Three Ways To Find The Best Olive Oil For Cooking

 Nowadays, many people fancy themselves to be artisan chefs, using their kitchens not for food preparation but for culinary art. For these home chefs, one of the first ingredients they dive into headfirst is olive oil, and almost no stone is left unturned in their quest to find the best olive oil for cooking.

The problem they run into is debating whether it is OK to actually cook with olive oil. There is one school of thought that says that heat will destroy the integrity, and that no one should cook with it. Others believe It has been around for thousands of years, and for the countries of origin, cooking with olive oil is as natural as can be. The net result of this disagreement is a home chef that is completely unsure of what to think. All they wanted to do was make awesome food.

Let's make it easy. In short, yes, you can cook using olive oil, but you have to be smart about how you use it. Moreover, you have to brush up on a little knowledge to make the most educated call on what you're going to bring into your kitchen.

Here is a little help on how to choose the best olive oil for cooking in your home:

Know Where The Oil is From - It's important to read the labels so that you know where is coming from. As a basic rule of thumb, you want there to be as little time that goes by between harvest, processing, and bottling. The longer the oil has to travel or go through steps before getting into a bottle can mean degradation of the product, and that is never a good thing.

Harvest Dating - Some years ago, beer manufacturers decided that it was unfair for their product to be judged as being "skunky" simply because a store put out old product. As a way to help the consumer, they decided to add dates to the packaging so that people could see when the beer was "born", thereby giving consumers a better chance of avoiding old beer. Still others go so far as to remove the product from store shelves. In the name of freshness, look for harvest dates on bottles of olive oil. Keep in mind that the contents don't age like wine, so knowing a harvest date will give you a chance to know just how long the contents have been sitting.

Keep It Local - As with most things, there is a movement to support local businesses by buying their products. There is greater transparency in the transaction, and you get to know where you products come from. The same goes for olive oil. The U.S. has slowly become a big player on the market, with professional chefs taking notice & requesting domestic product in their kitchen. For the home chef looking to buy a quality cooking ingredient, support local business, and be on the cutting edge of culinary development, this is a no-brainer.

Back to Basics Cooking, Baking & Grilling

 keeping your area clean while you cook is a chore in its self. My husband always laughs about the after math when I'm done baking. Here are some helpful ways to improve on making less of a mess in the first place. Use a bowl for your scraps and garbage as you go saving you time running to the trash making you more efficient. Using a thin flexible mat for your cutting board makes transferring vegetables to your pot much easier, by using the flexible mat as a funnel.

Getting into the habit of using a splatter screen when sauteing or shallow frying will save you a lot of time on your clean-up later. Measuring ingredients and using cooking spray over the sink will keep messes confined to an easy to clean area. Keeping a bottle of soapy water handy make it more likely that cleaning up as you go will become part of your cooking habits. Another tip is to cook more slowly. Be a deliberate in measuring, chopping and wiping between each step. but this is one tip I often don't follow my own advice, often trying to do to many task at one time.

With Spring just around the corner what better time than to take stock of what is in your pantry. Consolidate and organize and take note what you're low on. It is also a great time to check those expiration dates and dispose of any that expired. Make a list of items that you can stock in your pantry that will help make a meal quickly without a lot of planning. It is also a good time to add those family favorites.

Now that you have your pantry all organized it is time to turn your attention to the fridge. Don't be afraid to those bowls way in the back that have been forgotten about for weeks. It is a good time to check those condiments with cookouts just around the corner.

With everything clean and organized and Winter still here comfort food is the way to go. A pot of soup on the stove with grilled cheese sandwiches or a stew in the crockpot is the way to go. With Spring not too far away get those recipes out and start planning for fresh salads and garden vegetables. You will be amazed how time and clean-up will be and the fun of cooking, baking and grilling will not become a hard task but a lot of fun putting love in all the recipes for family and friends.