Aside from high-quality extra virgin olive oil being well suited for deep frying, it's also a great way to impart flavor and keep it healthier. Chef Dory Ford of Aqua Terra Culinary deep fries with extra virgin olive oil because, as he says, “It's a more healthful way of cooking.”
Extra virgin olive oil is the most stable oil to cook with and can be heated as high as 400 F (deep frying occurs at 350-375 F). Even when heated past its smoke point, virgin olive oils produce low levels of harmful compounds due to the high antioxidant content in the oil.
If you're planning to fry something up but want to cut a few calories, your first thought might be to reach for the olive oil. However, contrary to popular belief, frying foods with olive oil isn't any healthier. According to EatingWell, this is due to the fact that frying is done at a high temperature.
While the smoke point of cold-pressed olive oils such as extra virgin oil varies greatly depending on the variety of olives. Recent studies, such as the one by the Federico II University of Naples, have come to the conclusion that extra virgin olive oil is excellent for frying food.
This is because deep-frying needs to hit a temperature that is on the borderline of the smoke point of extra virgin olive oil. When reached, it will produce an unpleasant, burnt flavour that will taint any food you are cooking.
Heart-healthy oils like safflower oil and rice bran oil are perfect because they can withstand frying temperatures of almost 500° F. You can also look to peanut oil and sunflower oil if you're frying at 450° F, or canola oil and vegetable oil to keep temperatures around 400° F.
The short answer is: Yes you can! This is a debated subject, and I want you to use whatever healthy oil you feel comfortable using for your fried eggs. When frying an egg in quality extra virgin olive oil, you'll use shallow amounts of the oil, over medium heat, for about 2 minutes or so.
Even though olive oil has a lower smoke point than other cooking oils, quality extra virgin olive oil is still a good option option for cooking. The main thing that happens when olive oil is heated is that some of the flavor compounds will evaporate.
If you are looking for a healthier fat to fry your food with, extra virgin olive oil is the best option you have since this product remains constant at high frying temperature.
Extra virgin olive oil has three key qualities that make it an excellent cooking oil: it contains predominantly stable monounsaturated fatty acids, it has a low level of free fatty acids and it has a high level of protective antioxidants.
Vegetable Oil: Best All-Purpose Oil for Frying
It's great for all different methods of frying and all kinds of foods, like breaded chicken, fries, and more. It has a high smoke point (around 400˚ to 450˚), which means it can withstand a high temperature before it starts to burn.
Regular olive oil and extra light tasting olive oil are the most cost efficient for frying. If cost is not a factor, consider using extra virgin olive oil. Don't worry that your food will taste like olives. Heating olive oil will neutralize much of the flavor.
Many people believe that it is not a good idea to cook with extra virgin olive oil. Several scientific studies have proven over the years that this myth is simply untrue. Not only is EVOO safe to cook with, but it is the most stable and safest cooking oil available.
Olive oil has a lower smoke point-the point at which an oil literally begins to smoke (olive oil's is between 365° and 420°F)-than some other oils. When you heat olive oil to its smoke point, the beneficial compounds in oil start to degrade, and potentially health-harming compounds form.
Olive oil needs to be filtered before it can be stored. You should pour it into a jar through a fine sieve. If you remove all the bits in it, you can reuse olive oil three or four times without any problem.
Butter certainly works for fried eggs, but oil is the fat of choice for cooks who want a runny yolk with a satisfying crispy white. Extra-virgin olive oil is most popular, and yields a satisfyingly crunchy bottom that will soak up luscious flavor.
In a medium cast iron skillet add the olive oil. Carefully add the eggs and cook basting the whites with oil until the whites are opaque and the egg yolk is still runny. Repeat with as many eggs as needed. Serve immediately with bacon and a biscuit.
If you add a tablespoon of olive oil or avocado oil to the pan, you may also be adding some extra health benefits to your eggs. Both of these oils are considered “healthy fats” which may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Olive oil is also considered an antioxidant that may help fight inflammation.
It's unsafe to cook with olive oil. It isn't stable and oxidizes when heated, causing harm to the body.
However, if you do need to deep fry your food, our long-standing advice is that oils like corn and sunflower oils are not recommended for high temperatures. These oils are rich in polyunsaturated fats which can form undesirable compounds when heated at high temperatures.
The smoke point for extra virgin olive oil ranges from 365 to 410 degrees Fahrenheit. That means that it is just fine to use for frying and sauteing as you would not reach the smoke point on a stovetop oven.
Oils that contain lower levels of linoleic acid, such as olive and canola oil, are better for frying. Polyunsaturated oils, such as corn, sunflower, and safflower, are best for using in dressings rather than cooking with.
Once in our kitchens, we cook them in our canola-blend oil so you can have them crispy and hot—just the way you like them. Want to hear more about our fry ingredients? Get the down low on how we flavor our fries.