Oil Test in the Kitchen

Wednesday, 17 November 2010 | by Pat's Picks

In today’s New York Times, Harold McGee investigates whether it’s time for an oil change in the kitchen. More and more recipes call for extra virgin olive oil as the frying liquid of choice, because of both superiority of taste and health benefits. But frying with olive oil can get quite expensive. And according to McGee, it’s unnecessary. He says in his tests he found that “heat obliterated the flavors in cooking oil until they all tasted more or less the same.” If you want to get that olive-y taste, he suggests frying in an inexpensive oil like canola and then drizzling a good quality olive oil over top.