Your opinion about use of Olive Oil, do we really need to use it?"

[Paper Roses]

I follow a couple of cooking videos on FB. I especially like: https://www.sipandfeast.com/.
Great recipes for Italian food plus other recipes. The host is great and shows everything you need to know about what he is preparing.
My problem: I don't care for the taste of Olive Oil. I wonder what the difference would be with corn oil or Canola oil.
Plus, like many other cooking pages, there is a ton of Garlic used. Do we really need 5 or 6 cloves to make a simple recipe? Jacques Pepin also uses a ton of garlic. There are social implications. 6 cloves of garlic...yikes, I might need a triple mask just to get close to the person to whom I am speaking..

Would love to hear any thoughts.

I have enough trouble dividing the recipes for just me. Sure miss the days when the whole family was here for meals.

[comradebillyboy]

1. It's your kitchen, you get to cook what you want how you

want it.

[Rebl2]

36. Exactly!

[bucolic_frolic]

2. I don't bake or fry with olive oil, and it should be extra virgin olive oil

Some oils take heat better. Canola, Sesame, almond. I don't use Corn oil, or soybean oil.

Olive oil has better flavor when cold. Heating makes oil rancid. It is best to avoid rancid anything, and Omega 6 oil as much as is practical.

Much research has been done on oils. There are Omega 3,6,9 components. Wild Salmon oil and Olive EVO are the gold standard. It's why they're so expensive. First press - extra virgin as Congress designated it with lobbying help - is just that - extracted by pressing it. Manufacturers can extract more oil by using chemicals. These are really not any good for us. While the chemicals evaporate, residue remains.

[2naSalit]

8. +1

[50 Shades Of Blue]

3. Since I don't use cooking oil up that fast, I just use canola oil for everything, and it's fine!

I've tried various other kinds of oils over the years but haven't noticed much difference other than with olive oil, which I'm not crazy about the taste of, either. So it's store-brand canola for me!

[Paper Roses]

10. Thanks, I needed a little encouragement. I just bought Canola oil.

I've used corn oil for years but was told that Canola was better. I'll be trying it tomorrow in a stir fry. Since I don't fry often, most of my use is in salads and occasional stir fry.

I also don't use enough to justify the cost. I threw away a bottle a few weeks ago. It goes rancid.
I'm on limited income so throwing away an expensive bottle is not economical.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

13. Being healthier is one of the reasons I use Canola, too. And it's just so much cheaper.

I hope it works for you!

[niyad]

4. I happen to love olive oil. And butter. And garlic, so I don't think I can help.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. Me too. I sometimes double the garlic in a recipe.

[Probatim]

22. My thoughts on cooking with garlic...

If some people knew how much garlic went into my black bean dip, they'd run for the hills.

[niyad]

28. Chicken with 40 cloves if garlic, one of my favourites.

I am guessing thst I would love your black bean dip.

[Probatim]

31. It's super simple...

One medium onion, roughly diced
8-10 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cans of black beans, one drained, other with liquid
1 tsp of Better than Bouillon chicken broth
1 TB of taco seasoning - I use Taco Seasoning I from All Recipes
Butter and olive oil

Sweat the onion in a 2 quart sauce pan for several minutes
Add the garlic and saute for another minute
Add the Taco Seasoning and chicken broth concentrate
Add both cans of black beans

Let them simmer then hit with an immersion blender to your desired consistency.

It's great as a dip but I also make a "Mexican pizza" with it. That's a tortilla shell, layer of bean dip, a drizzle of taco sauce, protein (beef, chicken, quinoa, roasted butternut squash, whatever), your favorite shredded cheese, and jalapenos (and green onions). Bake at 375 until you're happy with the color.

That was actually my dinner tonight.

[niyad]

32. mmmmm. Thank you for both recipes.

[Marthe48]

39. I made that once

Not enough garlic

[niyad]

40. Exactly.

One of the few times that I cheat, and buy the prepeeled garlic cloves.

