Cooking with olive oil: can you fry with extra virgin?

Yes, you can fry, sauté and roast with extra virgin olive oil. Good extra virgin handles heat better than most people think. The number everyone looks at, the smoke point, only tells part of the story. Below you'll find what actually happens in your pan, how hot it really gets, and when another oil makes more sense.

The short answer

• Frying, sautéing, roasting in the oven and slow cooking: you can do all of it with good extra virgin olive oil.
• Never let your oil smoke. If it starts smoking, your pan is too hot. That goes for every oil.
• Heat takes away some of the fresh, peppery flavour. So use a mild oil for the pan, and keep your most flavourful oil for the plate.
• Going very hot for a long time, like deep frying or a blazing wok? Olive oil can do it, but it gets expensive.

Why do so many people think you shouldn't?

Mostly because of the smoke point. That's the temperature at which an oil starts to visibly smoke. For extra virgin olive oil you'll often see figures between 190 and 210 °C, depending on the oil. Refined oils, like sunflower oil or regular olive oil, sit higher. So it seems logical: higher smoke point, better for cooking.

The Voedingscentrum, the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, also writes that extra virgin olive oil is mostly used cold, because heating takes away most of its flavour. And it advises never to let oil smoke or steam, because that's when unhealthy compounds can form. We agree completely. But that's not the same as saying you can't cook with it.

What the smoke point does and doesn't tell you

The smoke point tells you when an oil starts to smoke. It doesn't tell you how quickly an oil breaks down when you heat it. And that second part is what matters. When oil breaks down, new compounds form, such as aldehydes and so-called polar compounds. You want as little of those as possible.

In 2018 an Australian lab tested ten common cooking oils. The oils were heated for a long time, including well above normal cooking temperatures. Extra virgin olive oil formed the fewest polar compounds of all the oils tested. In that study, the smoke point turned out to be a poor predictor of how an oil behaves under heat. To be fair: the research was done by a lab that also works for the olive oil industry. But it fits what we know about how olive oil is built.

Why extra virgin copes well with heat

Two things make the difference.

1. The type of fat

About 70% of olive oil is monounsaturated fat. That type is stable. Oils high in polyunsaturated fat, like regular sunflower oil, break down faster under heat. That's simple chemistry: the more double bonds a fatty acid has, the easier it is for oxygen to get a grip on it.

2. The natural protective compounds

Extra virgin olive oil isn't refined. So it still contains compounds from the olive itself, like polyphenols and vitamin E. They take some of the damage when the oil gets hot, which means the oil itself breaks down more slowly. Early harvest oil usually contains more polyphenols. You can taste them, too: that bitter, peppery kick at the back of your throat.

A nice extra from Spanish research: when vegetables like tomato, aubergine and pumpkin were fried or sautéed in extra virgin olive oil, they took up some of the compounds from the oil. Boiling them in water didn't do that. So in the pan, your oil does more than stop things from sticking.

How hot does your pan actually get?

Less hot than you think. When you fry or sauté on medium heat, the oil usually stays well below 190 °C. A rough guide:

The most important rule stays simple: if your oil smokes, your pan is too hot. Turn the heat down, and if it really smoked, wipe the pan clean and start again.

And the flavour?

This is where the real difference is. A bold, grassy oil with a peppery finish is at its best when it isn't heated. In the pan, some of that freshness disappears. A shame, because that's exactly what you're paying for.

That's why we work with two oils. Our Cooking Oil is 100% Arbequina olives: mild, buttery and made for the pan, the oven and everything in between. It's still early harvest extra virgin, just with a soft flavour that doesn't take over. Our Finishing Oil, mostly Picual olives with Arbosana and Hojiblanca, is the one you pour over food once it's on your plate. Is it going in the pan or not? That's all you need to remember.

Can you deep fry in olive oil?

Yes. In Spain and Greece people have deep fried in olive oil for generations, and olive oil holds up well at frying temperatures. The Voedingscentrum advises frying at 175 °C at most, and that goes for olive oil too. The main downside is the price: a deep fryer quickly needs a few litres. For a batch of chips that's a waste of good oil. For a few croquettes, tempura or falafel shallow fried in a layer of oil in your frying pan, it's delicious.

Which olive oil should you cook with?

• Choose extra virgin. It isn't refined, so it still has its natural protective compounds.
• Choose a mild oil for the pan, for example one made from Arbequina olives. A very peppery oil works too, but you'll cook off part of its flavour.
• Choose fresh oil. Oil that's been open for a long time or is past its date has fewer protective compounds left. Read how to store olive oil properly.
• Regular olive oil, often sold as "pure", "classic" or "light", is a mix of refined and virgin oil. Milder and cheaper, but with much less of what makes extra virgin special. More on the differences in what is extra virgin olive oil.

Five tips for your kitchen

1. Heat the pan on medium first, then add the oil. After a few seconds your food can go in.
2. Don't use more than you need. A good splash is enough for a pan of vegetables.
3. Want a crust? A dry pan and dry food help more than a higher flame.
4. Roasting vegetables? Toss them with oil, salt and pepper just before they go into the oven.
5. Finish with a drizzle of Finishing Oil once it's on your plate. That's when you taste fresh, peppery oil at its best.

Frequently asked questions

What is the smoke point of extra virgin olive oil in Celsius?

Usually somewhere between 190 and 210 °C, depending on the oil. Fresh, high quality oil tends to sit at the higher end. But as you read above, the smoke point says less about cooking than how slowly an oil breaks down.

Can you cook with cold pressed extra virgin olive oil?

Yes. Cold pressed only means the oil was made below 27 °C. That has nothing to do with how you use it afterwards. You can fry and sauté with it, as long as the oil doesn't smoke. You do lose part of the flavour.

Does olive oil become toxic when you heat it?

No, not with normal frying and sautéing. Every oil forms compounds you don't want at very high heat, especially once it smokes. Extra virgin olive oil actually breaks down relatively slowly.

Is regular olive oil better for cooking than extra virgin?

Regular olive oil has a higher smoke point, but it's mostly refined. That means it lacks the natural protective compounds and the flavour of extra virgin. For normal frying and sautéing, extra virgin is a good choice.

Can you use olive oil in an air fryer?

Yes. Tossing your vegetables or potatoes with a tablespoon of extra virgin before they go in works well. You need much less than in a pan.

Can you reuse olive oil?

After a short fry you can use it once more, if you strain it and keep it somewhere cool and dark. If it smells stale or has turned dark and sticky, throw it away. Not down the sink, but in a closed bottle to a collection point.

Sources

• Voedingscentrum (Netherlands Nutrition Centre), Olijfolie (cooking with olive oil, composition). In Dutch.
• Voedingscentrum, Factsheet acrylamide (frying at 175 °C). In Dutch.
• De Alzaa, F., Guillaume, C. and Ravetti, L. (2018). Evaluation of chemical and physical changes in different commercial oils during heating. Acta Scientific Nutritional Health 2(6).
• Ramírez-Anaya, J. del P. et al. (2015). Phenols and the antioxidant capacity of Mediterranean vegetables prepared with extra virgin olive oil using different domestic cooking techniques. Food Chemistry 188.