[CH] Olive Oil [BARELY ON-TOPIC..okay, probably not on-topic at
Inagaddadavida (rael64@earthlink.net)
Wed, 28 Jan 1998 10:15:02 -0600
Twas Writ:
>Why no olive oil? I thought I read somewhere (it might have been The
>Whole Chile Pepper book) that olive oil retained chile's heat and flavor
>better than any other oil. I will try to look it up to be sure.
Hmmm. Never heard that. Yet my reasons are in part explained by the rest
of your post. IMO, olive oil begins to "break up" too easily when heated
for a long time as one would have to do to make chile oil; thus, it
develops an unpleasant flavor...which is a sin if chiles are in it <g>.
All oils (as far as I know) begin to break down with exposure to heat,
light, and water. Olive oil just seems to break down more quickly than
others, or so I think (which is all that counts, neh? <g>). But the flavor
of the olive changes too, IMO, and I dislike the change.
Personally, I don't like to use olive oil for much "hot" cooking at all.
Took me a while to develop the ability to recognize different
variations/levels of flavor in various olive oils, but now I can sense
(usually, I should say) such in various items utilizing olive oil. When
you heat it, the flavor changes, and typically (again, my opinion) the
flavor is not desirable. Some sauteeing is fine with olive oil but if you
turn the sauteeing into pan-frying or use it for something that requires a
long cook time, I don't like the resulting flavor of using olive oil. I
just think it breaks down too easily when heat is applied to it. But for
other things, such as grilled veggies, I think olive oil is almost a
mandatory thing. Just personal philosophy, I suppose...
Peace, Hendrix, and Chiles.......
Rael
rael64@earthlink.net
Redneck Sous Chef
Monk of the TCS
Order of Immaculate Twister
Keeper of the Faith
and a Towel...