This is a very delicate oil.we need to know oils go rancid or toxic when they are exposed to air, light or heat .Even a photon of light is sometimes enough to start this damaging process.
Its a major part of the Mediterranean diet considered as the most healthy and therapeutic diet in the world . This oil is cold extracted from the olive fruits that are native to the Mediterranean belt . The oil possesses a very nice fruity flavour but is mildly bitter to taste.
Mediterranean diet is also high on leafy greens and food high on nutritional density . One can check the same on Dr Fuhrman’s density chart. Kale is used abundantly in their diet along with olive oil.
According to Dr. Oz people have been eating the Mediterranean diet for centuries and those on this diet live the longest on earth . They have 50% less risk of heart disease, 20% less risk of cancer moreover they have almost no cases of dementia .
Your food should also be high on fiber and low on the glycemic index/ glycemic load apart from being alkalising . Pure glucose is 100 on the GI and anything that’s over 55 on the GI scale is considered a high GI food.
The extra virgin oils from the olives are thought of as having a lot of medicinal and therapeutic properties, its heart protective, prevents strokes, and reduces the inflammations in the body. Studies also suggest that it prevents cancer and type 2 diabetes and some studies even link it with anti-depressant action .
The oils like Borges extra virgin olive oil are very low on their smoking point and hence prone to rancidity .or turning toxic. For the same reason its best used for salad dressings, grilled foods and boiled foods / steamed foods and only to be added right in the end or just sprinkled or poured over cold food. The use of this oil is strictly not for deep frying, shallow frying, tawa frying or sautéing . In a nutshell its a dressing or topping oil only
Its okay to pour just that little onto a hot soup but the cooler the better, be it soup or any other edible stuff. Maybe just spread some over a sandwich or toast that’s close to cooling down.
*Moreover this is a cold pressed oil and unrefined .Fatty acids bonds break once they are heated beyond their smoking point and that makes them go bad and the reason why any oil should not be over heated or re-used for frying again and again.
Such oils create(over heated and rancid) oxidative stress and free radicals and cause inflammations and augment ageing and disease .** The oxidative stress from free radicals is anyways bound to happen from our daily food intake, drugs and pollutants etc., and should be countered by meals that heal or meals that are re-mineralizing and alkalising, high in omega 3’s, anti-oxidants and phyto-nutrients,
If you want to use olive oil for high heat cooking its advised to use pure olive oil / light olive oil instead.
But that’s a very light refined oil and oils should be dark, stored in dark bottles and only cold pressed plus extra virgin hence its better to stick with saturates like coconut oil, desi ghee also called clarified butter and even butter for high heat cooking .
Saturated fats are most stable fats for high heat cooking as they have a relatively high smoking point . Coconut oil is truly a miraculous oil with benefits after benefits and we all need saturates in moderation not exceeding 10% of our total caloric intake .
You will notice the oil comes in a dark bottle and that’s to save it from light damage, Pls also store it in a dark cool place for the same reason. Remember oils should be the colour of the stuff they came from, if its not dark green or darkish mustard it was probably highly refined and not worth considering .
In terms of grade Extra virgin olive oil or EVOO is the top grade and least acidic, virgin is a close 2nd, pure olive oil is an accepted third but its refined nevertheless suitable for high heat cooking . .
Pomace olive oil should be left out of the kitchen as its solvent extracted, the lowest grade and really a cheap oil