Is cooking with olive oil really that bad?

You may already know that frying with (extra) virgin olive oil isn’t the very best choice. But do you also know why? Perhaps you’ve heard that this type of olive oil burns more quickly, but what exactly happens then? And is regular olive oil a good choice for heating?

You come across quite a few horror stories on the internet, such as the claim that olive oil could be carcinogenic — and that you therefore shouldn’t fry with it.

This is how you should fry with olive oil

From the moment olive oil is heated, its quality deteriorates, Whether it’s very expensive, high-quality olive oil or regular supermarket olive oil. But in principle, this doesn’t matter either; it can become tricky only when olive oil is heated intensely for a longer period of time (above 200 degrees).

That’s when breakdown products such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are released, and some of these can be carcinogenic. That sounds immediately very serious and frightening, but fortunately, it’s not really all that bad. The smoke point of virgin olive oil is 185 degrees, while that of regular olive oil is 205 degrees. The smoke point is when these substances are released — but in practice, you don’t cook at 200 degrees for an extended period of time (if all goes well…), unless you like your food cremated.

Conclusion: frying with olive oil is perfectly fine, and it isn’t harmful if you use it properly. However, it’s best to use that virgin olive oil for cold preparations.

Read also:

• Invest a few euros and pour olive oil like a pro
• Olive oil in pasta water: fact or fiction?
• How long can you keep olive oil?

Source: health science