[Marthe48]

42. I like making chicken vegetable soup

and adding whole raw cloves in. I like them cooked to softness, and they are such a nice addition.

[niyad]

44. As do I. Making some in a bit, for this cold and snowy day. With some habenero

and cheddar cornbread (with some hot honey and butter!).

[Marthe48]

45. You are my kind of cook!

I made curried chicken veg soup yesterday, had some for lunch.

Enjoy your yummy dinner

[niyad]

47. Yummmmm on the curried soup. I have some Penzey's hot curry powder. Have not

yet tried it.

[2naSalit]

9. The three essential ingredients...

To anything that isn't cake or dessert! Butter and olive oil are my combo of choice for anything that gets cooked in it. I would use just butter but I like olive oil and it keeps the butter from burning.

most of my skillet dishes end up with a sauce, because I'm a "saucemaker"* and it makes for a great flavor in the sauce as well.

*If you can make sauces, you can make anything. That's what I learned when I started cooking in commercial kitchens and I found that it was a good thing I was good at that.

[gab13by13]

6. I fry potato pancakes with safflower oil

it tastes better and doesn't smoke until 500 degrees.

I use olive oil to heat up frozen stuff like sausage.

[2naSalit]

7. For me...

And I use olive oil almost exclusively, it's as much about taste as nutrition. Corn oil is severely lacking as fa as I'm concerned. I'll peanut oil or avocado oil on occasion but I'm pretty dialed in on olive oil.

Garlic, whether you like the smell or not, is an amazing thing and it is healthy for you in many ways, there are books about it, not just a seasoning. I use it a lot, if it will be a cooked-in element, I'll use several cloves, otherwise I go according to the size of the cloves, in my favorite dish I add the raw garlic last, in chunks you can stab with a fork, it goes in the pan about 40 seconds before I remove from heat. I like having that zing as one of the many flavors the dish has to offer. I also make garlic soup that actually tastes like tomato soup.

What are the 10 benefits of garlic?
Image result for garlic benefits
Health benefits of garlic: 10 proven benefits of eating garlic

Fights cold and flu. Garlic soup. ...
Cures hypertension. ...
Boosts immune system. ...
Lowers cholesterol levels. ...
Prevents heart diseases. ...
Good for your eyes. ...
Rich in antioxidants. ...
Helps prevent cancer.
https://www.india.com/lifestyle/health-benefits-of-garlic-10-proven-benefits-of-eating-garlic-2150128/

[niyad]

29. mmmm mmmm garlic soup! Anti microbial as well.

[2naSalit]

43. A constant in my diet!

[Marthe48]

38. Mom, is that you?

Sounds like her kind of meal!

[niyad]

46. I forgot to ask for the garlic soup that tastes like tomato recipe, please?

[2naSalit]

48. I named it...

In memory of the love of my life who gave me this recipe when we were together;

Doug's Garlic Soup

Ingredients

1 medium sized bulb of garlic, peeled and slightly crushed

3 Tbs Olive Oil

1 large Bay Leaf

6-8 medium sized, fresh tomatoes cut into large wedges

2/3 gallon-ish fresh Water

In a stock pot of choice, brown the garlic in olive oil. When brown, add tomatoes and Bay leaf, add enough water to cover the tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until it has cooked down about an inch from the water line. Add enough water to the line and simmer down an inch or so. Takes about an hour and a half.

Afterward, remove from heat and let stand about 45 minutes. Strain out the solids and discard the pulp*, return the fluid to a pot to heat for serving.

Makes about a gallon.

Serving suggestions include an egg drop but that's about it.

What you end up with is an elegant, clear broth with tiny red filaments in it, fit for a single course in a multi-course setting. You can freeze it and it holds true. You can also freeze it into cubes for sauces and other dishes.

Enjoy!

*I have never found a use for that stuff other than an additive to the compost pile.

