Olive oil is available in different varieties and certainly covers all your culinary experiences. Be it frying, sautéing, dressing or any other experience that you are looking for, different ranges of olive oil are there to help you cook the tastiest and healthiest meal.
Gone
are the times when tasty and healthy foods were served on two
different plates. Healthy
recipes
filled with taste are now very much possible and can be accredited to
the use of olive
oil.
The beauty of cooking with olive oil is that the food never seems
extra oily and is also fat free. Be it cooking, sautéing or just
dressing, it enhances the taste of the food.
There are different Olive oil varieties and each variety is specific to the way it is extracted. The healthiest and the freshest of all the oils is extra virgin olive oil. This is the first extract when the fruit
is crushed. It is the purest form of olive oil available in the
market. Being the first extract, it is the most expensive oil
available. This variety needs the maximum care when it comes to
storage so that the nutrients and the taste remain intact. It has a
shelf life of around two years and should be best enjoyed within
this. Specific to the category, the use of any kind of olive oil is
also different. Being heavy and viscous extra virgin is best suited
for dressing and flavouring of salads, rice, vegetables, pasta, fish
and meat.
Olive
oil-Extra light is the next category. Olive
Oil Extra Light
is a naturally refined oil infused with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Olive
Oil-Extra Light is intermediate grade oil with mild aroma and
flavour. Stir frying; sautéing and shallow frying are the cooking
styles it is best suited to. It is the best for day to day Indian
cooking as well. Lowcalorie recipes
such as refried warm salad with sweet potato & rajma, achari
paneer with tadka veggies, traditional rajasthani dal-baati,
strawberry cake, 2 - minute chocolate cake and many others can be
easily prepared with this. It is also a good option to go with for
parathas, dry vegetables, gravies and tadka.
Pomace
is the cooking grade variety of olive oil. The olive residue paste
after being crushed is mixed with solvents to extract the oil. This
oil is then mixed with extra virgin olive oil to enhance the oil and
its health benefits. This is the most refined as well as the least
expensive grade of olive oil. Being light and neutral in taste and
flavour, it makes for the most suitable category for all types of
Indian cooking. It does not change the taste of the food and the
Indian authentic flavours remain intact. Whatever be the method of
cooking, the food tastes as good as being cooked with any other type
of oil. Pomace is definitely the healthiest
cooking oil
when compared to other cooking oils.
