"Olive Oil is probabaly one of the worst things you could fry something in. Of course, you said you baked it...but, even then, olive oil should never be truly cooked. It gives off free radicals by the cupfull. Of course, Canola is worse...rapeseed...a relative of castor beans...poisonous as well as free radicals...very bad, or soy oil...even worse...no polyunsaturates, either...baaaad, bad, bad! I've been told that sesame oil, or sunflower oil are much more stable for cooking. Best of all for cooking and frying is Palm Oil...It's the most stable of all".

I just read many posts on this thread concerning olive oil being dangerous when cooked. Now I am VERY concerned as that is all I have been cooking with for several years! Does anyone else know if this statement has any truth to it or not???

Thank you.

Palm oil? Ain't that the stuff that they use in processed foods cuase it's dirt cheap? The stuff that we should avoind at all costs?


As for olive oil being bad, they'd have to drag me through a thicket of cactus for miles behind wild horses to make me stop eating olive--cooked or otherwise!


I don't truly *fry* anything anymore, but when I cook, I usually use olive oil. Dr. S's book says olive oil is good for cooking.

Where did you read this post?

TheBetty

Wish I was more computer literate, but here is where you can find this thread.

Go to: Kitchen:Low Carb Recipes
Then: Quick Meals and Snacks
Then: Out of this world

You have to scroll down a bit to where this discussion starts. Let me know what you think. Also what kind of olive oil do you use. I used to use the extra light but I just bought a HUGE jug of the cold pressed (that DS says to use). It is hard to know what to believe anymore Hugs,

There is some controversy on sat fat vs unsat fat. There is evidence on both sides. I like that Dr. S recommends you use a mixture of fat sources. The key with olive oil is what type to use when. Use extra-light olive oil for cooking. This is also available cold-pressed. It has the fewest impurities, so you don't have the problem when you heat it. Extra virgin olive oil should not be heated. Just drizzle it on your salad or vegetables. This is stuff that can taste wonderful if you know what brands are good. My favorite is Bionaturae organic.

Jen

thank you Jen for your response. That is what I have been using is the extra light. Guess I will continue to for now. And I will keep an eye out for the extra virgin you use. It sounds yummy. HUGS,

I use only unfiltered, cold-pressed, extra virgin olive oil or butter for cooking. Olive oil is very stable and the higher the quality, the more stable it is usually. The lite olive oils are not cold pressed. To get a lite olive oil, the olives have to be ground in a high-speed, high-heat grinder -- this causes trans fats to be developed.

Dr. S. addresses this in her book. If I had her book handy, I'd look it up. Her general recommendation is that if the oil is unprocessed unsaturated or saturated, it is good to cook with or eat, as in dressings. If it is cold-pressed polyunsaturated, it is good to eat. All processed oils, as in canola oil in the baking section or margarine, are to be avoided at all costs since they are riddled with trans fats.

You can tell a good, stable, cold-pressed oil, one that you can use for cooking, if it doesn't go rancid easily. Oils that go rancid easily, are generally heat processed, like canola, to keep them from going rancid. Cold-pressed canola has to be refrigerated or it goes rancid very quickly. Whereas good, cold-pressed, extra virgin olive oil does not need to be refrigerated and will remain usable for months. Butter is another good stable oil. I leave both my olive oil and butter on the counter, that way my butter is always soft and easy to use.

;-Deb

DebPenny, as usual, you are right on. I recall that part of the book well b/c I took notes before my first whole food shopping to make sure the olive oil I got was extra virgin.

In fact, I found that Costco Wholesale sells a whole gallon of STAR brand extra virgin 100 percent FIRST COLD PRESSED olive oil there, along with THE BEST sugar-free balsalmic vinegar you ever had and dirt cheap!

In that quote on top, the author states that sesame oil is for cooking. This is totally contrary to what Dr. S says. She explicitly states that sesame oil should be used ONLY for like tossing or drizzling, not for cooking. In her recipe book for I think it's cauliflower or broccoli, she has rice vinegar and sesame oil as an ingredient in a cooked vegetable dish. And clearly states the sesame oil is to be added AFTER the dish has been cooked, to just toss with the veggies.

I have my SP book loaned out again, so I can't give you page numbers, sorry. But DebPenny is right, any LITE oils are to be avoided. It's the extra virgin olive you want.

Instead of cooking with oil, I often cook (meaning stove-top cooking) with Ghee. It's used typically in Indian cooking. It's clarified butter, which makes it more stable at high temperatures, and, I'm told, is better for you as a result. You can buy it in a jar in the refridge section of health food stores, or Eastern grocery stores. I really like cooking with it. I think it goes farther than butter and gives a nice nutty taste.

Abby

Abby, I saw ghee at the store the other day. I didn't buy it, but I was tempted. I'm going to have to try it.

I often use butter at the end of my cooking to "finish" the sauce. It makes it rich and smooth and even thickens it a little. Yum!

Betty, thanks for the vote of confidence. I sometimes get on my highhorse. I hope I didn't offend anyone with my attitude.

;-Deb