COOKING WITH OLIVE OIL

As we all know that olive oil is extremely healthy oil,but there is a myth associated with olive oil that it cannot be used for cooking, as at high temprature it is not stable and loss of nutrient takes place,but this is not the truth.The cooking of the oil depends upon smoke point and oxidative stability of the oil.

i)The smoke point-Is the temprature at which the fats begin to break down and turn into smoke.

ii)Oxidative stability-Is how resistant the fats are to reacting with oxygen.

Fatty acid are of three types-saturated,monounsaturated fatty acid and polyunsaturated fatty acid.Olive oil mostly contain monounsaturated fatty acid which are more stable,however the unstable polyunsaturated fatty acid in olive oil is only 11%.Moreover it contains polyphenols and tocopherols which protect the oil from oxidation and hence maintain there stability.

The smoke point of olive oil is  (410ºF) 210ºC  which is greater than the ideal temprature used for frying the food i.e.(356ºF) 180ºC.As long as the oil kept below the smoke point the flavour and nutrition will remain intact.So,olive oil can remain stable at high temprature and can be used for cooking.