Sp-oiled for choice

Oli the author appears to favour the unhealthy rapeseed for cooking !

” On Trust Me, I’m a Doctor we decided to look at things from a different angle by asking: “Which fats and oils are best to cook with?” You might think it is obvious that frying with vegetable oils has to be healthier than cooking with animal fat, like lard or butter. But is it really?”

Lard, butter, olive oil, goose fat and coconut oil all being better according to the BBC programme in 2015
bbc.com/news/magazine-33675975

I think we will need to see more research before we can be sure of what to provide as official advice, but there is now ample evidence that its best to minimise consumption of food cooked at high temperature.

Carbohydrates cooked at high temperatures are classed as carcinogens.

Indeed, though high temperature cooking of proteins in meat is probably a greater problem with regard to cancer. The traditional way of stewing meat is to brown it in the oil or fat of your choice and then add other ingredients and water. There is no need to include this stage.

A subject dear to my heart as I was a food-taster when the science first broke in 2001 and I have followed it closely ever since. The comment of the NZ Health Officer the following year that the odds were that you would be dead from something else before these carcinogens would get you sort of put it into perspective for me.

Bottom line is we are all going to die , but worrying is perhaps the biggest cause of avoidable premature death in my view.

I did give the job up as an awful lot of tasting of sausages and crisps was required several days a week. No point in bucking the odds : )

Thing is, the meat is far tastier when it is browned first, to seal in the flavour – just as you do when cooking a steak or a joint. We are unlikely to shorten most of our lives greatly by indulging in such practices, and as we all have to die at some point, may as well enjoy life while we have it. So many things in life are a risk; we should not let them scare us into avoiding them just in case.

Friends have died as a result of bowel cancer, which is one of the reasons I pay attention to what I eat. That’s why I’m interested in finding out the best available advice on cooking with olive oil compared with alternatives.

According to a cookery book written by an eminent cancer specialist at the Royal Free Hospital in London, olive oil is excellent for cooking, BUT it should not be used for high temperature frying.

That’s right. As the temperature rises the oil changes its chemical make-up.

Good question. There is a lot of misinformation around. The European Food Safety Authority, based on numerous studies including data from the EPIC study, have concluded it is safe to cook with extra virgin olive oil. Though some of the antioxidants are consumed, a significant proportion are maintained. The “smoke point” of a good quality extra virgin olive oil will be higher than the average temperature of most roasting/ frying ie below 190 degrees. In fact there is now research to show that the absorption of fat soluble vitamins and polyphenols is improved when EVOO is the cooking medium… It is the most ubiquitous fat used in cooking as well as drizzling in the regions known for the famously healthy Mediterranean Diet

To find out which is the cheapest major supermarket to shop at, we analyse the price of between 70 and 100 popular branded food and grocery products every month. Our comparison is based on the prices supplied by online supermarkets Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Tesco, Waitrose Deliver and Ocado. Read more: http://www.which.co.uk/reviews/supermarkets/article/supermarket-price-comparison – Which?

I am not clear why Lidl and Aldi are still not included in this exercise given the huge number of shops and share of the market. I also note that the prices are based on “online supermarkets” however the title of the piece “Supermarket price comparison” does not indicate this at all.

Given basics like my olive oil are bought from Aldi and Waitrose I am very interested in comparisons of quality, and if they are of any significance.

Incidentally the flavour of olive oil used cold for dressings is a separate subject and I am sure we would appreciate some comments on that.

We don’t buy many branded products. The choccy bics I buy are half the price of branded – and as nice. The sauce is the retailers own brand – not HP or Heinz – just like the beans, bread, cakes, cereal, toilet rolls and so on. So why not look at the actual contents of an average weekly shop and use the retailers products where appropriate. Why choose branded products?

But retailers own brands are brands, and some retailers brands are more expensive than others.

Hopefully retailers own branded products don’t carry the promotional and advertising costs of major brands. If some retailers own products are more expensive than other retailers that will show up in the basket (trolley) total. Not sure of the point. I’d just like to know what a real weekly shop might cost at the different retailers, not one based only on major (and often more expensive) brands. That doesn’t tell me much about the real value the retailer might offer.

My July Which? magazine arrived at lunchtime today and I see that the “test lab” report on top-end olive oils does indeed include taste tests of the supermarkets’ own-label versions. I have not read the report yet but I cannot understand why the Intro to this Conversation did not say “read all about it in next month’s Which?”.

[Sorry John, the test results are exclusive to Which? members, so I’ve just removed the scores from your comments. Thanks, Patrick.]

This seems to correspond more or less with our food cupboard so I am satisfied now.

OK Patrick – I thought it was fair reporting and that I would get away with it! I think you have achieved my purpose .

Actually all food is not the same in its effects. I see that beef cattle in the US fed on grain may have a different effect on humans compared to grass-fed beef cattle in Europe. The wonders of research!

There has long been a thought that hydroponic grown tomatoes are not as flavoursome and possibly have not the same make-up as earth grown tomatoes. This might be misleading as the tomatoes would probably be different varieties – which in itself gives rise to potential differences.

Once tomatoes become commercial:
” To do this, the tomatoes had to be made tougher so they could survive transport without damage. This meant breeding tomatoes with thicker skins that are less prone to splitting and breeding firmer tomatoes that are less likely to burst or bruise. Producing tomatoes of a regular size and shape also became important as this allowed efficient packing of the tomatoes for their journey. Increasing firmness has also increased the ease of tomato picking. To aid tomato picking further, plants that produce and ripen all their fruit at the same time and tomatoes that separate easily from their stalks have also been bred. These developments have decreased the cost of picking tomatoes and have paved the way for picking by machines.”

