Olive Oil questions

[nopeda]

I've hesitated to put oil on meat being afraid it would change the flavor and make it more greasy, but have had problems with the outside of meat getting too hard and the inside getting dried out. Recently a friend has encouraged the use of olive oil to help with both of those issues, and said it doesn't have a bad influence on the overall flavor. Do you people support that--I'm guessing you do having seen it suggested here and in youtube vids--and how do you suggest applying it? I only have a bottle of liquid, not spray. Also do you use it on all meat, or on some things like chicken but not on others?

Thank you for any help with this!

David

 

[SmokinAl]

I use EVOO a lot of times in place of mustard to hold the rub on.

It will not make the meat greasy.

Just pour it on & rub it around.

Then sprinkle your rub on.

Al

 

[daveomak]

I use peanut oil...  I don't like the flavor of olive oil...

 

[daniels]

Just remember that the EVOO has the strongest olive oil flavor and the flavor diminishes with the later pressings.  That's why EVOO shouldn't be used in salad dressings.  It's too over powering.  You may like it on meat though.

Personally, I prefer peanut oil.  Nice mild flavor.  Chicken fried in peanut oil is fantastic, IMHO.

For applying rubs, I use mustard.

If you're having a problem drying out the meat I don't think oil is going to help but perhaps I'm wrong.

 

[jasper7]

I brush it on while I cook, using a silicone pastry brush.  Helps make chicken skin crispy.

 

[mr t 59874]

 
Just remember that the EVOO has the strongest olive oil flavor and the flavor diminishes with the later pressings.  That's why EVOO shouldn't be used in salad dressings.  It's too over powering.  

Perhaps it could be the quality of the oil being used that makes it overpowering in your opinion. 

Extra-virgin olive oil (sometimes called EVOO) comes from the first pressing of the olives, contains no more than 0.8% acidity, and is judged to have a superior taste. There can be no refined oil in extra-virgin olive oil. This is the healthiest, top of the range of olive oils and should be the oil that graces your salads.

T

 

[daniels]

 
Perhaps it could be the quality of the oil being used that makes it overpowering in your opinion. 

Extra-virgin olive oil (sometimes called EVOO) comes from the first pressing of the olives, contains no more than 0.8% acidity, and is judged to have a superior taste. There can be no refined oil in extra-virgin olive oil. This is the healthiest, top of the range of olive oils and should be the oil that graces your salads.

T

Nope!  It's a fact.  Not my opinion.  I've heard it on many cooking shows and read it in cookbooks.  Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the strongest tasting and too strong tasting for a salad oil.  If you get used to it and like it that's fine but good EVOO is way too strong tasting for me.

There's nothing actually superior about EVOO to the other pressings except that it's never heated during the pressing.  EVOO is not appropriate for salad dressings.  If you use olive oil for your salad dressing you should use a later pressed olive oil.

Salads and such are why products like this are available:

[h1]Bertolli[emoji]174[/emoji] Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil[/h1]For the benefits of olive oil without the taste,

 

[bluewhisper]

BTW have you tried a Spanish olive oil? It isn't like Greek or Italian; it's green with a different flavor.

 

[atomicsmoke]

If not on salads (and dunking fresh crusty bread in it) what good a great EVOO is for?

Nothing superior? Most of the good stuff is in EVOO. Actually there are producers that make "free run evoo"...no pressing. Obviously more expensive.

There is no edible oil coming out from 2nd pressing. It has to be (chemically) refined.

Don't know much about light olive oil except that Bertolli came up with the term and that is mix of oils.

I stopped buying Italian evoo a long time ago after reading reports on counterfeit oil (mafia seems to be involved).

Greek and Spanish for me.

Blue, Spanish evoo? A treat. Love Nunez de Prado Flor de aceite. Pricey but yummy.

 

[daveomak]

One thing I've heard about Olive Oil is......   because of it's hydrogen bonding or some molecular bonding, it is susceptible to oxidizing REALLY fast....   it can become rancid fast...   and I heard it is suggested it be used within 6 months of manufacture because of this.....  The same for Canola Oil....

Anyone else hear that ??

 

[mr t 59874]

 

[mr t 59874]

Not going to thread jack, so suggest to those in doubt, when not on the forum, Google EVOO based salad dressing.

T

 

[daniels]

You'll find all sorts of recipes for salad dressings that use EVOO but it incorrect to do so.  Talk to some culinary school instructors.  Real experts.

 

[mr t 59874]

 
You'll find all sorts of recipes for salad dressings that use EVOO but it incorrect to do so.  Talk to some culinary school instructors.  Real experts.

 Real experts?  I'll trust my own taste buds, not someone else's, thank you for the advice though.

T

 

[atomicsmoke]

One thing I've heard about Olive Oil is......   because of it's hydrogen bonding or some molecular bonding, it is susceptible to oxidizing REALLY fast....   it can become rancid fast...   and I heard it is suggested it be used within 6 months of manufacture because of this.....  The same for Canola Oil....

Anyone else hear that ??

Properly stored it won't. 2-3 years depending on the oil. But is at peak value after extraction (in terms of taste).

 

[nopeda]

 
Just remember that the EVOO has the strongest olive oil flavor and the flavor diminishes with the later pressings.  That's why EVOO shouldn't be used in salad dressings.  It's too over powering.  You may like it on meat though.

Personally, I prefer peanut oil.  Nice mild flavor.  Chicken fried in peanut oil is fantastic, IMHO.

For applying rubs, I use mustard.

If you're having a problem drying out the meat I don't think oil is going to help but perhaps I'm wrong.

Thanks to all of you for your helpful suggestions! The friend who made the suggestion to me about olive oil said it would help retain moisture, make the skin less crisp, and wouldn't add any noticeable flavor. So if you don't want the skin more crisp, which I don't, what's the advantage in using any oil at all?

And mustard? From my experience with mustard it seems that would add a lot  of flavor that most people wouldn't want. I don't get it...

 

[sfprankster]

...

 

[hdbrs]

I remember watching a documentary about olive oil and how crooked the whole business was, esp olive oil from overseas. I bought some olive oil off amazon from California and it is completely different in taste and color than the stuff I was buying from the supermarket. It's almost a green color, but expensive too. I really like it

 

[sfprankster]

...

 

[daniels]

“Extra-virgin olive oil contains bitter tasting polyphenols coated by fatty acids, which prevent them from dispersing. If the oil is emulsified in a food processor, these polyphenols get squeezed out and the liquid mix turns bitter.

The magazine (Cook's Illustrated) further claims this is only a problem when mixing dressing or mayo, because in pesto the other ingredients as nuts and cheese are robust enough to cope with it. This is where I (Nicky) disagree; I rarely prepare pesto with extra-virgin olive oil in the food processor anymore – because of the indeed noticeable bitter outcome”

In case you're not familiar with Cook's Illustrated, they're the ones that run their kitchens like laboratories.

From a Chowhound user under Bitter EVOO, "Hmmm, it is kind of a "green" bitter. My husband even noticed the bitterness last night and was unhappy (and his tastes aren't that sharp).

I've used it for cooking and haven't noticed any problems, but I have noticed a bitterness with salad dressings and just now I was able to put my finger on it when I dipped a piece of bread in it. It's just very sharp, if that makes sense. Unpleansantly so, for me.

I love a strong olive oil taste - do you have any suggestions for a good flavor with no bitterness?"

EVOO has too low a smoke point for serious frying.

I'll dip bread in EVOO with coarse ground black pepper at a restaurant if they don't serve real butter but I don't have much use for EVOO at home.

YMMV.