Three ways to find the best olive oil for cooking

Today, many people imagine themselves as craft chefs, using their kitchens not for food preparation but for culinary art. For these home chefs, one of the first ingredients they dive headfirst into is olive oil, and almost no stone is left unturned in their quest to find the best olive oil for cooking.

The problem they encounter is debating whether it is really okay to cook with olive oil. There is a school of thought that says that heat will destroy integrity and no one should cook with it. Others believe that it has been around for thousands of years, and for the countries of origin, cooking with olive oil is as natural as it gets. The net result of this disagreement is a home chef who isn’t sure what to think. All they wanted to do was make amazing food.

Let’s make it easy. In short, yes, you can cook with olive oil, but you have to be smart about how you use it. Also, you need to brush up on a bit of knowledge to make the most informed decision about what you are going to bring into your kitchen.

Here is a little help on how to choose the best olive oil to cook at home:

Know where the oil is from – It is important to read the labels to know where it comes from. As a basic rule of thumb, you want as little time as possible between harvesting, processing, and bottling. The longer the oil has to travel or go through steps before it goes into a bottle, it can mean product degradation, and that’s never a good thing.

harvest quotes – A few years ago, brewers decided it was unfair for their product to be judged “skunky” simply because a store put out an old product. As a way to help the consumer, they decided to add dates to the packaging so people could see when the beer was “born,” giving consumers a better chance of avoiding old beer. Others even go so far as to remove the product from store shelves. In the name of freshness, look for harvest dates on olive oil bottles. Keep in mind that the contents do not age like wine, so knowing the harvest date will give you an opportunity to know how long the contents have been sitting.

keep it local – As with most things, there is a movement to support local businesses by buying their products. There is greater transparency in the transaction and you get to know where the products come from. The same goes for olive oil. The United States has slowly become a big player in the market, with professional chefs taking notice and requesting domestic products in their kitchen. For the home chef looking to purchase a quality cooking ingredient, support local businesses, and stay on the forefront of culinary development, this is a no-brainer.

The best olive oil for cooking doesn’t have to break the bank or travel far. With a little knowledge and a willingness to do some research, you’ll find exactly what you need.