[niyad]

49. Oh, wow!! Thank you, sounds yummmmy. Tomatoes and garlic, sighhhh.

With the tomato skins in the pulp, pretty sure compost is it. I was reading a recipe where the garlic is strained through, and the person adds a bit of butter, and smears it on toasted bread.

I have several tomato and pumpkin recipes. Now to figure the three together.

[2naSalit]

50. The flavor...

Will be cooked out of it, you can try it but I have reservations about any successful options!

But I'm open to suggestions if you do find something edible to use it for.

[hlthe2b]

11. Safflower oil is neutral and probably closest. But I'm tempted to shout: Blasphemy! LOL

Of course, you can reduce the garlic... Italian cooks are going to load the recipe up with it, but all is up to the preference of the cook, right?

[hippywife]

14. Italian cooks don't load up recipes with garlic.

My grandfather hated it, so my grandmother didn't use it. I like garlic, but don't like food loaded with it, either.

In Italy, they use much less garlic than we do here. From what I've seen, it's purely an American thing to overload dishes with it; and from what I've read, the garlic used in Italy, and throughout the EU, is quite more pungent than the variety used in the U.S., so they definitely don't use it in the same gobs full that many here do.

[hlthe2b]

15. Maybe American-Italians--at least my extended family members.

Not to mention my collection of Italian cookbooks.

[hippywife]

16. It's not a monolithic thing

that all Italians, even Italian Americans such as my own family, load up on garlic. It just isn't.

[hlthe2b]

17. Fine. It was not nor do I intend to argue with you. I made an observation. YMMV. ENOUGH!

This is the Cooking & Baking Group--not meant to be a lion-filled coliseum.

[hippywife]

18. Sorry, but you made an assertion that was patently incorrect.

It wasn't my intent to "argue" and I didn't, I merely set the record straight.

[hlthe2b]

19. That is exactly what you are doing. And it is very inappropriate here. Take it elsewhere. This is

supposed to be a fun, collaborative, laid-back forum. Not an argumentative pit, which is what you are presenting. I have every right to present my experience. Yours differs, great. But you are out of line.

[hippywife]

20. Ignore. nt

[hlthe2b]

21. Thank you, Goddess. Back at ya.

[hippywife]

12. Olive oil is usually recommended as a replacement for fats...

in people who need to be concerned with them in their diets, especially as a replacement for butter. That being said, I still use a lot of butter.

As someone else mentioned, temp is really important with regard to which oil to use for different applications as they all have different smoke points.

However, I use oil for a lot of things. Used to exclusively use canola for years, but it started tasting funny to me about 5 years ago. I switched back to vegetable oil. But still use olive oil depending on what I'm making, and always in salads. I find I can't necessarily taste it in cooked dishes or in a salad once I add vinegar. We never had olive oil when I was growing up, neither did my Italian relatives, and veg oil was the only kind my mom ever bought, so I know there's no issue with swapping out the two.

[yellowdogintexas]

23. there are olive oils which are nearly tasteless

In fact olive oil has a wide variety of flavors, depending on the type of olive and the location in which it was grown.

If you can find one of those olive oil stores in your area, go there and taste some samples, just to experience the varieties. Most of them also have different vinegars as well.

I like the more flavorful oil for salad dressing and the light oil for cooking and sometimes baking. I once used the light oil in carrot cake because I was out of other oils. It tasted wonderful

[niyad]

30. I love our store! Darn!! Forgot the olio nuovo last year!

And I absolutely love my chocolate balsamic vinegar.

[Marthe48]

41. I started adding olive oil to baklava

I ran short of butter once, and added olive oil to get the amount I needed. The baklava was exceptional, have been using the mix ever since (about 2/3 butter, 1/3 olive oil)

[happybird]

24. I use canola oil and also don't care for the taste of olive oil

I do use a ton of garlic, though. Butter is actually the fat I use most. Everything tastes good with butter and lightly sautéed garlic.

