Olive Oil

[Crazy Asian]

i know olive oil is good, but it loses it's omega-3 properties when you cook it.

my question is, if you do cook it, is it still good for you?

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Cooking any type of food diminishes nutrients. The higher the temperature, the more loss. If your oil smokes excessively when you cook, turns really dark or greatly changes in taste, you're cooking at too high of a temperature. Keep the temperature moderate and you'll retain most of the nutrients overall.

 

[Throttle]

olive oil has nearly zero omega-3 polyunsaturates. it is predominantly monounsaturates. francisco has the money advice. don't let it smoke, use as little heat as possible. it's definitely still good for you cooked, very few people use olive oil for significant non-cooked applications beyond drizzling it on bread.

for high heat applications, use a more stable oil like peanut oil. for example, if I'm going to pan sear a steak or pan fry taquitos -- it's definitely peanut oil.

(i would use lard, which contrary to popular conception is higher in monounsaturates than anything else, but it's hard to find unadulterated lard & I don't cook enough pork to render it myself)

 

[wolf116]

Coconut oil is also good for frying.