It's not a myth. Searing scallops in EVOO produced consistently burnt-oil tasting results until I switched to avocado oil. My Italian mother growing up would

It's not a myth. Searing scallops in EVOO produced consistently burnt-oil tasting results until I switched to avocado oil. My Italian mother growing up would insist on using EVOO to pop popcorn and it always tasted like burnt olive oil. My results are far better using the exact same process but a higher smoke point oil like avocado oil. I also prefer the results of seared steaks with a higher smoke point oil than EVOO. Especially when I use the iron skillet outside on an oversized bed of glowing hot coals so hot I can barely stand to be near it. I've used EVOO here in a pinch, but it immediately starts to smoke before I've even put the meat on.