Tenuta del Barone di Montemurlo — Tuscan extra virgin olive oil
Can you cook with extra virgin olive oil?
Yes, frying included. The belief that it "cannot take heat" is one of the most stubborn misunderstandings about olive oil, and the numbers say otherwise.
The smoke point
A good extra virgin smokes between 190 and 210 °C. Home frying sits between 170 and 180. The margin is there, and it is wider than that of several oils sold specifically "for frying".
The smoke point falls as acidity rises: which is why a young, sound extra virgin takes heat better than an old or poor one.
Stability matters more than the smoke point
What ruins an oil in the pan is not so much smoke as oxidation. Here extra virgin has a structural advantage: it is rich in monounsaturated fats and in polyphenols, which are antioxidants. Seed oils, richer in polyunsaturates, break down sooner even at lower temperatures.
Several studies on domestic cooking have found extra virgin among the most stable oils in the pan, precisely because those antioxidants keep working while it is hot. Part of them is consumed in the process — that is their job — but they protect the fat while they last.
When it is a waste
An early-season oil, the green peppery one, loses in cooking exactly the part you paid for: the volatile compounds leave with the heat. Keep a riper, rounder oil for the pan and the oven, and save the new one for raw use.
That is why there are two oils here rather than one: Luce goes on bread and soup, Raccolto can also go in the pan.
In practice
Sautéing, pan, oven: extra virgin without worrying. Occasional deep frying: fine, keeping the temperature in check and not reusing the oil more than once. Daily deep frying in quantity: that is a question of cost, not of health.
Two habits help more than any choice of oil. Do not let the pan smoke before the food goes in — by then the damage has started. And do not top up used oil with fresh: the old one drags the new one down with it.
The estate journal
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