Mediterranean way of living

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

rainbowbow wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Smoke point of various oils. Regular olive oil isn't that low. Extra virgin is lower.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/05/cooking-fats-101-whats-a-smoke-point-and-why-does-it-matter.html

I'm not sure if it's just a US thing, but i was CONVINCED you could never fry or cook on high heat with olive oil. I was shocked when i saw my friends making french fries with olive oil (But-but, what about the smoke point?!?!) but apparently it isn't a problem. *shrug*

LOL I have seen that posted so many times on MFP. I'd never heard it before despite cooking almost exclusively with evoo for decades.

Well, they are talking about it here, in Italy, too. If the EVOO starts smoking, it can release cancer-causing subtances. The recommendation is to use other vegetable oils with a higher smoke point for frying. The older generation has always used EVOO for frying and they aren't going to change--alot of them are over 90 yrs old, so what does that tell you?

amusedmonkey wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

amusedmonkey wrote: »

rainbowbow wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Smoke point of various oils. Regular olive oil isn't that low. Extra virgin is lower.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/05/cooking-fats-101-whats-a-smoke-point-and-why-does-it-matter.html

I'm not sure if it's just a US thing, but i was CONVINCED you could never fry or cook on high heat with olive oil. I was shocked when i saw my friends making french fries with olive oil (But-but, what about the smoke point?!?!) but apparently it isn't a problem. *shrug*

I believe it's a thing in countries where olive trees aren't traditionally grown. When you say olive oil, my mind automatically defaults to extra virgin because that's the only olive oil I've ever know (almost everyone buys it in large amounts every year straight from the olive press and you get to examine the olives that are being pressed and the resulting oil before buying). My mom went to Russia last year and told us how olive oil doesn't even look or smell like the olive oil we know, it looks like regular frying oil. So no, it's not just a US thing. Industrialized olive oil businesses need to do something with the "reject" olive oil, so they refine it to be sold as suitable for frying.

My understanding is that Mediterranean countries have long used olive oil for a variety of uses, including extra virgin and cooking (and lamp oil, etc.).

Also, lots of stuff sold as olive oil (and especially extra virgin) apparently isn't, and that extra virgin olive oil might not be and even normal "olive oil" in Russia might not be olive oil at all does not seem unlikely to me. See also http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/14/has-the-italian-mafia-sold-you-fake-extra-virgin-olive-oil.html and http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/08/books/extra-virginity-by-tom-mueller-a-word-on-olive-oil-review.html?_r=0.

Those links are both funny and scary. Mafia sells olive oil? I wouldn't be surprised if what my mother saw was fake.

Traditionally, it's not uncommon to cook with extra virgin olive oil and even fry with it.

Cheap mass market olive oil at the grocery store is both "olive oil" and "EVOO." I tend to assume the EVOO isn't really, though (I do cook with that stuff often enough -- maybe I should compare the smoke points to see if it seems to be genuine). Where I live there are all these specialty olive oil (and vinegar) stores that are basically olive oil porn -- http://www.oldtownoil.com/ is one example. I've been to olive oil tastings there, which are fun, but kind of ridiculous too (it's like saying, yes, I am a certain kind of person who does this thing), and the olive oil is expensive enough that I wouldn't cook with it much (at least not at higher heats) as I don't think the taste difference would be worth it once you were heating and cooking with the oil. For cold use, yes.

Sounds like you have a different way of sourcing, which is pretty cool. Olives aren't local here. I expect the climate isn't right.

amusedmonkey wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

amusedmonkey wrote: »

rainbowbow wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Smoke point of various oils. Regular olive oil isn't that low. Extra virgin is lower.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/05/cooking-fats-101-whats-a-smoke-point-and-why-does-it-matter.html

I'm not sure if it's just a US thing, but i was CONVINCED you could never fry or cook on high heat with olive oil. I was shocked when i saw my friends making french fries with olive oil (But-but, what about the smoke point?!?!) but apparently it isn't a problem. *shrug*

I believe it's a thing in countries where olive trees aren't traditionally grown. When you say olive oil, my mind automatically defaults to extra virgin because that's the only olive oil I've ever know (almost everyone buys it in large amounts every year straight from the olive press and you get to examine the olives that are being pressed and the resulting oil before buying). My mom went to Russia last year and told us how olive oil doesn't even look or smell like the olive oil we know, it looks like regular frying oil. So no, it's not just a US thing. Industrialized olive oil businesses need to do something with the "reject" olive oil, so they refine it to be sold as suitable for frying.

