ABOUT OLIVE OIL


You will notice that all the recipes you see in Greek Fusion Cuisine are cooked with olive oil.  I don’t use any other type of oil except olive oil.  On occasion, I will use canola oil for baking. 

Homer called olive oil “liquid gold.”  And indeed, it is.  It is heart healthy and has a distinct taste, which makes everything you cook taste even better.  Olive oil has 14g saturated fat per 100g (3.5 oz.) only second to sunflower oil, which has 11g of saturated fat per 100g.  Soybean oil, which is widely used in the US, has 16g of saturated fat (I, personally will not touch soybean oil or anything else that comes from soy).  Any other type of oil has a higher content of saturated fat than olive oil and sunflower oil.

Look at the conversion table below for comparison of olive oil and any other types of oil. 
Comparative properties of common cooking fats (per 100g)
Total Fat
100g
11g
20g
69g
225 °C (437 °F)[a]
100g
16g
23g
58g
257 °C (495 °F)[a]
Olive oil
100g
14g
73g
11g
190 °C (374 °F)[a]
100g
15g
30g
55g
230 °C (446 °F)[a]
100g
17g
46g
32g
225 °C (437 °F)[a]
71g
23g (34%)
8g (11%)
37g (52%)
165 °C (329 °F)[a]
100g
39g
45g
11g
190 °C (374 °F)[a]
94g
52g (55%)
32g (34%)
3g (3%)
200°C (400°F)
81g
51g (63%)
21g (26%)
3g (4%)
150 °C (302 °F)[a]
1.      The Culinary Institute of America (2011).The Professional Chef. New York: Wiley. ISBN 0-470-42135-5.

Greek Cuisine uses an abundance of olive oil in its dishes.  That includes salads and appetizers.  Extra virgin olive oil is used on salads, due to a more apparent flavor than plain olive oil.  The extra virgin olive oil is not as processed as the regular olive oil.  The olives have to be perfectly ripened, and are pressed only once in order to produce the extra virgin olive oil.  You will also notice the color of the extra virgin olive oil is slightly greener than the regular olive oil.  That distinct flavor you get from the extra virgin olive oil is great for dipping and tastes even better in the traditional tomato village salad (horiatiki) or any other type of salads and/or vegetables. 

   Village salad (horiatiki) tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, olive oil, feta  and oregano


Light olive oil does not mean that it’s light in calories.  It only means that there is less olive oil and more other types of oils in the bottle, or that the olive oil is heavily refined, thus the flavor and color is very light if none at all.  When buying olive oil, read the labels and what the ingredients are.  It should specify that it’s 100% olive oil, or pure olive oil, or 100% extra virgin olive oil.  Some labels will specify where the olive oil is from.  The olive oil I buy specifies the countries that’s from. 

Olive oil can be stored in a cool, dry place and should last for about 6 months (mine lasts a lot less than that).  If you store in the refrigerator it should last for up to a year, but it will also solidify.  As soon as you bring it to room temperature, it will come back to its original liquid “gold” form.