The perennial appeal of olive oil
While coconut oil might be the cooking fat that’s on everyone’s lips at the moment, we’re still enamoured with olive oil. Here are six reasons why it’s still our go-to store-cupboard essential.
It’s packed with flavour
Ever tried tossing your freshly made pasta with canola oil and garlic before sprinkling over some Parmesan? We didn’t think so. Extra virgin olive oil, however, goes a long way in contributing a delicious, grassy flavour and peppery taste to any dish you add it to.
It’s a good fat
Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fat, which is the good kind. According to the Seven Countries Study that took place during the 1960s, findings were that people in Greece and other parts of the Mediterranean generally had a lower rate of heart disease due to their diets, which were high in olive oil.
It plays well with others
Even though it has a distinctive taste, olive oil marries beautifully with – and simultaneously elevates – other flavours. Lemon? Check. Balsamic vinegar? Check. Garlic, basil, chilli, truffle or any other herb you can think of? Check, check, check. Want to push out the boat a little? Try making olive oil ice cream!
It’s an essential dressing ingredient
Want to jazz up a couple of salad leaves? Nothing to it but to add a good drizzle of olive oil. As mentioned in the previous point, it also lends itself to a whole host of flavour combinations, so whether you simply prefer to blend it with some good vinegar or a whole host of other ingredients, your salad dressing will be a surefire winner.
It makes for a delicious dip
Can there be anything more pleasurable than dipping a piece of fresh ciabatta in olive oil and balsamic vinegar before your food arrives at a restaurant? Or in olive oil and then a fragrant dukkah for a pre-dinner snack? These are rhetorical questions, just FYI.
It’s like a facial in a bottle
Ever wondered what the secret to legendary actress Sophia Loren’s beautiful glowing is? Well, according to her she bathed in olive oil. Don’t worry, she didn’t need to empty bottles of it in a bathtub (that would just be financially unviable) she merely added a few tablespoons to her bathwater. Who needs the fountain of youth when you have a bottle of good old olive oil to hand?
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