4 ms·
Extra virgin olive oil has a pretty great monounsaturated to polyunsaturated fat ratio and good flavor for salad dressing, eggs, sauces, meat dishes, etc. The o
by dsrguru 13y ago
Extra virgin olive oil has a pretty great monounsaturated to polyunsaturated fat ratio and good flavor for salad dressing, eggs, sauces, meat dishes, etc. The only real downsides are low smoke point (some sources say that that means trans fat and other scary stuff can show up at the high temperatures used in stir-frying and deep-frying) and that good flavor != neutral flavor, which is sometimes preferable. Some presses of avocado oil and safflower oil have similarly great mono- to polyunsaturated fat ratios while also having high smoke points. Avocado oil tastes sort of creamy and nutty while safflower is very neutral.
- maxerickson 13y agoI cook eggs in butter. Eggs in olive oil isn't something I enjoy. And people really are looking for neutral flavors (how else is 'extra light olive oil' a thing?). I'm not really aware of any reason to prefer monounsaturated fats vs polyunsaturated fats (and other oils beat olive oil on unsaturated vs saturated).
- dsrguru 13y agoConsuming monounsaturated fat is good for you. Consuming polyunsaturated fat, with the exception of omega-3, is not. My understanding is that the polyunsaturated fat in virtually all vegetable oils are omega-6 fatty acids, which we consume way too much of relative to omega-3 fatty acids (which are also technically polyunsaturated but which are not present in any significant quantity in such cooking oils), and the huge quantities of omega-6 that almost everyone consumes is believed to increase our risk of numerous diseases, including cancer. Monounsaturated fat, the primary beneficial constituent of so-called Mediterranean diets, and especially the specific monounsaturated fat called oleic acid, is protective against cancer, reduces LDL (bad cholesterol), and possibly raises HDL (good cholesterol).