Olive oil

Hi friends,
Can anyone suggest a good brand of olive oil for cooking? Can I use the same cooking oil to my face too or its different one?
What is the virgin olive oil?
Last year I used some brand of O.oil(forgot the name),bought it in Stop & Shop .My husband complained he was feeling headache so I stoppped it using.

Currently I am using Wesson vegetable oil(it mentioned 0g transfat).Is it really good? so girls share your tips.

regards,
mohana.

Dear Mohana,

I use Bertolli extra virgin olive oil in my cooking.Olive oil is heart friendly and has high content of monounsaturated fat.
Extra virgin olive oil-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.
Virgin olive oil- has an acidity less than 2%, and is judged to have a good taste.
From what I know it is basically how they press the olives.
I use Canola oil for my frying. As far as face I am not sure if it can be used,but would like to hear others views too.I would also like to know if we can deep fry with olive olive oil? Hope this helps.

Love,

Hi Mohana,

I use wesson canola oil for cooking. Canola oil stands behind Olive oil in the list of healthy oils for cooking, Olive oil being the top one. I have used Bertolli Olive oil, there are a lot of other italian brands. You can get this in S and S or in BJs. Buying it in BJs is very economical because olive oil tends to be very expensive. Extra virgin olive oil is supposed to be the best for salads and also for cooking. If you are using vegetable oil, it is best to switch to canola or olive oil.

Regards,
Jothi.

Dear Anjana,

Thanks for your reply. ...,would like to hear others views too.

Thanks for your reply Jothi.

Dear Mohana,

Yes Olive oil is the most heart friendly of all oils. Since Anjana has already explained the diff between regular OO and EVOO , i will not go into that. But suffice it to say that when cookig with EVOO , you will not notice the Olive smell in your dishes( which for some is preferable). I use it mainly for stir fries, soups, pastas, noodles and ofcourse to dip bread and eat. Regular cooking I use Canola oil.

You can use the same Olive oil for your face, hair etc.....

I have used Bertoli, and other Brands. Also get Organic grown OLive oil from trader Joes.

All are equally good.

Vandhana

For Vandhana?

Dear Vandhana,
Can I deep fry in olive oil? Have you tried since I use Canola for that. Would like your inputs on that.TIA.
Love,

Yes indeed Anjana, but i hear that the taste is different from that of regular oil. I have never tried frying in OO. DH is too particular about that.

So if you try , do let us know.

Vandhana

Olive oil is supposed to be very good for heart and health on the whole. Anjana and Vandhana have given valuable info on it which is very useful.
Having said that, I have become a bit vary about all food products. After extensive use of a product, suddenly one or the other research results are brought out and everything changes overnight. It is now my Mantra to use everything in moderation and to keep a changing variety of food products for cooking. I use both olive oil and canola oil for cooking. Both are bottled are kept ready for use and I grab one or the other while cooking. Besides that, I also use vegetable margarine for shallow fries and occasionally, sesame oil.
For deep frying, I have not used olive oil as I am suspicious that overheating it might produce a strong after taste. I go for canola for deep frying. I have also used the vegetable oil every now and then.

L, Kamla

Mohana, looks like you've got lotssa good feedback on olive oil. General rule of thumb for olive oil is that greener the better quality (I've liked tried many & settled with Bertoli). So use the greener kinds for recipes using raw oil like in salads or for dipping bread. As the quality goes down it becomes paler until its a pale yellow. If you plan on using large amts of olive oil for regular cooking you don't need the best quality as the fatty acids are the same in all the kinds of olive oil. You can compromise on the color & save a couple bucks.

Another rule of thumb with oils is that the more monounsaturated the fats are the lower their smoke point. Sooo a BIG NO for using olive oil for frying... it will smoke easily & spoil the flavor. For deep frying you need to use polyunsaturated - eg. Canola or any other veg. oil like Crisco etc.

0 grams trans fats is good in any product you purchase. Trans fats or trans fatty acids occur naturally too. But our health concern is mainly in the trans fats created artificially by partial hydrogenation of oils. Consuming trans fat increases the risk of coronary heart disease. This is also linked to diabetes, prostate cancer, ovarian infertility & obesity in some studies. For these reasons, health authorities worldwide recommend that consumption of trans fat be reduced to trace amounts. Trans fats from partially hydrogenated oils are generally considered to be more of a health risk than those occurring naturally. For example, when you see semi-solid / solid consistency of crisco bars or tubs of crisco, its because of partial hydrogenation & higher trans fat content. So when those polyunsaturated oils which are supposed to be liquid resemble buttery consistency then its bad for health. As long as you use Crisco in an oil form you are okay.

Hope this info helps you choose your oils well.
L.