Cooking with olive oil

You have learned where olive oil comes from, how it is made and how to taste it. Now for the practical part: how to buy a good bottle, keep it at its best and use it in the kitchen — including busting the stubborn myth that you shouldn't cook with extra virgin olive oil. Get these right and every meal improves.

Buying: what to look for

• Choose "extra virgin." It is the only grade that guarantees pure, mechanically extracted, flawless oil. "Olive oil," "light" or "pure" on a label all mean refined oil with the flavour and antioxidants stripped out. (See How Olive Oil Is Made.)
• Look for a harvest date. Olive oil is not wine — it does not improve with age. Buy the most recent harvest, and use it within about 18 months. A harvest date beats a vague "best before."
• Buy dark glass or tin. Light and heat are oil's enemies. Avoid clear bottles that have stood under bright shop lights.
• Read the variety and origin. A named olive variety (Picual, Arbequina, Hojiblanca) tells you the flavour to expect; a DOP or a single estate signals traceability and care. (See The Great Olive Varieties and The DOP Olive Oils of Andalusia.)
• Don't fear a peppery, bitter oil. Those are the marks of freshness and healthy polyphenols, not faults.

Storing: keep it in the dark

Treat oil like a fresh food. Keep the bottle tightly closed, away from light, heat and air — a cool cupboard, not the windowsill or next to the stove. Buy a size you'll finish within a couple of months of opening. Don't refrigerate everyday oil (it clouds harmlessly, but it's unnecessary). A good tin, or a dark bottle in a dark cupboard, keeps oil singing for months.

Cooking: yes, you can — and should

The most damaging myth about olive oil is that its "low smoke point" makes it unfit for cooking. It is not true. Extra virgin olive oil has a smoke point of around 210 °C, comfortably above normal frying and sautéing temperatures (~180 °C). More importantly, smoke point is a poor guide to how an oil behaves when heated: what really matters is oxidative stability, and here olive oil excels, thanks to its monounsaturated fat and natural antioxidants. Study after study finds it among the most stable and safest oils for cooking — frying included. Much of its polyphenol content even survives the pan.

So: fry, roast, sauté and bake with it freely. The one sensible distinction is value — you might keep your finest, most aromatic bottle for finishing (raw, drizzled at the end) where its flavour shines, and use a good everyday extra virgin for the heat. But there is no need for a separate "cooking oil."

Using it well

• Finish, don't just fry. A raw drizzle over grilled vegetables, fish, soup, bread or even vanilla ice cream transforms a dish — this is where a great oil earns its keep.
• Pair variety to purpose. A robust Picual stands up to red meat, pulses and strong flavours; a soft Arbequina flatters fish, salads and desserts. (See How to Taste Olive Oil.)
• Bread and oil. The simplest test and the greatest pleasure: good bread, good oil, a little salt.

At the villa

At Cortijo Bujio, the local Poniente de Granada oil is made for exactly this — a peppery green oil for cooking and finishing alike. Pick up a tin at a nearby mill or market to take a taste of the landscape home. (See olive oil around Montefrío.)

Frequently asked questions

Can you cook and fry with extra virgin olive oil?

Yes. Its smoke point (~210 °C) is above frying temperature, and its real strength is oxidative stability — it is among the safest oils to heat. Frying in olive oil is a Mediterranean tradition.

How should I store olive oil?

Tightly closed, away from light, heat and air — a cool, dark cupboard, in dark glass or tin. Use it within a few months of opening; it does not improve with age.

How long does olive oil keep?

It is best within about 18 months of harvest and a couple of months of opening. Buy a recent harvest and a size you will finish; freshness is everything.

Should I use a cheaper oil for cooking and save the good one?

You can keep your most aromatic bottle for finishing dishes raw, where its flavour shows, and use a good everyday extra virgin for heat — but you never need refined "cooking oil."

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Cortijo Bujio puts the region's oil on your table. Read on: The Great Olive Varieties, How to Taste Olive Oil and olive oil around Montefrío.

Sources: International Olive Council; UC Davis Olive Center ("Olive Oil Myths and Facts"); on olive-oil stability and smoke point.

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