This surely is the case with most food? We need it to survive transport, handling, easier to pack, shelf life, yield, tolerance to pests and climate……… a consequence of an ever-growing population requiring food they can afford.

Even growing your own can be a lottery – which seeds do you choose? You need a degree in horticulture to understand what the different varieties properties are. However you can at least control how they are grown, when they are picked and what controls you use. What you cannot do is give round-the-year continuity.

So we rely on the retailers for most of the time. And informants to warn us of hazards. Perhaps we should have a new magazine – Which? Food – to keep tabs on good and bad food? We will miss the resources of the EU when we leave. Will the FSA be enough?

Many people actually enjoy food, so it does more for them than just stop the pangs of hunger. And while all food ends up in the same place, it is what some food does on its way there that causes concern.

Your first paragraph misses out the desire to make profit as the chief driver for changes. And it is pretty much the large retailer who decides what we see to purchase. Food as a percentage of peoples costs has been drooping all this century – and last.

I throw this in as it is lengthy but interesting.
In 1901, food and housing took up about 60 percent of people’s incomes. About 40 percent of a consumer’s income was spent on food and about 20 percent of a consumer’s income was spent on housing. 20 percent was spent on apparel while virtually nothing was spent on transportation. Health care took up about 5 percent, entertainment was2 percent and books were 1 percent. In 1901, 1 percent went for alcohol and the other 11 percent was used for everything else.
The War Years
Between the years of 1934 to 1946, food and housing together took up about 60 percent of incomes, with 34 percent used for food and 26 percent for housing. Clothing used 12 percent of income, and transportation another 10 percent. Health care took up 3 percent and entertainment was raised to 5 percent. Reading took less than 1 percent and no official numbers are available for alcohol because prohibition. Other expenses claimed the final 9 percent.
Boomer Generation
In 1950, food and housing together took up about 55 percent of people’s incomes, with 34 percent used for food and 21 percent for housing. About 12 percent of a consumer’s income was spent on apparel and 11 percent on transportation. Health care took up about 5 percent, entertainment required about 5 percent and reading remained at 1 percent of the income, the same as alcohol. Other expenses claimed the final 10 percent.
Fast Forward
From 2002 to 2003, food and housing together took up about 45 percent of incomes, with 13 percent on food and about 33 percent on housing. About 4 percent was spent on clothing and 22 percent on transportation. Health care took up about 6 percent, entertainment required about 5 percent And reading was about 2 percent. Alcohol was about 1 percent of a consumer’s income. Other expenses claimed the final 15 percent.

US of course : )

But is it best kept in the dark? So a cupboard or a tin?

Olive oil has a large unsaturated fat content containing mainly monounsaturated and some polyunsaturated fatty acids. It is less chemically stable than saturated fats and subject to oxidation and developing rancid flavours. Keeping it cool and dark will help. Dark bottles may help, especially since we have no control of storage prior to purchase.

Glass allows interaction with light, a bottle could be sitting for months on a brightly lit warehouse/supermarket shelf. That’s why olive oil in tins looks and tastes better. Tin is also used by local Italian oil producers. Tin is probably best 🙂

You could well be right Paola, but the better taste and appearance of the olive oil in tins might be because it is actually a superior product compared with the bottled varieties. Canning the oil rather than bottling it might be a way of offsetting its higher cost.

Certainly storage within the supply chain could be important. Bottled oils will probably be packed in cardboard outers with a small stock on the retailer’s shelves [of which only the front row will be exposed to much light but with forward facing labels that is also mitigated]. Tins could be in shrink-wrapped multi-packs, palletted, or boxed before being stacked on shelves. A metal enclosure would transfer heat variations more directly to the contents but whether that is significant for olive oil I do not know.

Whatever is used for packaging I think it is best to use it soon after purchase and not let it linger too long in the cupboard after first opening.

It would be nice to have an answer to your comment about the use of the word “virgin” in respect of olive oil, Julian. I have often wondered. I am also perplexed by the description “extra virgin” as I had always believed virginity to be an absolute state not conducive to grades of condition.

For some reason ‘oil’ attracts curious adjectives, such as “essential”. There is nothing vital or compulsory about ‘essential oils’ – it is just that they are made from essence, e.g. a plant extract [it’s a bit tautologous as well because a plant extract is the oil].

Given it is a general subject I thought the answer of why virgin olive oil is easily found.
http://www.oliveoiltimes.com/extra-virgin-olive-oil
Essentially olive oil not chemically or heat altered but naturally mechanically pressed.

If you are more concerned as to the term “virgin” I think you might say that it is not been despoiled by over treatment. Sort of like virgin land waiting for the first farmers. Though virgin wool might be thought tricky it is actually wool that is being spun for the first time.

This is as opposed to Shoddy ” Shoddy or recycled wool is made by cutting or tearing apart existing wool fabric and respinning the resulting fibers.[32] As this process makes the wool fibers shorter, the remanufactured fabric is inferior to the original.”

Hence the naming of the Shoddy Awards which hopefully will grace the consumer scene soon.

John – I have often wondered about ‘extra virgin’ olive oil too. I’m wondering if there are other examples of this terminology or whether this is very unique.

Maybe it just means that the oil is available in large sizes and there is no chance of baby bottles.