Olive oil can be consumed either raw or used when cooking or frying. Contrary to what certain consumers think, olive oil can be successfully used in all kinds of dishes, fries, pastries and cakes.
The recipe of poet Archestratus recommending olive oil for frying shark meat, accepted as one of the most delicious fish of the Mediterranean, dates back to the year 350 B.C.!
Virgin olive oil is recommended mostly for consuming raw in salad and dressings, pure olive oil for all kinds of cold and hot dishes and refined olive oil for frying. The argument that olive oil loses all of its beneficial qualities when heated is totally wrong. Moreover, smoke point of olive oil (the temperature at which a bluish smoke comes out from the heated oil when harmful elements start to form) is 210°C, which is a great deal above 180°C, the maximum frying temperature.
Olive oil must be stored in a cool place, away from direct sunlight, without any contact with air. Direct sunlight causes bitterness in its taste. Temperatures of 14-15°C are ideal for storing olive oil.
If olive oil is kept outside in the cold or in the refrigerator, it may change color or it may even freeze. Frozen olive oil becomes fluid again when stored in room temperature. In this case, even if the color of the oil changes, there will not be any change in its taste or contents.
Olive oil is best stored in glass, porcelain or steel containers. Plastic and metal cups are unsuitable.
For more detailed information on various areas of use of olive oil and for recipes of dishes made with olive oil, please get registered in TA-ZE Club free of charge.
