Anyone want to talk about olive oil?

[whataboutbob]

I know I know it doesn't get a lot more mumsnetty than this! However haven't found much on it, most of the OO posts seem to be about blocked ears.
I've been thinking about it because I have been an olive oil snob but lately I'm reigning in the expenditure and so I tried Lidl's Primmadona OO and it was really not bad! Whereas my erstwhile fave Illiada seems to have gone downhill in quality.
What are your favourite OOs- from deli gourmet ones to standard supermarket brands?
Art the moment I'm liking Lidl's Primadona as above, and also Sainsbury's standard (not taste the diff) greek olive oil.

I find Lidl perfectly acceptable, especially at that price

Can I please add a few questions of my own to your thread whataboutbob? Is it true that heating virgin/ extra virgin OO makes it unhealthy? Is the colour of the OO a good indication of how good it is? Are you better off cooking in OO or sunflower oil or canola oil (DH has high cholesterol) or any other - I mean the couple of teaspoons oil I brown the onions in to start off a recipe, not deep frying.

Hi shouty mom. As it happens I am a dietitian and will answer to the best of my ability. Is DH overweight? If so the most effective way to lower his cholesterol would be to lose weight, no matter how he does it (ie low carb vs low fat vs lots of exercise). Olive oil and also other vegetable oils have similar effects on cholesterol. They raise it less than animal oils do. OO does not have particular strong cholesterol lowering effects. Apart from losing weight if overweight, the other evidence based lifestyle intervention is to eat oily fish ideally twice a week (mackerel, herrings, sardines in tomato sauce, fresh tuna). Finally, aerobic exercise helps lower the "bad cholesterol" (VLDL) and raise good cholesterol (HDL).
In a nutshell, sunflower oil and rapeseed are just as good as OO.

Oh what luck, you turning out to be the best placed person to answer my questions!
On the contrary DH is quite skinny, but high cholesterol and heart trouble run in his family. His cholesterol levels are borderline high (don't remember exact numbers), but we're trying to control it early. He has a paunch, but he's 45 with a 7 to 7 desk job - so not very surprising. He plays a sport twice a week, but that's it in terms of exercise. He's vegetarian so can't add fish to the diet. He might be convinced to take some fish oil supplements though.
So going back to olive oil - how is it considered a healthy oil then? I'm not being snarky honest, just curious to know what makes one oil healthier than the other.

I personally believe that it has benefited from some brilliant marketing and PR. Some of it quite intentional from the marketing boards of producer countries, some of it probably incidental- the fashion for mediterranean holidays, food and culture generally. Olive oil didn't use to be fashionable. I read that even in Spain it fell out of fashion after the arabs were expelled, and lard was the thing to use- it proved you couldn't be muslim or jewish. It didn't really come back into wide use there until the 19th century.
Anyway, the evidence for it having special properties over and above other unsaturated fats is just not very strong.
Having said that i love the stuff and I feel it gives a flavour and richness to some dishes that sunflower oil can't match.

Back to your DH, remember cholesterol is just one of the risk factors for HD. No1 is smoking- i hope he doesn't. There's also blood pressure, stress and genetics. If despite your best efforts his is still high, and there is HD in his family, 1st degree relatives having heart attacks especially before the age of 50, he should maybe consider a statin.

Heating olive oil doesnt necessarily make it less 'healthy'

however, olive oil when heated too high will smoke, and this can affect the other foods it is with - a lot of people wont like the flavour in this case. :)

I'll go one step further on the Mumsnetty thing - it's my dcs who pour Evoo all over their pasta...Fillipo Berio is fine for this, is full of flavour...fruity and peppery...
I won't use sunflower oil because it's high in omega 6, modern diets contain excess amounts of omega 6 and it's not a good thing at all!

Keep em coming! Any other fave brands/ regions out there? Personally my favourites are oils form the North of Spain, such as l'estornell or aubocassa. Expensive though and I save them up strictly for summer and eating raw on salads. No point at all wasting it on frying.

Shouty do you think it would help to get him to concentrate on his waist size and fitness levels rather than his weight? My dh has done this and it's had the added benefits of bringing down his cholesterol levels and his weight, which was an issue for him.

Whataboutbob - non smoker, non drinker. But yes, it runs in his family - dad, uncles etc. Docs haven't recommended statins yet, we're hoping to control through diet and exercise.
Jilted - that's a good idea. He'll have to figure out how to implement it though, as he works a 60 hour week.
Scones - I use Fillipo Berio (sp?) as well, but then I'm no connossieur. That's news to me about omega 6 - I thought it was one of those things - more is better!

I have a very health conscious friend - she reckons walnut oil is best for cooking, and uses EVOO to drizzle over food, to add flavour.

I hear of fancy oils these days - avocado, walnut, coconut...any views? Confused as I remember a few years canola was considered really healthy, but apparently no longer.

Very interesting about Omega 6 Sconess. I had no idea!

I cook with butter - grass fed or unpasteurised, lard, coconut oil, olive oil and extra virgin sometimes the render from bacon. Very occassionally I use sunflower not often, we eat little enough fish as it is. We didn't like avocado and dh has a nut allergy. I confess that I like trying out different olive oils....just because I like trying new foods and the price does not concern me as it's not a weekly purchase and given the dcs like it so much and I like to ring the changes. I'm keen to avoid brand allegence. I'm fussier about balsamic vinegar and salt.
There's lots of emerging evidence that saturated fats are not contributing factor in Heart Disease, lots to suggest cholesterol is a symptom not a cause of Heart Disease, lots to suggest that the whole low fat approach to eating was a big mistake. It's all very confusing but I firmly believe in real food - I avoid processed food as much as possible..unprocessed food tastes better and it's more nutritious and that story suits me and my lifestyle.

Love L'estornell, especially the one you get in La Vaca de Argentina restaurants. But really liking Nunez de Prado. Used to buy it from Brindisa at £17.95 per litre. But now M&S have it in their foodie bit for £11 or £12. Generally I like an arbequina and picual blend, like one of the LA organic oils.

I didn't know M&S did Nunez de Prado that's good news! I have always baulked at paying Brindisia prices when you can get 500ml for the equivalent of a fiver in Spain. Haven't tried LA maybe i should have a look.

I like Carbonell , they used to sell massive packs of it when Netto was still going . I have to get it from Garcia and sons now .

OP last weeks Food Unwrapped on channel four had an article on Olive Oil that you might be interested in.

I agree Carbonnell is very nice. Do you live near Garcia? Lucky you.
Thanks honeybear I'll check out the channel 4 item.

Sadly not ! Get it online with other Spanish stuff from them . My dream is to go wild in the aisles

I used to live round the corner when I was a student, in the late 80s. It's a lot bigger and better now.

Sainsburys were doing the LA oils for a while, might still be. I really liked the suave one for fish dishes. It's in the lighter coloured tin. You also get it in the gourmet bit of El Corte Ingles when you're in Spain. There they do extra special little bottles of both the suave and intense that are great dipping oils.

Also ? organic in the bright yellow bottle, it is amazing.