Oils: What are you cooking with?

While I do not fancy myself to be a foody or a real cook, it is impossible not to have certain standards after years and years of going to Italy. I also come from an Italian-Brazilian family in Brazil, where most of my aunts and uncles all outdid themselves in the kitchen. Olive oil is a must have for me, and of excellent quality. Being that I go to Umbria often, and have a best friend who works with Italian imports I am certainly spoiled by all the products available to me. Recently I have been "bathing" in wonderful oils from Umbria, both the "novello" unfiltered for salads and for finishing off dishes, and the classic DOP Colli Assisi-Spoleto extra virgin olive oil for cooking, both by GRADASSI, a highly regarded Umbrian producer (http://www.gradassi.com).

Yes, I am spoiled. What are you spoiling yourself with these days? Do you have a regular olive oil you enjoy? Where is it from? Do tell.

Paulo, Your thread title and the question in post aren't quite the same, so I'll address both. I seldom used olive oil at all until a few years ago, due mostly to lack of exposure, but also a matter of cost, especially when raising 5 sons going through their teenage years. I recall buying a small bottle of EVOO several years ago, just in case I wanted to use it for something, and coming home from work to discover my son used the whole bottle to make up a brownie mix. One of my favorite uses for olive oil is to sautee celery leaves and add beaten eggs to make a very simple, but tasty omlet. But, I digress - I keep on hand the Bertolli that I buy at Sam's Club, but haven't ventured into the more exotic versions, so I'm also looking forward other's contributions to this thread. Regarding the title of the thread, while a fat, but not truly an oil, I always pour off bacon grease to save for cooking things like potatoes and eggs. [/u]

I don't cook with a lot of fats or oils generally speaking for health reasons.

I have some premium olive oil on hand at present, which is unusual, and I can't remember what it is. I'll look at it when I get home. I always have Bertolli or the like.

Peanut oil (especially for stir-fry), walnut oil for salad dressings.

If I am not mistaken, olive oil is a very healthy alternative. When I want something that reminds me of bacon, I usually cook with Canadian bacon - not the same, but does the trick. If you add Canadian bacon, red pepper, and garlic to your tomato sauce, you'll have a wonderful pasta!

I cannot imagine having 5 kids around and having ingredients vanish unexpectedly! Howie - did you ever taste the brownie that your son made with the olive oil???

For European cooking, generally EVOO.

When I need a neutral-flavored oil (as in most oriental cooking), I use peanut oil.

Lately I've been doing a lot of Indian cooking using ghee.

-Paul W.

For European cooking, generally EVOO.

When I need a neutral-flavored oil (as in most oriental cooking), I use peanut oil.

Lately I've been doing a lot of Indian cooking using ghee.

-Paul W.

Interesting..... what is ghee? I have never heard of it. I tend to shy away from Indian food.

We cook almost exclusively with Colavita EVOO. We've tried several others, but keep going back to Colavita. As far as so called "Premium"...usually too expensive.

As far as favorite uses? One of my favorite recipes using EVOO came out of a fusion between a recipe here and what we had on hand at home.

Basically a Caprese....but using 3/4 cup of EVOO, 3-4 smashed garlic cloves, a couple of teaspoons of dried oregano...that mixture is heated until the garlic cloves just start to brown. Remove the cloves and allow the mixture to cool. Once cool, add approx 3.5 oz of small, non-pareil capers and mash with the back of a spoon, then stir.

Layer your tomatoes & fresh mozzarella(horizontally) into a glass pie pan or baking dish and spoon the dressing, capers and all over the top of it. Usually about 5-6 sliced roma tomatoes and about 7 oz cheese (sliced). Then add several grinds of sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Serve with a bottle of Chianti and a loaf of fresh bread (for dipping)

This is a meal for 2-3 people. We have this a couple of times a month. Caprese all year!...even works with winter grocery storetomatoes...though its is much better with fresh summer tomatoes

Richard

I like trying new olive oils, and new in both senses -- usually have a southern hemisphere oil half a year and a northern hemisphere oil during the other half of the year. Dating is important, which restricts my choices a bit, but there always seem to be really nice ones around.

