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
Friends, as the name suggests, today we will go to hot Egypt. I combined 2 simple dishes – salad and hot appetizer, because they are too simple to break them into 2 recipes!
Delicious and satisfying, this pizza goes well with beer, what could be better for gatherings with friends. Tomato sauce with garlic complements the flavor of seafood.
I think everyone has tried the Greek salad, so I’ll go straight to the dressing. It’s amazing! So bright, sharp and spicy. The salad began to play with completely different colors.
Once this wonderful soup was born in Provence. Bouillabaisse. Many people tell stories about its origin, but it is believed that the most correct version is about French sailors who fished in the Mediterranean Sea. After a hard day’s work, they needed a hot and nutritious dinner, and for this they put in a large saucepan all the leftovers of fish and seafood that are unsuitable for sale or left over from yesterday, and cooked soup using the most Mediterranean ingredients, such as saffron, olive oil, red hot pepper, tomatoes…..
Recently I accidentally stumbled across this recipe on the Internet. It seemed interesting to me and was implemented with some changes. To say that it is delicious is to say nothing. For me, a passionate lover of seafood – it’s at least very tasty! I will not say, but in an authentic paella, it seems that chicken should be present in the composition, it is not in this recipe, so this dish can be offered as a lean dish on days when seafood is allowed.
For a long time I did not understand how you can eat raw zucchini??!! I haven’t tried the salad yet, where it manages to marinate. I suggest staying a raw food eater 😉 Fast, tasty, low-calorie and very healthy!