Cooking for one is difficult. It’s surprising how different it is even from cooking for two people. I use a lot of frozen vegetables (broccoli, green beans, cauliflower, corn, carrots) because so much of the fresh veg went bad before I had a chance to use it.

[Mr.Bill]

25. I use mostly peanut oil.

As far as garlic goes, I got used to using it sparsely because it triggered heartburn in me. Now, with Prilosec to avoid heartburn, I don't have that problem, but I still think it is often better to use less. I have a daughter who has a Persian husband and there is a lot of garlic in Persian food. But my daughter uses it in everything. Sometimes when we go to her house, when we pull in the driveway with the windows of the car open you can smell garlic before you shut the engine off.

[IbogaProject]

26. I love olive oil

But there are wide variations in quality. The basic division is between refined or basic olive oil that is good for cooking and the two virgin ones that are to be only heated lightly like sauteing greens briefly, for bread dipping or dressings. your kitchen your choices. the key with garlic is to let it finish, raw garlic needs to be crushed and sit for awhile to let the flavors shift. It works out you clean and crush the garlic first, let it stand, and then start the onions and so forth. Or get a prepared chopped garlic.

[SheltieLover]

27. Here is one study.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/vegetable-oils-linked-to-blindness-20040610-gdj3ic.html

I've read canola is very unhealthy & avoid it like the plague.

Try avacado oil?

[Warpy]

33. My best advice is suit yourself. I like the flavor of olive oil

and I also like garlic and have found the two made for each other, but if you find the flavor of either objectionable, you can cut it down or cut it out. Just don't expect the final product to have the stamp of authenticity.

Canold oil is of the devil, IMO, it gives me an erupting volcano under my sternum for hours so I avoid it completely. I like safflower oil the best but generally use the cheap blended oil from the supermarket in things like Chinese recipes because I can no longer get out to shop at places that have safflower oil.

I also use butter, good old stick o cholesterol butter, and my cholesterol numbers remain in the basement.

[chowmama]

34. No, you don't need to use olive oil. Or garlic.

Me, I'm likely to use olive oil and/or garlic in anything that doesn't actually involve chocolate. But you cook for the people you're feeding, one of whom is you.

I mean, I loathe blue cheese in all its forms. Same with caviar. (I'm a very cheap date.) If someone fed me a meal with either, I'd try to be polite, but I wouldn't exactly feel nurtured. I never cook with it; the best I ever do is pick up a small block of it and some good crackers for my husband to enjoy by himself. I don't think it's a bad thing, just not a thing for me.

Canola's fine. Garlic can be cut way back, substituted for with something much milder (shallots?) or left out entirely. Following recipes to the letter isn't half as much fun as cooking with your tastes and instincts. This is how you get new family recipes.

[Penelope Joyce]

35. I have been using sesame oil for a long time now, for all kinds of dishes :)

Sesame oil has a rich, sweet, and nutty flavor with a distinctive aroma, while olive oil can have a slightly bitter taste with a peppery finish. If you don't like sesame oil and usually bake or fry, soybean oil is suitable, I think.
I really don't like the smell of olive oil, neither does my husband.

[Marthe48]

37. I gained weight using corn oil

I'd lost weight, and had some corn oil in the pantry. I thought I'd use it up before it went bad. I switched from using olive oil in any of my recipes, and right away noticed I was gaining weight and I didn't know why. I thought about any changes in my food plan, and realized the only thing that was different was the kind of oil I was using. I gained 6 lbs in a week. As soon as I stopped using the corn oil, I lost the 6 lbs. I don't know if other people had the same reaction, but I've stuck to olive oil since then. I don't really notice the flavors of oil. I use coconut oil for some baking recipes. Some of my relatives can taste that and don't like it.

As for garlic, I have heard more than once that cooked onion and garlic won't give you bad breath. I eat lots of both, and no one has mentioned any odor. I'd say use what you want. When I make a meal, I don't follow a recipe. When I bake, I do