it’s important to consider the oil’s properties when substituting.
To keep things simple and conserve your precious pantry space, you may be wondering: Can you use olive oil instead of vegetable oil? The answer is yes.
Olive oil is produced by mechanically crushing or grinding olives to extract their oil. Virgin and extra virgin olive oil are unrefined, pure oils with a grassy, peppery, and floral flavor that, like wine, can taste different depending on where the olives are grown.
Other types of olive oil can be highly refined and often have a more neutral flavor and lighter color. Because extra virgin olive oil is more expensive to produce than refined oils, we most often use it where the flavor of the oil can be appreciated, such as in salad dressings and for sautéing and roasting vegetables.
Vegetable oil is the broad term for any oil made from plant seeds or grains, such as grapeseed, canola, cottonseed, sunflower, soybean, corn, and safflower. You can buy these oils as single-variety oils, such as canola oil, or as a blend simply labeled “vegetable oil.” To extract the oils from these seeds and grains and keep them shelf-stable and flavorless, these vegetable oils are refined, sometimes using heat and chemicals.
Vegetable oil is generally significantly cheaper and is often used when large quantities of oil are needed, such as when frying or preparing large batches of quick bread. It also tends to be more heat-stable than extra virgin olive oil, making it the oil of choice for high-heat cooking, such as stir-frying.
While the calorie content and total fat content of olive oil and vegetable oil are essentially the same, the type of fat is different. Extra virgin olive oil has a higher proportion of beneficial monounsaturated fats and lower levels of polyunsaturated and saturated fats.
Replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats has been shown to reduce mortality, but monounsaturated fats in particular have been shown to lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol levels, reduce the risk of breast cancer, and aid in weight control.
In particular, extra virgin olive oil contains the antioxidants vitamin E and oleuropein, which fight free radicals and reduce inflammation. Oleuropein may also protect against diabetes.
According to the USDA, a 1-tablespoon serving of each oil contains:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil / Vegetable Oil
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And what can you use instead of vegetable oil in a cake mix? Susan Reid, cook and baker extraordinaire at King Arthur Baking Company, says, “If a cake calls for oil, you can certainly use olive oil as the vegetable oil, but I would recommend a light or neutral oil.” Especially, “with a vanilla or white cake, you don’t want to overwhelm the flavor with olive oil.”
According to Reid, the best time to use olive oil in a cake mix is when you’re baking chocolate cake. “Extra-virgin oils with a savory flavor profile are great with chocolate cake. Fruitier ones pair very well with citrus fruits.”
The short answer is yes. The longer answer is: You may have heard that extra virgin olive oil should be reserved for salad dressings and drizzling because of its low smoke point, the temperature at which the oil stops shimmering and begins to smoke, but there’s more to the story.
According to Mary Mori, Vice President of Quality and Research and Development at California Olive Ranch, “It’s a misnomer that you can’t cook at high temperatures with extra virgin olive oil.” She shared that “the acidity of the oil is tied to the smoke point.
The lower the acidity, the fewer the impurities and the higher the smoke point. Depending on the quality of the olive oil, some can even go as high as 480°F (200°C).
Many olive oils do not list their acidity, so it’s best to trust your eye. If olive oil you heat in a pan starts to smoke, pour it out, let the pan cool, and start again.
The temperature at which olive oil loses its health benefits and releases harmful compounds is also higher than popular belief suggests. According to a study from the University of California, Davis, even olive oils with the most phenols had a smoke point of more than 400°F. Since most cooking (and even frying) on the stovetop at around 350°F, you can certainly use olive oil for frying and roasting.
Keep in mind that olive oil is aromatic, so do you want to infuse that flavor into the dish you’re cooking? If the answer is “yes,” go ahead. Otherwise, it’s best to opt for an oil with a more neutral flavor—think canola or avocado oil.
Yes, you can use olive oil instead of vegetable oil for marinades. As mentioned above, just be careful to add extra flavor to your marinade. Extra virgin olive oil tends to be grassy, peppery, and floral, which can be a delicious complement to the flavor of the chicken, shrimp, tofu, beef, or other proteins you’re marinating. However, if the flavor profile of extra virgin olive oil isn’t what you’re looking for, opt for a lighter olive oil or a neutral oil instead.
Yes, you can use olive oil instead of vegetable oil to make dressings. In fact, most people prefer using olive oil in their salad dressings because oil is an essential ingredient, and the fruity and zesty flavor of extra virgin olive oil is a welcome addition. Keep in mind that it will solidify in the refrigerator. Therefore, let the dressing stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes before using it if it has been refrigerated.
Deep-frying occurs at 350°F to 375°F, so technically, olive oil can be used for deep-frying. However, due to the amount of oil you generally need to submerge foods for deep-frying, it is not the most economical choice.
Extra virgin olive oil is a flavorful,Healthy oil that can be used in dressings, baking, marinades, sautéing, and frying as needed. Olive oil’s health benefits include reducing inflammation and helping you maintain a healthy weight. However, olive oil is also more expensive and has a shorter shelf life than vegetable oil. It’s ideal to keep both in your pantry, but you can always swap one for the other when you need it. There’s no need to drag yourself and your kids to the store if you only have one type in your pantry.
Important Note: aceitedelcampo.com promotes the consumption of extra virgin olive oil for its culinary qualities and health benefits. However, no medication or current treatment should be replaced without the guidance of a healthcare professional.
ALZAYT EXPORT SL
info@aceitedelcampo.com
C/ Eduardo Bosca 19, 2-5
46023 Valencia
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