Tony Sansone's Profile
Adulterated olive oil
Just a thought: Any processing such as the so called "winterizing" of olive oil takes the oil a step away from its natural state. I prefer oil as close to the natural state as possible. I would have no interest in such oils because there are health benefits in the substances removed from the oil when it is "winterized." The only way to know what you have in an olive oil is to test for Acidity, Peroxide Value, UV Resistance, and Total Polyphenols. If the UV tests are off, you have to do further tests to find out how the oil has been adulterated.
The olive source article is generally correct. However, very different results can be obtained when chilling / freezing different oils. Much of the oil we consume is frozen in its lifetime, especially on the way to the US market from December to March. The shipping containers are the same temperatue in the cold as the outside air temperature. Cold does not harm olive oils. The same container shipped in the warm months can actually destroy a high quality oil. Regards. Tony
Adulterated olive oil
Caroline
Just noted why you may have the opinions you do. Frying in EVOO should be done in a pan, not a deep fryer. If you fry in a pan, you will get a much different result. I have never fried with EVOO in a deep fryer, but I can imagine that the results would not be so good on medium heat as you say.
I have great results with 50% Italian bread crumbs, 50% Italian cheese, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. A quick dip in egg first and you are ready to successfully fry any fish, meat or veggie.
We all have different tastes. Give this a try. You may like it.
Ciao
Tony
Adulterated olive oil
Caroline, the frying temperature has to be high enough so that breaded foods start to gently fry when placed in the oil. Otherwise, as you say, the food will simply absorb the oil. Point I am trying to make is that nothing should be fried in quality extra virgin olive oil at a high heat where the oil pops, splatters, and smokes. I use 250 to 325F with great results. Case in point: I recently hosted an olive oil tasting event for members of Chef de Cuisine (the organization for top chefs). I offered fried breaded Zucchini and breaded fish. Both items were breaded with Italian bread crumbs mixed with Italian cheeses. This combination really brings out the flavor of the oil. One of the chefs assisting in the kitchen insisted that the oil had to be very hot before the food was fried. To make a long story short, we fried a piece of fish his way and my way. My way won and I converted another chef to the wisdom of medium heat frying with quality extra virgin olive oil. The tasting for over 180 chefs was a complete success and most of them now use my extra virgin olive oil. Try dropping a piece of the breading in the oil and when it starts to gently fry, add the foods to be fried. Yes, the temperature of the oil in the pan will go down a bit as you add the foods to be fried, but the temperature will recover quickly and the foods will not absorb the oil. Even if the temperature is too low when you add the food, when the temperature reaches the proper level, any oil absorbed is released. By the way, I do not drain foods fried in my oil on paper towels etc because breaded foods retain little oil when frying is properly completed and you want the superb taste of oil in the food. Give this a try and you will be amazed at the wonderful taste a really fine extra virgin olive oil can add to food. And foods fried in quality extra virgin olive oil are healthy for you too. Even your fish and chips will come out great if you leave the potatoes in the oil long enough. Medium heat takes longer, but the taste is worth it. Remember, when you are finished cooking on medium heat, strain a quality extra virgin olive oil through a coffee filter and use it again and again for frying. Very little of the healthy things in the oil will lost and the taste will be great. Ciao. Tony
Adulterated olive oil
One more point about quality of extra virgin olive oils. Be a good consumer and make the company that is offering the oil tell you the acidity, peroxide value, and total polyphenol content of the oil.
For acidity the lower the number from 1% the better the oil. Low acidity is a good indicator of the quality of the oil if the oil is a true extra virgin oil. Acidity is removed from olive oil when it is refined. So are all the healthy things in olive oil. Make sure you are getting a true extra virgin olive oil, not a refined oil or a mixture of extra virgin and refined oil.
For peroxide value, the maximum is 20. Lower than 20 is better. Peroxide value tells you how much oxidation has occurred in the oil. This is a freshness indicator and an indicator of how long the oil will last before turning rancid. Refined oil has a very low peroxide value so, again, make sure you are getting a pure extra virgin olive oil.
Total polyphenol count really tells you the quality and healthfulness of the oil. I have read that most good extra virgin oils will have 40 - 80 ppm. Some have up to 160 ppm. More antioxidants is better. As I said in the previous posting, it will be interesting to see the results of lab test on oils and find out what they really contain. Anyone selling olive oil should be ready and willing to prove these numbers for their oil. If the oil is very low or absent antioxidants, it can not be a good quality oil.
Light and heat are harmful to olive oil. Any oil in a clear container must be oil that the manufacturer does not care much about. Oil shipped on in cargo containers anytime except winter will be subject to an extended period of high heat that hurts the quality of the oil. The experts are still debating the wisdom of putting olive oil in plastic containers. Some reputable scientists are beginning to caution about plastic containers.
Finally, look for the origin of the oil. Many extra virgin olive oils show countries of origin on the label. Several of the countries shown do not have food safety standards like you find in the USA and European Union. Think of it this way, some oil can be manufactured in a plant that has no food safety standards. The oil can then be loaded in a tank truck that is not regulated. From there, it goes to a ship that is not regulated. Finally, it arrives in a Europen Union country where fraud is rampant per the New Yorker magazine article which is spot on. There it is processed and bottled and sent to America. At each step in this process there is potential for bad things to happen. When I was stationed in Europe in the 1980s I remember that scores of people in Spain died from olive oil that was transported in tanker trucks that were not fit to haul edible products. There are just too many opportunities in the process for such a disaster to happen again.
There are too many oils out there that are made from olives from one country, the oil is packed in that country, and the oil is not blended with all sorts of other oils from countries with lesser or no food safety standards.
A bit of good old consumer investigation will lead you to a good, pure oil with all the health benefits you seek. Hope this helps.
Adulterated olive oil
I have found that the Light and Extra Light olive oils available have been highly refined olive oils. Generally, a refined olive oil will not have the polyphenols/antioxidants that are good for you. I recently sent two different samples of light olive oil to a reputable lab to find out exactly what is in them and how healthy they may or may not be. It will be interesting to see the results. All light oils have exactly the same calories as extra virgin olive oil so there is no savings in calories. Try sauteing with with extra virgin olive oil and taste the difference. If you saute at medium heat, you do not lose the health benefits of olive oil, and if you can stand the calories, fried food can actually be good for you and great for a healthy change. Medium heat puts the same nice finish on all foods: meats, fish, vegies, you just have to let the food cook a bit longer. Incidentally, good extra virgin olive oil can be used for frying several times. Just run it through a coffee filter and don't try to fry meat in an oil used to fry fish. Fry like foods in the same oil. Cuts the cost of a really good oil because it goes farther. I have a liter of really good extra virgin olive oil that I use to poach Sea Bass and other like fish. It is heavenly. On low heat, I can use the oil a dozen or so times without losing flavor and most of the health benefits of the oil.
Regarding the fraud, it is a real shame. There are good olive oils out there and a few really good oils.
Hope this is helpful.