My understanding is that Mediterranean countries have long used olive oil for a variety of uses, including extra virgin and cooking (and lamp oil, etc.).

Also, lots of stuff sold as olive oil (and especially extra virgin) apparently isn't, and that extra virgin olive oil might not be and even normal "olive oil" in Russia might not be olive oil at all does not seem unlikely to me. See also http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/14/has-the-italian-mafia-sold-you-fake-extra-virgin-olive-oil.html and http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/08/books/extra-virginity-by-tom-mueller-a-word-on-olive-oil-review.html?_r=0.

Those links are both funny and scary. Mafia sells olive oil? I wouldn't be surprised if what my mother saw was fake.

Traditionally, it's not uncommon to cook with extra virgin olive oil and even fry with it. I personally don't see the processed kind around often except maybe as a add-on to other products like tuna in olive oil for example. At least where I live, olive oil is not very industrialized locally. You can see foreign branded products sold in bigger shopping establishments but most of the local exchanges happen between the customer and the farmer (who pays a percentage to the olive press owner to produce it) or shop owners who buy from farmers to resell for a higher price to those who don't want to take a long trip to the olive presses in the areas famous for good olives.

What, you've never seen the Godfather?

Seriously, yes, the mafia is into anything that allows them to make and shift money around, and if you can game the system, even better.

lemurcat12 wrote: »

rainbowbow wrote: »

fishshark wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Smoke point of various oils. Regular olive oil isn't that low. Extra virgin is lower.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/05/cooking-fats-101-whats-a-smoke-point-and-why-does-it-matter.html

i get extra virgin from italy and smoke it is very low.

correct me if i'm wrong...

extra virgin is meant to be drizzled on stuff because of it's delicate flavor, right? Regular olive oil is used for cooking.

That's how I understand it. You get extra virgin (and pay more) because of the flavor, which goes to waste (not noticeable) when using it for cooking, even below the smoke point. I get expensive extra virgin for cold uses, but cook (often) with regular olive oil.

yup!

BebeMusa wrote: »

Eat lunch as your heaviest meal of the day.

I am pretty sure that the evening meal is usually the largest, a social occasion, eating slowly and putting the world to rights. Eating your largest meal at lunch time during the hottest part of the day makes no sense, particularly in the southern Mediterranean areas!

ChrisM8971 wrote: »

BebeMusa wrote: »

Eat lunch as your heaviest meal of the day.

I am pretty sure that the evening meal is usually the largest, a social occasion, eating slowly and putting the world to rights. Eating your largest meal at lunch time during the hottest part of the day makes no sense, particularly in the southern Mediterranean areas!

Well--hate to tell you, but the biggest meal of the day is at 1:30--here in Rome. It's only terribly hot in the summer. Since traditionally there is a big break for lunch, 1:00--4:00, there's time to eat a big family meal all together. We do that. Then it's nap time, and off to work from 4:00 to 7:30 or 8:00. The evening meal is at about 8:30. It's a different lifestlye for sure.

ChrisM8971 wrote: »

I stand corrected on the meal timing, just wasn't something I have ever experienced in Greece, but maybe thats why its always been so hard to find anywhere open to get lunch from

All the tourists here eat early. That's how we know they are tourists.

I generally go out looking for lunch after 2 pm and evening meal between 8 and 9 pm but you can still tell I am a tourist by my dress sense or lack of

I will never wear socks of any colour with sandals!!!

Tends to be short sleeved shirts and shorts in the evening, so it may be more of my glowing red skin that gives it away