I like eating olive oil straight, or on salads and other foods, so flavor is really important. If temps are low enough, I cook with them too.

Otherwise, canola oil is my usual cooking oil.

Regards, Bob

...I cannot imagine having 5 kids around and having ingredients vanish unexpectedly! Howie - did you ever taste the brownie that your son made with the olive oil???

He burned it and it came out like a rock.

For European cooking, generally EVOO.

When I need a neutral-flavored oil (as in most oriental cooking), I use peanut oil.

Lately I've been doing a lot of Indian cooking using ghee.

-Paul W.

Interesting..... what is ghee? I have never heard of it. I tend to shy away from Indian food.

Basically, clarified butter.

Besides the usual array of olive oils, we always have peanut oil, ghee, dark sesame oil, and Austrian Kuerbiskernoel on hand.

...and Austrian Kuerbiskernoel on hand.

And what makes Austrian pumpkin seed oil special? I've never had it. Flavor? Smoke point? Two umlauts in a word starting with "k?"

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It's for drizzling, not cooking. Dark and smoky, sort of the European equivalent of Chinese dark sesame oil.

Our basic oil is EVOO. We use a lot, so buy in 3 liter cans (the metal is good as it doesn't let in light, Betsy fills couple smaller containers to make it more handy) Often Fairway's store brand, if we can't get there a can of Italian from a local branch of an Arthur Ave deli.

I usually buy a smaller container of which ever EV olive oil strikes my fancy at the tasting table at Fairway for use in salad or finishing dishes. Last two were a Ligurian and an Australian, of all things.

Betsy keeps peanut and canola oils for higher heat cooking. I also use canola for seasoning the cast iron.

We keep a variety of other oils, but are seldom used for cooking (though I finish with sesame a lot).

We us Partanna Sicilian EVOO for the overwhelming amount of our cooking. When a recipe calls for "vegetable oil" and it is obvious that the oil should not impart flavor, we use Bertolli Extra Light OO. When we make raspberry/hazelnut salad dressing we use La Tourangelle Hazelnut Oil. When we stir fry we use Spectrum Unrefined Seasame Oil in the wok and in the rice. We also use Toasted Seasame Oil in the recipes. We also have on hand, refrigerated when open, Spectrum Unrefined Corn Oil which we use with corn muffins and corncakes. That is all the oil we ever have in the house.

We're not at all different from others so far. A basic evoo for cooking. (TJ's or Wild Oats). Canola and peanut for something more neutral. And Sicilian ev olive oil (Barbera &Figli, Palermo) for drizzling.

I love the local olive oils made in Shasta and Tehama counties. I buy a fruity and a grassy type that leaves a pepper finish. Wonderful.
I also love Stutz lemon infused EVOO which I use for green salads. I buy a garlic olive oil from our local health food store that is strong and wonderful. Dark, toasted sesame oil is another fave for oriental cooking, Canola oil is always ready for making tacos and such.
I play around with all sorts of olive oils and vinegars. Vinegars are as much a part of my cooking as wine, EVOO, and different salts. So much fun in the kitchen!

I love the local olive oils made in Shasta and Tehama counties. I buy a fruity and a grassy type that leaves a pepper finish. Wonderful.
I also love Stutz lemon infused EVOO which I use for green salads. I buy a garlic olive oil from our local health food store that is strong and wonderful. Dark, toasted sesame oil is another fave for oriental cooking, Canola oil is always ready for making tacos and such.
I play around with all sorts of olive oils and vinegars. Vinegars are as much a part of my cooking as wine, EVOO, and different salts. So much fun in the kitchen!

While I enjoy all vinegars, since I am a lemon freak, I always use lemons with my salads. nice to hear you have fun in the kitchen, Karen!!!

nteresting..... what is ghee? I have never heard of it. I tend to shy away from Indian food.

Ghee is ultra-clarified butter. It's the staple fat of northern Indian cuisine. Like ordinary clarified butter, it is free of the protein solids in ordinary butter that scorch and burn at high temperatures, and therefore it can be heated to very high temperatures (350-400 degrees F) without smoking or burning.

