The extra virgin olive oil, also called EVO OIL, is certainly among the best and leading vegetable fats to be used in the kitchen. For its beneficial contents, for its balanced taste, and for its high smoke point it is ideal both for using in cooking at high temperatures and for raw seasoning where it expresses the best of itself enhancing and completing all the dishes, giving that final irresistible touch of the Mediterranean cuisine, known and appreciated all over the world, and, if well used, it can also enrich many dishes of international cuisine.

In Italy, we boast many varieties of olive oil, all of them very tasty, but each with different organoleptic characteristic that should be well known and used according to what you want to get for cooking.

The extra virgin olive oil is a MUST in the Italian cuisine. Starting from the simple sauté (in which we recommend an evo oil with a light fruity taste), it is necessary to carefully choose the extra virgin olive oil to be used, in such a way that the combination with other ingredients does not adversely affect it and especially so that it does not put the taste of more delicate foods down.

In richer dishes, such as grilled red meat or vegetables as chicory, borage and radicchio, a richer extra virgin olive oil should be used, with a more bitter component and marked by an intense fruity taste that will embrace the same aromatic trend.

If you know how to use and match the characteristics of each EVO OIL with ingredients and preparations, your dish will be a guaranteed success.

Extra virgin olive oil is recognised as the ideal dietary fat. The Mediterranean Diet favours it over fats of animal origin and recommends it as a fat to be used daily, because it is a real mine of beneficial substances. Evo oil, in fact, is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids such as oleic acid, called “good”, as they contribute to lower the level of “bad” cholesterol (LDL) in blood and which contributes to protect from cardiovascular diseases often due to aging.

Here are some tips to make the most of EVO OIL in the kitchen:

Evo Oil for raw seasonings.

The extra virgin olive oil or Evo Oil is ideal for raw seasoning all food thanks to its ability to enhance and intensify the flavour of ingredients. The organoleptic characteristics, which can be distinguished in a high-quality Evo oil are unmistakable. Fresh smell, aromatic taste with delicate, medium and intense fruity scents are its main characteristics.

The different tastes and aromas of each extra virgin olive oil, meeting those of other foods, trigger pleasant and surprising reactions to the palate and, for this reason, many cooks and fans of cooking and eating well and healthy take delight in experimenting with new combinations. Depending on the recipe you want to prepare, you can choose between a delicate extra virgin olive oil, that balances itself with other aromas and flavours and that does not take away the role of the main dish, and an EVO oil with medium or more intense aromatic notes, fruity and spicy, that can give character to your dishes.

Give vent to your imagination, experimenting with combinations of quality extra virgin olive oils with a delicate and fruity or medium scent on raw fish carpaccio, grilled white meat or on your children’s dishes (especially the youngest ones, even in weaning).

On the contrary, in order to give character to your preparations, choose an Evo oil with intense fruity taste to combine with carpacci or raw meat tartare, grilled or boiled vegetables, carpacci of blue fish, soups made from vegetables or legumes and on all grilled red meat.

Evo Oil in frying, short and long cooking.

In all kinds of frying the extra virgin olive oil stands up to any challenge and is unique. Thanks to its high smoke point that reaches temperatures of 195°C/210°C, evo oil is the best vegetable fat that is able to guarantee the perfect success of every recipe. Considering that most home frying almost never exceeds 160 - 180 °C, the safety margin is very high.

Extra virgin olive oil is definitely the best choice to prepare different types of sweet and savoury fried food suitable for perfect and tasty crispy, delicate battered vegetables, as well as breaded meats, croquettes, fried meatballs, fragrant squid rings and delicious confectionery products.

In short cooking, Evo oil stands well at temperatures, without overpowering but enriching the taste and aromas of other foods, the secret is to choose extra virgin olive oils with medium or light fruity taste and the result will be guaranteed.

Even in prolonged cooking, extra virgin olive oil, for the sake of simplicity indicated by the acronym EVO Oil, is the only one able to create harmony, as well as in frying it can withstand the stress of prolonged cooking by resisting to degradation processes and giving lightness to preparations which is impossible when using animal fats or other types of seasoning.

Good-quality Evo oil passes the test of cooking with flying colours, green light then to extra virgin olive oil in preparing appetizing ragout and sauces, tasty vegetable soups and main dishes of meat or fish enriched with delicious side dishes seasoned with the best Italian extra virgin olive oils.

Evo Oil and baking

 

The extra virgin olive oil is also particularly recommended for any baked preparation, which, as for frying, is able to withstand perfectly at high temperatures, enriching every preparation with flavour. It can be used to prepare pizzas or pies with the most varied tastes, baked or en papillote fish, delicious roasts of white or red meat, tasty and crunchy vegetables and potatoes.

 

Evo Oil in the preparation of cakes

If you have never tried to make a cake by replacing butter (animal fat) with extra virgin olive oil (vegetable fat), think about it, because the result will surprise you. The use of Evo Oil is definitely the solution in order to obtain a preparation not only lighter, but also incredibly soft, fragrant and more digestible. Extra virgin olive oils with a delicate fruitiness are to be preferred, such as cold-extracted evo oil from the Biancolilla cultivar (a typical Sicilian variety).              

Keep in mind that 100 grams of butter is equivalent to about 80 grams of Evo Oil.

 

In conclusion, we can say that extra virgin olive oil or Evo Oil is a fundamental and, we would say, necessary component for cooking and, if carefully used, it gives refinement to all types of preparations. It is an indispensable seasoning, but especially food, for the preparation and success of all cooked, raw and any ethnic recipes.