to consume a litre of cold pressed unfiltered olive oil each week

[marryj]

I never cook with fat for health reasons and how fats can become very unhealthy when heated at high temps \ trans fats and all that. So I have an olive oil bottle on the table and we use it as a condiment. I just love it on most things. So between dh, dd and me we easily go though 1 litre a week. I thought it was a healthy habbit, fat is not the enemy and all that but my friend thinks that it sounds unhealthy.

Aibu thinking its healthy?

It's an excellent way of getting good fats if you're on a low carb diet. Slosh away.

If you're consuming that much fat mixed with carbs it's going to be difficult not to gain weight.

PS cold pressed rapeseed oil is rather fabulous too

The smoking point is how hot an oil can get before it starts to smoke.

The hotter the better for cooking. It is why sunflower or rapeseed oil are better than olive oil for frying, as they have a higher smoking point. More so extra virgin, which has a lower smoking point than ordinary olive oil so it can't get hot enough to fry to a crisp.

It is fine to cook with olive oil, I do, but serious chefs would not. I believe they are into rapeseed at the moment.

"Frying" in water????? In other words, boiling (or poaching)

I second rapeseed oiled. Just as good, if not better than olive oil. And it is produced in Britain too.

I only use local organic rapseed oil personally. Hand pressed by pixies and decanted by virgins into a recycled glass bottle.
Seriously though, that does sound alot of olive oil. I switched to rapeseed for frying because it can reach a higher temp so things are nice and crispy.

OP , Do you have nice skin and hair from consuming all that oil. I have started using coconut oil instead of vegan spread , hoping it will help skin and hair

Ooh thank you waceystills I currently fry in olive oil. Should I switch to rapeseed? Is it healthier than sunflower oil?

I use olive oil for roast potatoes and they always come out nicely.

Cindy I am also using coconut oil instead of spreads. Ds really likes it and it has definitely improved his skin.

I still want to hear more about "frying in oil". Can the op come back and say more about this?

I use enormous amounts of olive oil but I am Greek! In Greek cuisine there is a special section of dishes swimming in oil called 'ta ladera', the oilies!

My aunt is a research medic and her specialty is the effect of the Mediterranean diet. The basic components of the traditional diet are olive oil, fish and pulses, which are not necessarily what modern Greeks eat at all. One of her projects is to record and preserve traditional recipes that are getting lost. The traditional Mediterranean diet does seem to have some longevity benefits and lower risk of heart disease.

People in Greece, especially in Crete eat similar quantities. It's fine.

There have been studies done which show it's very hard to put on weight even when eating masses of fat. The idea that all calories are equal is false. Eating masses of carbs/sugar is a different matter. So unless you are extremely sedentary that much fat won't make you fat in the slightest.

Alpaca coconut oil, lard, or butter are all better to use.

My understanding of smoke points is many of the benefits of olive oil - particularly the taste - disappear at high temps. So you are laying for a premium product but essentially ruining it. The oil is denatured and changes it's composition at high temps. That's why telly chefs always use veg oil for deep frying.

One of my 'things' that I got from Jack Munro is to only buy one of everything - one oil, one vinegar, one pasta shape, one flour, one oil - it's a great tip if you want to save a wee bit (won't transform your budget or anything but it does help and certainly reduces waste) so I use rapeseed as it tastes nice and does everything I need an oil to do - dressings, normal frying, deep fat frying, etc.

Oh and a litre of oil as above does 2 adults/1 child around a month.

It sounds perfect to me.

Olive oil is much better for you than other fats, and one litre between three who aren't eating any other fats is fine.

You need fats for fat solvable vitamins like A and D.
Make sure you're eating oily fish too. It's sugar that's unhealthy, not fat.

We use about the same.

Also, we don't fry anything in oil. And we steam veg also like the OP.

If I ever do fry anything I fry it in it's own fat and rinse it - I rinse cooked mince etc.

We eat very few saturated fats, in fact most of our fat comes from olive and walnut oils.

The dcs like a pat of butter on their veg, but the myth that you have to fry food in fat is very unhealthy- frying in a bit of stock is much healthier.

Olive oil is better for you than some other fats. Not all other fats. Frying in a bit of stock may be healthier but it isn't frying. It's braising.

OP: we eat like you (bread dipped in l included) but a litre a week seems a lot. I would say we probably use a litre every three weeks to a month (two adults and two kids). Though I use maize oil for cooking and for cakes.

I second the drizzler on the table and dipping bread in a little oil rather than pouring it over the bread...

I use rice bran oil for frying, much higher smoke point, healthy fats, no strong taste and cheaper too. Most big supermarkets stock it.

I don't cook with olive oil or any other vegetable oil except coconut oil. For meats etc I tend to use lard or ghee. I tend to cook my veges in butter or ghee to capture more of the fat soluble nutrients that are lost through boiling etc.

I really want to see a photo of OP and family and all the oil they consume in a year.
A lot of good fat is better than a lot of bad fat but it is still a lot of fat.

That sounds rank venus you rinse cooked mince? Doesn't that wash all the spice/seasonings off? And generally meaty goodness?

only buy one of everything - one oil, one vinegar, one pasta shape, one flour, one oil

Good god no! One of the great joys of cooking is to have a gazillions oils and vinegars and mustards and condiments and herbs and spices :-)

I have posh olive oil for dressings and bread. Light cheap olive oil for normal frying/roasting. Veg oil for occasional deep frying. Chill oil. Sesame oil. Cold pressed pumpkin oil (gift, nice but probs wouldn't buy it). Coconut oil.

and I'm on a budget, with limited kitchen space and a deep interest in the chemical properties of what I'm cooking. 99% of the time, vinegar is there to provide an acidic reaction. Flavour is irrelevant. I'm enjoying finding out what is important and what isn't - for eg sesame oil IMO can't be replicated so it earns a place in the cupboard. As does linguine. Give it a go, it's freeing. And you can spend the rest of the money on ingredients.