EVOO Taken to New Heights

Historically referred to as the “elixir of youth and health", the lifestyle benefits of olive oil are becoming common knowledge. Any chef’s kitchen across the country will possess a quality Extra Virgin olive oil from Spain (or a few) and, indeed, aficionado home cooks will usually have a bottle in the pantry. Aside from the usual uses as a drizzle, in sautéing or in grilling, here are some of the more unusual ways to make the most of this very nuanced ingredient.

Firstly, let’s cover some of the modern basics. Extra Virgin olive oil is employed in more than just savory cooking these days, with many chefs and foodies incorporating the liquid gold into baking and desserts. You may have heard of olive oil being used in bread, for example with rosemary, but how about lavender or lemon olive oil cake? By simply substituting the butter or fat element for EVOO, you amp up the flavor and nutrition. Keto followers will want to try the almond olive oil cake - taking zero carb baking to a new level. More creative uses of olive oil in the sweet-savory category include goat cheese and olive oil cheesecake, or novice cooks can simply prepare ice cream with salt and olive oil for added savory mouthfeel.

Because, of course, flavor is just a small part of this cold pressed olive juice’s appeal. And if you’re up for experimenting with sensory appeal, try some of these techniques for temperature and texture play. For example, many chefs are serving Extra Virgin olive oil in sorbet form. Since olive oil freezes, this is an easy way to add a dressing with a difference to salads or desserts - for optimum results, the arbequina variety combines well with most flavors.

Taking the texture innovation up a notch, fine dining chefs often apply foams to dishes in molecular cuisine. Extra Virgin olive oil foam is made by heating oil with glice (monoglyceride) to form an emulsified mixture that when cooled, results in a unique texture that can be layered onto a dish. Finally, across food there’s a trend for creating dried and dehydrated powders of produce - and olive oil is no exception. This makes for an interesting way to distribute the flavor and finish a dish - usually combined with salt and/or Spanish spices.

So why not pick your favorite Extra Virgin olive oil from Spain and start experimenting at home?