Olive Oil and Other Cooking Fats

I am so excited, I got my first question, and it's a good one! I had to do a little digging and get a little background info myself. 

So, I am sure you have been overwhelmed with all the choices you have with olive oils, and what it all means? And how should you even use olive oil? I'll also hit on salted butter vs. unsalted butter and some trending oils like coconut oil.
Let's dive in. 

The most common kind of butter is sweet cream and is made from pasteurized cream, and must contain 80% fat and 16% water and the remaining 4% is protein, lactose and salt.
Salted sweet cream has around 1-2 teaspoons per pound of butter. Salt was originally added as a preservative. 

So, the question was whether to use salted or unsalted. I'm afraid I don't have a rule or an answer for every scenario (but that is the great thing about cooking - you get to play and decide for yourself), but I can tell you that I always use salted - because, well, why not? 
Unsalted butter gives you more control over the flavor you are trying to achieve, especially with baking this can come in handy. But if I'm spreading it on toast or basting my meat I want as much added flavor as possible and so I use salted. Don't over think it, and believe me, you can use them interchangeably. 

If you ever see a recipe call for clarified butter, know that it is the removal of milk and water solids, leaving a beautiful clear milk fat. The reason for that is milk solids burn at a low temperature (250 degrees), if you remove them (the milk solids) you get an oil that is great for frying and can reach a temperature of 400 degrees. It can be very pricey, which is why it's not very commonly used.

Ok, I want to touch on margarine. Margarine has the same build up as butter, 80% fat and 16% water, the difference is where the fat is coming from. In the US, the fat is blended with soybean, corn, cottonseed, sunflower, canola and other oils. They also add coloring agents, extra flavoring agents, Vitamin A and D and then pump it with nitrogen to make it spreadable. So, as you can see, you aren't getting a pure product, it's mixed with other oils and lecithin to stabilize the water. 

I'm sure you've heard about Coconut oil (my first interaction was when someone told me they used it as lotion, and rubbed it on their face (I have to admit, I tried it and it seems kind of strange to be talking about cooking with it now). Coconut oil is 90% saturated fat (holy cow) and it can have an impact on your cholesterol level; so, use in moderation. I would suggest the 'virgin coconut oil' which has not been chemically treated. 

So, if you are at all like me, choices make you crazy - just give it to me straight! I hate staring at bottles all claiming a slight variation of the same thing, 'virgin', 'extra virgin', 'cold pressed'. What does all that mean?

I love Olive oil for lots of reasons, it's versatile - I use it for marinades, salad dressings, cooking and of course dipping my bread in. So, lets break it down.
Olive oil has a high smoke point (about 500 degrees), and people don't tend to use it for cooking because it's expensive and also when heated it does lose some of its nutritional value. So that I can have my cake and eat it too, I drizzle some on top after cooking (this is really common in restaurants - it gives your meal that glossy finished look, not to mention the taste). 

Cold pressed olive oils are what you want, this means that it was literally pressed and ground without adding any heat to extract the oil, so the flavor is vibrant and rich. Also, something to add here is that without adding heat the olive oils keep all of their nutritional value. Cold pressed or 'first cold pressed' (again with all the terms, geez) is another way of saying 'Extra Virgin'. If you are buying anything other than 'first cold pressed' you are buying the leftover oil, the oil they couldn't get easily, you might see it as 'light' or 'extra light' - don't be fooled, it has nothing to do with calories. Also color is no indication of the quality of oil.  

Never keep olive oil in the refrigerator, keep it in a dark cool spot away from light, you may even want to wrap it in tin foil or a brown bag. Olive oil does expire, so if it has been sitting on your shelf for over a year, I hate to say it, but its gone bad. 

Things that might help in picking out an olive oil:

Look for when the olives were harvested. Fresher the better.

Look for a region. After all, you wouldn't pick up a bottle of wine that just said 'red wine' - know where they are coming from, and research different flavor profiles. If you haven't been to one of those olive oil shops, you must! You get to taste and experience all sorts of olive oils.

Try to buy oils in a tinted glass container - heat, light and air are enemies, so start off with a dark bottle. 

I hope this helped. Keep the questions coming. Also stay connected, because I will be posting some great holiday recipes! 


McGee, Harold. On Food and Cooking. New York, NY: Scribner, 2004 Print.