If the whole Mediterranean region cooks with oil that way they’re not “off flavours”, are they? Then they’re just the flavours of the regional cuisine.
I didn’t say you can’t, I said it’s a bit mid. Most traditional Mediterranean cooks keep two kinds of olive oil- cheap, refined olive oil for everyday frying and roasting, and more flavorful extra-virgin olive oil for salads and drizzling over finished dishes. Regular olive oil is milder and better suited to higher heat, so you’re not burning off expensive aromas. extra-virgin is basically olive “juice” with all the peppery, fruity notes you actually want to taste, so it is best used raw or at low heat. Outside that region, though, most people (at least here in Canada and I would guess the US as well) just have one bottle of extra-virgin and use it for pan frying too, which works okay but is a bit of a waste of its flavor and price.
Right, thanks for clarifying 🙂 I agree, don’t use extra virgin for frying. Still, I don’t think it gives off bitter flavours whatever you do unless you treat it really bad.
In Denmark, we traditionally cook using butter, but I like to use whatever fits the dish I am doing.
If you let olive oil get hot enough to hit the smoke point for a sofritto you’re doing it wrong…
You’re still going to get off flavors and waste money in the process.
If the whole Mediterranean region cooks with oil that way they’re not “off flavours”, are they? Then they’re just the flavours of the regional cuisine.
I didn’t say you can’t, I said it’s a bit mid. Most traditional Mediterranean cooks keep two kinds of olive oil- cheap, refined olive oil for everyday frying and roasting, and more flavorful extra-virgin olive oil for salads and drizzling over finished dishes. Regular olive oil is milder and better suited to higher heat, so you’re not burning off expensive aromas. extra-virgin is basically olive “juice” with all the peppery, fruity notes you actually want to taste, so it is best used raw or at low heat. Outside that region, though, most people (at least here in Canada and I would guess the US as well) just have one bottle of extra-virgin and use it for pan frying too, which works okay but is a bit of a waste of its flavor and price.
Right, thanks for clarifying 🙂 I agree, don’t use extra virgin for frying. Still, I don’t think it gives off bitter flavours whatever you do unless you treat it really bad.
In Denmark, we traditionally cook using butter, but I like to use whatever fits the dish I am doing.