Olive oil of the highest category (extra virgin) is essentially freshly squeezed olive juice, which professionals call first–pressed oil. This oil is obtained by cold pressing the fruits and separating the excess liquid in a centrifuge. Fresh olive is a capricious product, and within a day after harvesting it begins to oxidize, lose its shape, taste and aroma, so olives are turned into oil as close as possible to the place of collection and never transport fruits over long distances. This means that the first-pressed oil retains the unique aroma of olives of the region where it was made. Notes of flowers and fruits, artichokes and fresh grass.
Such a bright personality requires careful handling: extra virgin olive oil works best in its natural form at room temperature in salads, appetizers, sauces and even in cold desserts. Many manufacturers enrich its notes with additional flavors – basil, lemon zest, garlic, dried tomatoes and truffle. So the oil turns into a ready-made refined dressing. It is enough to dip a piece of ciabatta in olive oil with the aroma of noble white truffle to feel a powerful polyphony of flavors.
Olive Oil for Frying
Many home cooks are sure that frying and stewing in extra virgin olive oil is not right. From the heat, fragile natural flavors are destroyed, the oil changes texture and color, and the piquant bitterness turns into outright bitterness. But this is only partially true. In fact, the so–called “smoking point” (that is, the temperature limit after which all of the above irreversible processes begin to occur in the oil) even in first-pressed oil is quite high – up to 180 ° C, depending on the acidity of the product. In other words, if the dish is slowly languishing or baked in the oven with gentle heating, extra virgin oil releases all its flavor and transmits it to the products, which is exclusively beneficial for fish, meat or vegetables. This is the secret, for example, of the Provencal ratatouille – only mixed vegetables cooked in “virgin” olive oil turn into a luxurious, fragrant southern sun whole.
But if we are talking about high temperatures – deep-frying or frying in a hot frying pan, then the temperature shock will kill all living things. For these purposes, it is logical to use refined olive oil: it is sold both in pure form and mixed with a small amount of extra virgin (usually in a percentage ratio of 80:20). This oil is a workhorse in the kitchen, it is more affordable and absolutely universal, suitable for salad dressings and frying in a frying pan. Due to the high density, olive oil practically does not penetrate into the product during frying. And this is good news for those who want to eat a ruddy steak and observe the principles of a healthy diet: after frying, it is easy to remove excess olive oil with a paper towel.
It is worth considering that due to the high density, olive oil practically does not penetrate into the product during frying. The only thing to avoid is deep–frying and a hot frying pan
Do you like the combination of berries with poultry or meat? I really) suggest cooking these pockets of turkey fillet with apple and raspberry. You can take another berry with a slight sourness. It turns out fragrant, delicious and juicy.
Every year on New Year’s Eve I bake a cake “Laurent”. And every time I experiment with fillings. This year I wanted to add more vegetables to the festive table. So I decided to make a vegetable pie. I am preparing a completely non-standard cake “Laurent”. Starting with the cake and ending with the filling, it is low-fat. Which in no way makes it tasteless. The pie turns out to be tender, slightly crispy and light. And the filling is like a salute! A large number of ingredients replacing each other create a bright rich taste.
Chicken with spicy pumpkin sauce, baked in a spicy marinade. A bright, rich, fragrant and very tasty dish. Simple and affordable, it will look good on a festive table and will certainly appeal to your family and guests. Try this!
Canapé “for one bite” on homemade crumbly cookies with mashed green peas and cottage cheese with fragrant shrimp. A wonderful snack for the New Year’s table and for the buffet table. I highly recommend it! It’s amazing!
I decided to start with pasta dough – you can cook so many dishes from pasta that you can burst if you eat everything in a row! Demand creates supply, and cooking is now a popular hobby, so finding ingredients for making dough as close as possible to classic Italian is no longer a problem.
This salad is one of the most favorite in my family. Most often I cook it in late summer or autumn from my mother’s peppers and tomatoes. The house has been asked to prepare right now to share with you. It’s very acute. It completely replaces dinner for me, and for men it is a great white appetizer.
