Is it safe to use Olive oil for frying food? Would the frying process break down the oil to something more dangerous? I dislike to use regular cooking oil due to high cholesterol level?

yes you can fry using olive oil. matter of fact, my favorite home made french fires and sauteed vegetables are made on a skillet using olive oil. i use it for pretty much everything. but from what i know, if you're really going to deep fry or pressure cook something i'm not sure olive oil is your best bet. i think safflower, canola, or something else might hold up better under intense heat, but i'm not sure. but i do know that you get the most flavor out of good quality olive oil when its served at room temperature. you know, in a salad, for dipping bread, etc. but you can safely use it for just about anything. come to think of it, i even use olive oil soap. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

It really isn't safe, picard. You see, the heating of the oil releases combustable, air-density fumes, and when they build up in the relatively ventilation free area of a modern kitchen, they eventually come in contact with the heat source and explode, simulating an FAE. Even if it doesn't reach flashpoint, it builds up in the air and you breath it in and the vaporized oil covers the insides of your lungs, blocking the absorbtion of oxygen in your blood stream, so you eventually drown. *laughs*

Of course it's safe- it's been used for cooking for thousands of years.

Or are you talking about saturated fats? In which case, it is one of your better oils. And one of the tastier, to. Look at the Greeks and Italians- they use lots of olive oil in thier cooking, and their heart attack rates and the like are much lower. It is full of cholesterol, but the good kind, it actually helps you.

Down side is that really isn't suited for deep fat frying, or for anything that requires a super high tempurature. But the deep fat fryer is the most lethal peice of consumer and industrial machinery in America. You are better off pan frying if you really need to, and most things you can broil.

Basically, the more heavily processed it is, the scarier a fat is. That holds true for most food, actually.

I just want to cook scramble eggs & bacons, or chinese fried food. I don't want to use oilve oil to fry french fries.

It's safe for those, I only use it or PAM spray for my eggs. It works good for stir-fry. Normal bacon should cook in its own grease.

Hi Picard,

Olive oil is great to sautee food or use for light-frying, but it is not recommended for deep-frying because it's really not suitable for high-temperature cooking. I think it will smoke and likely start a fire.

Whenever we have a hot oil fondue we always use canola oil in the pot. The instructions say never to use olive oil as a substitute for vegetable oil.

Extra virgin olive oil has one of the lowest smoke and flash point temperatures ( here). "Extra light" olive oil, which I haven't noticed before, would give you the good fat benefit and have a nice high smoke point too, so it would be better for frying.

This is kind of off the main discussion here, but all the canola oil here in America is from genetically modified rape plants, as are mostly all of the soy plants in the entire world.

A lot of GM plants are being used to feed livestock, and they seem to be running into some major health problems since then. And that's in addition to all the hormones, endless antibiotics, arsenic, etc. <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

Okay, that's all I have to say about that.

Sue

So the U.S. is not a part of the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC)? I think Popeye would be disappointed.

It seems the way the U.S. classifies it, grades, labels, or whatever-you-want-to-call-it are out of date also.

Now, to my main point: I found this interesting and at the same time maddening, because I have been using olive oil for so long:

http://www.drweil.com/u/QA/QA365370/

I, for one, would like to know more.

Simon, thanks for passing along that link! Very interesting indeed...

It caused me to look at the back of my extra light olive oil and lo and behold, there in fine print in the corner of the label:

"Product contains select high quality olive oils from Italy, Greece, Spain & Tunisia. Bottled and packed in Italy."

Just goes to show buyer beware and read the fine print! <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

we use olive oil almost all the time, and have done so for the last 10 years.

my cholesteral level is 90-95 and i'm an eager carnivore, i eat a dozen eggs a week and i drink whole raw milk right from the cow.

Hi Martin and all,

Just a word of caution:

While the use of olive may contribute to lowering cholesterol levels and provide a healthily alternative to other types of oil, it is only one tool in the arsenal to fight heart disease. One’s genetic background, along with exercise and an overall healthily diet has as much, if not more to do with maintaining low cholesterol levels. Martin, like many be able to eat foods laden with fats and not be adversely affected, as it is likely their genetic background which allows them to do so.

Pete

If you liek to cook Chinese food authentically, i.e. in an extremely hot wok, then olive oil is not really suitable as it burns at too low a temperature, groundnut/peanut oil is better for this.

One point worth noting is that rape seed oil (canola over there?) is also high in monounsaturates.

Does have peanut oil high cholesterol ???

Vegetable oils don't contain cholesterol, but that's only one part of the equation and some argue that genetics plays a MUCH bigger role than dietary intake of animal fat. This site explains the situation quite well:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/fats.html

Stop worrying, man, you've got to die of something. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Just remember, everything in moderation, and the more time it has spent in the factory between the field and you, odds are the worse it is.