Ghee is simplicity itself to prepare, if you're patient:

1) In a suitably sized heavy-gauge saucepan, melt a pound (or two, or three--however much you wish to make at a time) of butter.

2) Raise the heat until the butter starts foaming vigorously. Make sure it doesn't scorch.

3) Lower the heat to low, so that the butter is barely bubbling.

4) Keep it there for about 4 hours, without stirring. The ghee is done when the bubbling stops because the moisture is all driven off, the surface foam forms a golden crust, and the solids on the bottom are golden brown.

5) Pour the ghee through cheesecloth or some other filter so that you capture only the pure butterfat. Cool and store refrigerated, where it will last for months. The leftover milk solids are yummy on toast or as some other buttery garnish.

The very long cooking time gives ghee a bit of a nutty taste, when compared to European-style clarified butter.

-Paul W.

Ghee is simplicity itself to prepare, if you're patient:

Dear Paul,
Is it worthwhile to make it rather than buy it at an Indian market?

We have a number of fats available. Always Bariani dated EVOO from near Sacramento, peanut oil for deep frying, dark sesame, and some canola/corn oil for sauteeing. Currently we've got Enova (supposedly low-calorie, I dunno), rendered fat from juleribbe (skin-on pork spareribs), some infused "five flavor oil" from an A New Way to Cook recipe, and walnut.

Walt

Like everyone else here, EVOO is the main oil. We sometimes use Bariani, sometimes Mani, sometimes oil we get from a friend who makes it in Visalia. We used to chip in with friends to order 5 gallon lots of oil from Morocco that was fantastic, but it became difficult for them to ship to the US, so that stuff went away.

Apart from the olive oil, we use ghee, canola, peanut, rendered duck fat (when possible for fried potatoes), sesame (for my wife's ramen noodles), and probably a couple more lying around that I can't think of right now.

Mike

[Dear Paul,
Is it worthwhile to make it rather than buy it at an Indian market?

I don't know. I've always made it myself. That way I know what went into it.

-Paul W.

I have used EVOO all the time since I was 11 years old. My folks took me to visit friends in Spain. Not only did they use EVOO all the time, as you'd expect, but the household staff owned olive orchards. Every harvest, the regular household staff would be replaced by their household staff so the regular household staff could take part in the harvest. This memory has always impressed me with how important olive oil is. It makes everything better and even keeps butter from burning.

[Robin Garr]

Yes, I am spoiled. What are you spoiling yourself with these days? Do you have a regular olive oil you enjoy? Where is it from? Do tell.

Paulo, I try to watch calories, even if that means watching in awe as they slide down the hatch. Seriously, I may try to exert portion control, and to measure olive oil rather than just splashing it in. But I would much rather have a little bit of extra-virgin Italian olive oil or top-quality butter than a lot of cheap supermarket margarine or generic vegetable oil.

Like a lot of other people, I generally try to have one high-end Italian EVOO and one more affordable but decent one on hand always, and peanut oil - I love a strongly peanutty roasted-peanut oil from Whole Foods - for Asian cokoing.

Butter? Either Euro-import or artisanal American - Beurre d'Isigny from Normandy is a standard, although I ran through a block of DOC Parmigiano-Reggiano butter (no, not cheese, butter) recently and just loved it. A little basket of Vermont Butter & Cheese butter with big flakes of salt in it was bodaciously good, too, while it lasted.

For other fats, it's usually pancetta or rendered duck fat if I have some, and when I make a dish with chicken parts (typically thighs) I'll often start by browning them skin side down until they render enough natural fat to do their own sauteeing.

It sounds like a lot of fat, but as I said, by using it as a flavoring agent, not overdoing, and pouring off extra after sauteeing, I manage to keep consumption down to the point where I don't turn into a blimp. Just a small dirigible ...

[ I ran through a block of DOC Parmigiano-Reggiano butter (no, not cheese, butter) recently and just loved it.

Interesting - never heard of Parm butter - sounds deadly and sinful. I'll need to look for that... on second thought.... maybe I shouldn't!!!