Can extra virgin olive oil be used for stir frying, roasting, grilling?

Question

I'd like to use extra virgin olive oil for the above mentioned cooking methods as opposed to unhealthy oils/butter. Are there any downsides to it, or can it be used safely in all those cooking methods? Is there anything that it doesn't work well with?

Answer

I don't want to disappoint you, but the sad truth is that extra virgin olive oil is unsuitable for all the cooking methods you mention. When you heat any oil past its smoking point it starts to deteriorate and can even become dangerous. Olive oil, extra virgin in particular, has a lower smoking point than most other oils. In fact, you will be better off with an olive oil of lesser quality. Such an oil will have been processed and thus purified, increasing its smoking point.

You may think that butter is unhealthy, but at high temperatures it will actually withstand the heat better than extra virgin olive oil.

Good oils for the purposes you mention are canola oil, sunflower oil and peanut oil.

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