Choosing the Right Cooking Oil for Health and High Heat

To navigate this heat constraint, experts strongly recommend reserving Extra Virgin Olive Oil for cold applications, such as dressing fresh salads, drizzling over already cooked dishes just before serving, or incorporating it into various dips, thereby ensuring its beneficial antioxidants remain intact and active. For situations demanding higher heat, the refined version of olive oil is generally considered a more suitable alternative, boasting a higher smoke point of approximately 220°C (428°F). It is important to note, however, that the chemical refining process necessary to achieve this greater heat stability simultaneously strips away a significant portion of the natural antioxidants and polyphenols, rendering the refined oil less nutritionally robust than its cold-pressed counterpart.