The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 959

to make more ALL ABOUT OLIVE OIL How to Buy Olive Oil A sking what olive oil you should buy is similar to asking what knife you should use, what car to drive, or what Beatles album to listen to: it’s largely a matter of personal taste Once you get past a certain base threshold of quality, whether to choose an oil that is buttery and rich or bright and grassy is largely up to you Olive oil comes in several different grades: • “Virgin” and “Extra-Virgin” are standards set by the International Olive Oil Council, and they reflect a mark of quality Virgin olive oils can contain up to percent oleic acid Extra-virgin olive oil contains no more than 0.8 percent oleic acid and it is subjectively deemed superior in flavor to standard virgin olive oil Neither of these oils can be made from olives that have been heated to extract oil The extra-virgin production of most countries accounts for between and 10 percent of their total output, hence the relatively high price • “First Cold Press” indicates that the olive oil was pressed from unheated olives and that the oil came from their first pressing To a large degree, this label overlaps the extra-virgin label • “Pure” or “Light” has nothing to with olive oil’s calorie content—it is only an indication of flavor These olive oils are made from subsequent pressing of olives, or from olives that have been heated to extract more oil The oil is then refined, so that none of the flavorful compounds found in virgin or extra-virgin oil are present—leaving you with a neutral oil with a high smoke point Light olive oils tend to be far more expensive than vegetable or canola oils, which will work just as well or better for cooking Leave these on the shelf Extra-virgin is pricey, so how do you find a good one? My advice is to locate a store that will let you try the oils before you buy, and taste at first without paying attention to sticker price You may well find that the cheapest bottle in the shop suits you just fine If you have the time, budget, and inclination, it can be fun to collect olive oils from various parts of the world In the United States, it’s now fairly easy to find olive oil imported from Italy, Spain, France, Morocco, and South America, along with our own domestic olive oils (mainly from California) I like to keep a few of my favorite bottles on hand: a sunny and grassy Spanish olive oil from Extremadura, like Merula or Oro San Carlos; a buttery, rich Italian ... work just as well or better for cooking Leave these on the shelf Extra-virgin is pricey, so how do you find a good one? My advice is to locate a store that will let you try the oils before you buy, and taste at first without... find that the cheapest bottle in the shop suits you just fine If you have the time, budget, and inclination, it can be fun to collect olive oils from various parts of the world In the United... indication of flavor These olive oils are made from subsequent pressing of olives, or from olives that have been heated to extract more oil The oil is then refined, so that none of the flavorful compounds