olive oil

[Mo]

I love Olive Oil and grew up on it.

Although my family used straight olive oil (not extra virgin) and we used it to saute but never to fry.

Now-a-days, we pretty much do the same thing, with the exception of the addition of extra-virgin Olive Oil.  This I consider a topping if you will.  to dress a salad, pasta, pizza, veggies.  I do not use oil or fat in my pizza dough that I cook in the wood fired oven... but i use a ton of it with Chicago pizza.

One should examine the oil that they buy to see its olive origin and get to know the flavor/taste that they appreciate.  Good EVOO should have a"lot" and "use-by" on the container.  This shows the company's dedication to quality.  I have been very happy with an Olive Oil that I buy from Trader Joe's.  It's a rather small bottle, it has their private-label on it, and it's a California Extra Virgin Olive oil.  Sells for about $6.  I know this may sound trite, but every time I serve it on a plate for dipping, I get comments.

Many of the california oils blend spanish and italian with their own...

[done-ness]

Hi Peter,

     I am amazed at your ability to pull up these older posts!  I can barely remember what I said this morning.  This is a new bit of information to me.  Thank you so much.  The historical perspective is very interesting.  You might call this the epistemology of pizza dough.  How we've come to know what we know is what this thread is about.  I appreciate everyone that has contributed.

Marc

[GotRocks]

I use olive oil in most everything that has "Oil" in the ingredient list also, It does not only have to do with the flavor, it also has to do with the health aspects and behavior of the oil compared to others.

Oils and fats (lipids) are needed in our diets, they are beneficial to our health and well being. Olive oil is one of the few oils that has more benefits to our health than most any other lipid and it is still affordable for every day use unlike most avocado, walnut, hazelnut. and other healthy oils.
I reserve the extra virgin olive oil for use as a condiment or flavoring component after an item is cooked. I use regular olive oil if it is going to be seeing any heat increases or decreases.

 I do several prepared cold salads and meat marinades with olive oil, an extra virgin oil will coagulate at refrigerator temperatures and look quite ugly and nasty! sort of like a partially set Jello, where the regular olive oils stay fluid at temps around 34-38 degrees and they are more visually appealing than EVOO.

I know someone is going to mention that canola oil is supposed to be good for us, but go ahead and stick you finger in some canola oil and taste the stuff! it tastes horrible, and it coats your tongue and leaves a foul aftertaste
I hate canola oil! I will not even use it in a deep-fryer because it does not brown foods very well, and it sticks to foods too much. for frying I prefer a solid shortening with a large animal fat percentage. If you are worried about your health, you should not be eating deep-fried foods anyways.

[Jackitup]

Some good reading here on olive oils, very informing. In particular the links.
Jon


More food news from September CR: Olive Oil: A cheap bottle beats a pricier lineup

CR’s taste-tests and lab analyses of 18 extra-virgin olive oils showed an oil costing 24 cents per ounce was nearly as good as oils costing more than $1.20 per ounce; terms such as “extra virgin” are not verified by the U.S. government; and manufacturers play labeling games: Oils marked “Italian” may include olives harvested elsewhere. The best all-purpose choices are Goya, a CR Best Buy at 24 cents per oz., Lucini at 71 cents per oz., and California Olive Ranch at 76 cents per oz. Best used for cooking are Goya, Tassos, Filippo Berio, Bertolli, Kirkland, and Monini Originale. Two oils that received the highest overall score—McEvoy Ranch ($1.54 per ounce) and B.E. Cohn ($1.21 per ounce)—are best used for drizzling. CR offers advice for how to choose extra-virgin olive oil based on your cooking style and what you eat.
This report also covers the health angle: There is some evidence that people who consume a lot of olive oil may have a lower risk of developing breast and colon cancer. But olive oil is by no means a health food—it has about 120 calories and 14 grams of fat, about the same as other oils. However, it is undoubtedly better for you than butter, beef fat, palm kernel oil, coconut oils, and margarines that contain trans fats. CR explains the terms experts use to describe olive oil taste, and helps shoppers understand “extra virgin” product labels.


http://www.forkandbottle.com/tastings/food/oliveoil/oliveoil0305.htm

http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/filelibrary/2161/43057.pdf

[Polymandius]

I generally make the Sicillian style pizza and happily incorporate *some* olive oil in the dough. As an earlier poster pointed out, too much can produce negative effects on taste. I actually like the additional flavor it gives in judicious doses, as well as the soft crumb contrasting with the crunchy crust.

Since I am cooking at slightly lower temps than many, I have the option of using olive oil on the pan as well, but will usually opt for canola due to its relative lack of flavor. Using EVOO on the pan itself seems a waste, as to me the attraction there is the crunchy toastiness of the crust itself, and again, some EVOO can leave an off taste when used in this role. A light flavored olive oil or blend works just fine for that if you want to go that way. 

And there are the potential health benefits to be considered... I do.

[raoul duke]

The USDA is currently revising the standards for grading olive oils.  This will be in tandem with the current guidelines utilized in Europe.  An intregal part of olive oil assessment is taste.  California requires laboratory standards be met as well as a taste test to qualify as extra virgin olive oil.  These tasters are certified by the IOC.  University of Californai at Davis has the leading program for olive oil in the US and will soon be providing an in depth analysis of oils for growers/producers. They have a great newsletter that can be accessed via their website.The statement (bullsh*t) made above that many california oils blend Spanish and Italian oils constitues an extremely small segment of the producers, if any.  California oil is coming into it's own and regulation will make it harder to dump old, sub-optimal, overgraded oil on the "new world". Yeah I'm a grower/producer and make a solid pizza in a wood oven.

[manperson]

I've tried both methods.

With olive oil: Easier to stretch, dough feels... "right"... Tastes better in some cases. But, limit your olive oil to... 1-1.5 tbsp per cup of flour. I think that's a fair estimate.

Without olive oil: Difficult to manage, tears easily. Lacks a bit of flavor.

Now that I've typed all of that out, decide for yourself. A small bowl of dough is a small price to pay for more data. And, most homemade pizza is orders of magnitude better than chain stuff.