Cooking oil versus finishing oil
Good extra virgin olive oil smells grassy and fruity and bites a little at the back of your throat. Those aroma compounds are volatile, which means they evaporate easily. Cook with an everyday oil. Save the good bottle for the end.
Store oil away from light and heat
Light, warmth and air react with the fats in oil, a process called oxidation, and the flavor goes dull. Keep the bottle capped in a cool, dark cupboard. The shelf above the stove gets heat and light every single day.
Test yourself
Questions from the interactive lesson, with the answer and the why.
Why drizzle your best olive oil over a finished dish instead of frying with it?
Heat drives off its volatile aromas. The grassy, fruity notes evaporate in a hot pan, and raw oil keeps them.
True or false: Heating a good olive oil in a hot pan makes its fruity aroma stronger.
False. Heat evaporates volatile aromas, so the oil smells weaker after frying, not stronger.
What went wrong? You sear fish in expensive finishing oil on high heat, then wonder where the grassy, peppery aroma went.
High heat evaporated the volatile aromas. Use an everyday oil to sear, and drizzle the good oil on at the end.
Fill the blank: Aroma compounds in good oil are ___, so heat sends them into the air.
Aroma compounds in good oil are volatile, so heat sends them into the air. Volatile compounds evaporate readily, especially when warm.
Where does a spoonful of your best oil do the most good?
Over warm white beans just before serving. Gentle warmth lifts its aroma, and no cooking heat drives it away.