CABANA BOY COOKS: Working with Olive Oils, Things You Should Know! (Part 2)

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Working with Olive Oils, Things You Should Know! (Part 2)

A couple of more reasons for EVOO's popularity are the fact that it contains no additives, it is pure. EVOO also contains a high content of vitamins and nutrients. It's good for your heart too.

EVOO has only been around since the 60's or 70's. Stainless Steel was needed for the process as EVOO only comes from the first press and uses no heat or additives. But since it's inception, it has become the number one oil for chefs and cooks the world over.

There is a problem out there though. Some EVOO is not what you think it is and it is legally done. I am attaching a link to a story on this subject that we forwarded to me by Mary Ann, one on my blog readers. I believe you will find it interesting. Losing 'Virginity': Olive Oil's Scandalous Fraud

My best thought on this is to buy your EVOO from a trusted source. I'm a member of Costco and believe they have great product integrity. So I buy all my Olive Oils from them. If you are happy with the Olive Oil that you are using, then continue with it. If you have concern, then maybe e-mail Sandy (from yesterday's blog) and ask for her option on the subject.

Virgin Olive Oil comes from the same first pressing but may contain a higher acidity than EVOO. EVOO is around 1.0% and Virgin Olive Oil can be as high as 3.3%. Although the industry tries to keep it around 2.0%. To be honest, you don't see a lot of this in stores (exception is large stores or specialty stores).

The Pure Olive Oil (usually just labeled Olive Oil) has been more refined and has less nutrients. This makes it less expensive and best for high heat cooking. This Olive Oil doesn't make for good salad dressings or dipping sauces.

I hope this has been interesting and some what educational for you. Remember to just enjoy using good quality Olive Oils as you have fun in your kitchen. Tomorrow some recipes.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

About the Blog

Cabana Boy Cooks is a food blog that gives a little insight and help on Tuesdays. That is followed by recipes on Wednesdays and Thursdays each week. This blog is for all who enjoy cooking but is geared towards new & inexperienced cooks.

This food blog came about because I wrote a cookbook for new and inexperienced individuals wishing to learn their way around the kitchen. It is an extension of that cookbook and offers more than 600 recipes here. The cookbook has an additional 125 recipes plus helpful instruction and advise..

I try to offer recipes that cover all aspects of cooking. You'll see on the tabs above that the recipes are broke into categories. Gluten-Free and Vegetarian recipes are marked behind them with a (GF) or (V) sign. Many of the other recipes can be adopted to meet gluten-free or vegetarian by making minor changes.

Please, don't hesitate to contact me through the comments section of the blog with questions or concerns.

Remember to share my link with family, friends and co-workers.

Thank you for following my food blog and "Happy Cooking."

My Cookbook

More Than Your First Cookbook

Every year, thousands of young people graduate high school or college and find themselves on their own for the first time. Amid all the excitement and freedom that comes with this fresh start, many of these newly independent people will find themselves out of their comfort zone when it comes to one critically important area--food.

This cookbook helps those people establish a new comfort zone in the "Kitchen" and learn to enjoy being creative in their culinary pursuit.

The cookbook draws on all the years of my life to collect the recipes, tips, anecdotes and life advice that will help everyone. From safety and sanitation to menu planning and budgeting, I walk new cooks through all the basics of food preparation. A great gift for children or grandchildren just beginning to cook for themselves and a useful reference for more experienced cooks, this cookbook offers readers 125 mouthwatering recipes to match all tastes and abilities. I believe that cooking should be fun and personal, so all the recipes leave room for experimentation. There are even tips on how to make a few of the dishes fit into a vegetarian diet.

Breakfast, soups, salads, sandwiches, entrees, sides and desserts are all covered, along with a few odds and ends. Whether you're looking for the right way to set the table for a formal dinner, you want to take your grilling to the next level or you just want to figure out how many teaspoons are in a tablespoon, The cookbook will help you find the answer.

GLUTEN-FREE Recipes and Information

A few years ago, my granddaughter discovered she has Celiac and needs to be Gluten-Free. I started doing a special week of Gluten-Free information and recipes on this blog then and they appear every four (4) weeks. So if you happen to be on a Gluten-Free diet or know someone that could this help, please check it out.

There is a recipe tab above that holds all the GF recipes (in alphabetical order). It also holds the information posts in the order they have been posted.

All Gluten-Free recipes have this (GF) mark behind the titles. There are many other recipes on this blog that are or can be easily adapted to be Gluten-Free. So you may want to check other recipes too.

I also try and mark VEGETARIAN recipes with a (V) behind the titles as well. I hope these features help many of you that want or need these options for your lifestyle.

About the Blog's Author

I spend over 40 years in the food industry doing everything from pot scrubber/dishwasher to managing around 250 employees. In 2009 I retired from my career to start a new adventure. That adventure was to write and publish a cookbook for new and inexperienced cooks. Many of my years in the industry involved working in "Higher Education." I saw a need for such a cookbook as I watched college students move on to a life on their own. So it has become a mission of mine to help anyone that wants to improve their cooking skills and learn to enjoy being in the kitchen.

In April of 2011 I started my food blog "Cabana Boy Cooks" as a continuation of the cookbook. The blog covers many areas and topics. It also offers at least two (2) recipes a week not found in the cookbook. There is now over 200 recipes for you on this food blog.

Once a month, I write a food column under "Cabana Boy Cooks" in the weekly newspaper, Nodaway News Leader in Maryville, MO that includes a recipe. Some of the recipes are from this food blog and others come from my cookbook "More Than Your First Cookbook"