Last week we peeked into a little info regarding the safety of Extra Virgin Olive Oil under heat.  This week, more research to sift through:

George at World’s Healthiest Foods (a site I go to again and again for nutritional information) writes:

If you want to use olive oil for cooking, we agree not to use extra virgin olive oil as it has a lower smoke point than others. We’d use virgin oil, depending upon the temperature. We use extra virgin olive oil in cold dishes, so that its fatty acids and antioxidants aren’t destroyed.

And because I forgot I got a reply, I emailed again and received an even better response:

Until we see studies indicating otherwise, we will choose to play it safe when it comes to heating extra virgin olive oil. The phenolic antioxidants that they feature are simply too important to risk potential damage through unnecessary heating. The 200-250 F (93-121 C) temperature range is the one we feel safest with when it comes to the heating of extra virgin olive oil and protection of its phenols. This temperature range will work well for making sauce or for the warming of a dish that has extra virgin olive oil added just before this warming stage (but not during the actual cooking or baking process).

And from the Weston A. Price Foundation site:

Those fats and oils that are appropriate for cooking or sautéing and will withstand fairly high temperatures are those that have been in use for thousands of years, including olive oil as well as the more stable saturated coconut and palm oils and the animal tallows. An oil such as sesame oil with its special heat-activated antioxidants can be blended with coconut oil and olive oil to form a very stable good cooking oil.

Huh?  So now EVOO is the best for sauteeing?  I’m lost!

So I ask another question:  Are There Still Health Benefits to Virgin Olive Oil (and is that a better choice for heat)?

Virgin Olive Oil and Cooking

World’s Healthiest Foods says this:

A study published in the European Journal of Nutrition indicates that virgin olive oil provides significantly greater protection against free radical damage to LDL cholesterol-one of the first steps in the initiation of atherosclerosis.

Now I consider:  I’m reading that virgin olive oil has some health benefits. I understand that extra virgin may be sketchy at best at high heat, and I’m not always so good at watching my sauteeing closely.  Virgin olive oil has a higher smoke point (420 vs. 375, according to Wikipedia), so it seems that it would be safer to use in cooking and roasting. I can roast some Yum-O potatoes at 400 and feel safe.  Right?

Visit Kitchen Stewardship for my best deal on EVOO and coconut oil and a discussion with the chemist at Soaper’s Choice, my new fav place to buy bulk oils.  See  A Good Deal on Top Fats (Or, Why I have 63 Pounds of Coconut and Olive Oil on my Porch).

For now, somebody should tell Rachel Ray to quit sauteeing in EVOO, don’t you think?