Why Milk Street Cooks with Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Question

I have noticed that a lot of recipes start with sautéing vegetables in extra virgin olive oil before adding the rest of the ingredients. I was always under the assumption that EVOO was more of a finishing oil and that heat has a negative impact on its flavor. I asked my culinary instructor about this and he agreed that one should avoid using EVOO as a cooking oil. Is there a reason that the chefs at Milk Street use EVOO in this fashion? I am really curious about this.
Thank You!
Jennifer

Lynn Clark · Accepted Answer

Hi Jennifer - After speaking with our Recipe Editor, I think I can clarify the confusion. You are absolutely right—high heat blunts or kills the nuances of EVOO—and for that reason, we never use top-shelf EVOO for cooking. And we don't use it in applications where really high heat is needed because of its low smoke point. So, if we do call for it to sauté vegetables or cook meat, we usually only do so at medium or medium-high heat. Sometimes we make these decisions when we are going to use oil to both cook and finish a dish and don't want to call for two different types of oil in one recipe. That being said, if you've only got the good stuff at home (lucky you!), feel free to substitute with a neutral oil, like grapeseed oil, for sautéing. I hope that helps! I was confused too. Best, Lynn C.

Why Milk Street Cooks with Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

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