Fry Light Olive Oil Cooking Spray

CK73

I'm currently dieting so using the 1 cal fry light spray to cook with. I only just noticed today that it is actually 'extra virgin' olive oil in the bottle and it is encouraging use for frying, roasting and baking with.

I thought that you only used 'extra virgin olive oil' in salads as there is a chemical reaction in the cooking that makes it bad for you? I also thought that the regular olive oil was meant for cooking with.

Can anyone let me know if I should stop using this or have I been misinformed? Are there better products on the market? I need to avoid sunflower oil due to intolerants.

papu

Don't use it at a high heat, ie. let the pan start smoking

Goreygal

CK73 wrote: »

I'm currently dieting so using the 1 cal fry light spray to cook with. I only just noticed today that it is actually 'extra virgin' olive oil in the bottle and it is encouraging use for frying, roasting and baking with.

I thought that you only used 'extra virgin olive oil' in salads as there is a chemical reaction in the cooking that makes it bad for you? I also thought that the regular olive oil was meant for cooking with.

Can anyone let me know if I should stop using this or have I been misinformed? Are there better products on the market? I need to avoid sunflower oil due to intolerants.

The only difference is the "smoke point" when heating for cooking and the taste. Extra virgin is supposed to have a fruitier taste and lower smoke point hence the advice that is is a better alternative to use in salads or foods that only need warming through. Virgin has a slightly higher smoke point so copes with recipes/foods that require a low to medium temperature for cooking. Many argue that most olive oils sold as extra virgin are actually just virgin anyway rather than true "cold pressed extra virgin".... so you are not doing anything "wrong" using your Frylight for cooking... as already said though it can cause food to stick if you use the medium-high heats.

The chemical reaction you are referring to is the reaction of the "phenols" of the oil to heat... the higher the heat the more the healthy effect of the phenols is compromised; not dangerous to you .. you just lose some of the benefits of the oil.

,

CK73

Goreygal wrote: »

The only difference is the "smoke point" when heating for cooking and the taste. Extra virgin is supposed to have a fruitier taste and lower smoke point hence the advice that is is a better alternative to use in salads or foods that only need warming through. Virgin has a slightly higher smoke point so copes with recipes/foods that require a low to medium temperature for cooking. Many argue that most olive oils sold as extra virgin are actually just virgin anyway rather than true "cold pressed extra virgin".... so you are not doing anything "wrong" using your Frylight for cooking... as already said though it can cause food to stick if you use the medium-high heats.

The chemical reaction you are referring to is the reaction of the "phenols" of the oil to heat... the higher the heat the more the healthy effect of the phenols is compromised; not dangerous to you .. you just lose some of the benefits of the oil.

,

Thanks for that. I seem to remember either hearing or being told that extra virgin oil goes from being a beneficial fat to a bad fat when it is used in cooking. It was really that I was concerned with. I know that some fats are good for you and essential for a healthy digestive system, so not good to take them out of your diet completely, whereas some fats are not good for you and best avoided.

I'm sounding very vague, maybe I'll do some research on it and see what I can find out.

It is appreciated with reference to the oil though. It's 40 calories for one teaspoon of regular olive oil, so quite a difference in calorific value, but sometimes I just don't think it's worth substituting one for the other.