Virgin olive oil - aquired taste?

midnightraven3

sits with paulies girl
dont like olives
but LOVE olive oil,
and i love dipping bread in it

i would start to panic if i didnt have at least 3 litres in the house

meritaten

I use sunflower oil for deep or shallow frying, but when roasting veg use extra virgin olive oil - but I have to say, I have tried several varieties and the one I would never ever (even if no other was available) use again is Asdas brand! it was disgusting.
Bertolli is nice - mild flavour and doesnt overpower the food.
Tescos brand is ok - I couldnt detect any flavour but if using garlic and herbs that doesnt matter so much.
Aldis is nice - another mild flavour.
just watch the sell by on them - the fresher the better!

[Deleted User]

I don't like olives and agree that they are probably an aquired taste. I think cooking in olive oil generally spoils the flavour - particularly dislike vegetables roasted in olive oil. Rapeseed oil is a good healthy alternative and is an inexpensive British product.

frivolous_fay

I like it in most cooking, and on salads, but I wouldn't use it for blander foods. I have to keep stopping my O/H from using it in the oven as IIRC, it has a low smoking point, and I think it's really obvious when it's got too hot.

I think the really really good stuff is something you wouldn't use in cooking... for example, we had some to dip bread in at the River Cafe - it was really green and somewhat grassy tasting, not like any olive oil I'd had before. Nice though.

I think olive oil is overhyped really, and I seem to recall reading that sunflower is better for you.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I love olives and olive oil, but the taste varies - perhaps a light olive oil would be to your taste? I like greek/cretan/cypriot/turkish olive oils best so far, but some prefer the more common Italian ones (not me though, I find them too harsh) and some like the Spanish ones.

Am considering trying french oil - stuff from Nice, if anyone knows - wondered what they tended to be like?

I do cook a lot with EV though, as I can't be doing with too many different oil bottles. I use rapeseed oil/vegetable oil when olive would be the wrong thing, it's great for sweet or oriental dishes. Other than that, I have walnut oil for salad dressings when olive would be inappropriate.

I eat a lot of seared meat and fish with salads and mostly tomato based thick casseroles - perhaps it depends on the type of flavours you prefer in your cooking? I'm not too keen on roasted vegetables in the first place, which may have something to do with it, as I would rather stick them in killer tomato sauce or steam them plain (if I wasn't chomping them down raw as I chop them up)

ETA: I think rapeseed has most omega 3 - the ones we are supposed to be increasing, sunflower has more omega 6 - the ones we are supposed to be cutting down on and olive has omega 9, which is also good for us.

rinabean

I cook everything in it, but we love olives. However, once I used it in a cake recipe and that was... more than a little odd, and not something I think I'll be repeating in a hurry. I didn't realise so many people were averse to it! Something to bear in mind when I'm roasting/frying things for other people, I guess.

Emm-in-a-pickle

I use extra-virgin olive oil a lot so I buy it in the petrol-can size containers whenever I can find it, but sometimes have to resort to bottles. For roasting veggies I BRUSH olive oil or and olive oil/balsamic vinegar mix onto part-steamed veg and it`s less oily and great results every time (I use a silicon brush, easier to clean).
For ratatouille-type combinations, or spag-bol or pizza sauces it HAS to be olive oil.
For salad dressings it has to be olive oil and wine vinegar(or leftover red wine and a dash of malt v.) Sliced tomatoes/onion/cucumber/black pepper. Feta cheese if you like, but fine without too. NO lettuce, put this stuff over lettucy thing at last minute, to serve.
For am omelette, or new potatoes(unless with bacon so it`s bacon dripping) it HAS to be cheapo supermarket butter!
For a plain fried egg, a hot stir-fry, or chips in the deep fat fryer (rare in this house) it`s sunflower oil.

natlie

I like olive oil but I dont like it poured all over my food like Jamies does. He seems to pour it on everything, I stayed in a hotel once and they poured it on my eggs on toast yuk. little bit in dressing added to coking - pasta sauce etc is fine though

Debt_Free_Chick

I love olives and olive oil, but I don't use OO on everything as the flavour doesn't suit everything IMHO. I simply adore cold pressed (ENGLISH!) rapeseed oil, however and for the past year I've used that for salad dressings in preference to OO.

For cooking, I largely use groundnut oil, especially when I don't want whatever it is I'm cooking to be "invaded" by the flavour of OO.

So .... yes, I like OO, but I don't want everything I eat to be flavoured with it!

MrsE_2

Paulie'sGirl wrote: »

I use it constantly. OH reckons he can taste it (he loathes all things olive related). I saute in it and everything. Not stirfries or yorkies / roasties though, it can't take the heat.

I love it to dip my bread in and for salads, but loathe actual olives - I'm just weird!!

Try using it where there are stronger Med based flavours, like a ratatouille or a spicey chorizo dish where its only a background flavour before you use it with more delicate things if its a problem for you?

PGxx

midnightraven3 wrote: »

sits with paulies girl
dont like olives
but LOVE olive oil,
and i love dipping bread in it

i would start to panic if i didnt have at least 3 litres in the house

Same here, I buy EVOO in bulk:)
Love olive oil, don't like olives:cool:

I use it for cooking where I can. I buy sunflower oil for yorkies (as you can't get EVOO really hot & I use almond oil for cake recipes, but everything else its EVOO all the way.
I love it for bread mixed with balsamic vinigar or herbs too.