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?

Olive oil isn't good for you, but it's better than the other oils.

A liter sounds a bit much though. But if you're all healthy, I guess fair game?

What would the benefit be of rinsing cooked meat?? Surely that just washes away any flavour and probably a lot of the nutrients!!??

Yeah a litre between 3 people a week is a lot. If you generally have a low fat diet apart from that and exercise it's not as bad, imo.

I think people have got a bit carried away with this new 'fats are good, sugar is bad' mantra. It is possible to have too much of a good thing.

The frying in water thing isn't like boiling (and not sure how it would be like broiling, which is grilling something, isn't it?)

I had a Chinese housemate who pan-fried using water not oil, it's how his mother cooked and apparently very common in parts of Asia (according to him, no idea actually prevalent it is).

Anyway, you get the pan hot, and then sprinkle some cold water into the pan. Not a lot, just dip your fingers in a cup of water and flick some droplets on. It lowers the temperature of the pan (to under 100 degrees, obv) which is meant to be healthier when cooking meat.

It's delicious - it does have an affect on taste and I find chicken especially to be a lot more chickeny. Go figure. I never pan fry with oil now, so cheers Kai wherever you are.

DH and I use a pack of butter per week. I guess that's probably a similar quantity of fat (but much tastier)

We have a massive vat of it all the time as grow olives and also probably use about 1l per week. I slosh it all over everything as I really like it. All in good health chez Romann so far and none of us are overweight. Definitely not me anyway, I'm 5.10 and size 8 and I'm the oil guzzler. I don't think it's bad for you, but of course it depends on the rest of your diet really. We have no desserts and almost no processed food in our house.

Check your weight/bmi and your cholesterol levels if you're worried.

By the way, I also think calorie counting is nonsense as it implies that you metabolise everything in the same way, which you don't.

Coconut oil is good for frying hot things, provided you don't mind a coconutty taste (I really like it).

I don't think Italians have a healthy diet these days: loads of pasta, white rice, processed meats. They vie with Spain for the highest child obesity levels in Europe. The mediterranean diet that's so fêted is of times past: when people used to eat loads of fish and veg more than anything else. Fish, veg and olive oil won't kill you

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

I used to use butter, but switched to olive oil; can't remember why. I absolutely hate the taste of coconut so I guess it's oil is out of the question! Lard...

Might try this rapeseed oil. MN is like being at school, I learn something new everyday.

"PS cold pressed rapeseed oil is rather fabulous too"

I think it is an acquired taste - one that I haven't managed to acquire. I want to like rapeseed oil, but can't stand the taste, and the smell of heating it to fry makes me heave. Extra virgin olive oil is delicious though and I like to drizzle it on food.

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

That sounds vile. When I fry mince I cook it in its own fat , but I drain it I don't rinse it. You will be throwing such a lot of the flavour down the drain.

There are some weird attitudes on here. Everything in moderation I say. I won't sacrifice flavour for the sake of saving a few calories. For example the only way to make a really good French onion soup is to slowly cook the onions for ages and ages in some kind of fat. I have tried it in stock or water and it just doesn't taste the same.

Rice bran oil makes a good oil for pan-frying. Unlike olive oil it has a high smoke point so you can cook at higher temperatures without it starting to smoke and break down. It has a nice nutty flavour too.

Read more

Try cold pressed rape seed oil. Ten times the omega 3 levels of olive oil, half the saturated fat. high source of vitamin E, and fewer air miles. Lots of UK suppliers. Better for cooking too, as a higher burn point than olive oil.

I would love to know more about the logic behind rinsing mince.

Don't understand it at all.

Olive oil fan here. Don't think you can get too much of it. Also butter. I use olive oil and butter, both separately and together.

Butter for frying eggs - it's the only time I cook where I need to achieve a high temperature. Well, maybe roast potatoes, then I use a mix of olive oil and butter. Or goose fat/duck fat if have any.

Any other time, I think olive oil is OK as all you are doing is softening veg, not frying it - it doesn't need to get so hot so you don't compromise the oil.

Would choose lard if I had access to a good organic supply - for the combination of vitamin D and high smoking point.

I won't touch sunflower oil, especially the sunflower oil in plastic bottles in supermarkets. Or 'vegetable oil'. Or canola oil.

Seriously wish I wasn't scared to deep fry as it would be chips cooked in beef fat. Which is, I think, the difference between chips cooked in the olden days and chips cooked today.

I think it was wrong for the govt to 'educate' us away from animal fats. It's possible they needed to create a market for 'vegetable oil'. Which isn't healthier than animal fats, at all.

Neither do I Koala.