Deep fry with extra-light olive oil?

[Soft Cars]

It would be expensive as heck but can it be done? How much would it change the flavor of the food over regular vegetable oil?

 

[Lubener]

It depends on one's individual taste. Olive oil is expensive and you can easily figure the increased cost over plain vegetable oil. Heating any oil changes it for the worst. To me, any deep frying is unhealthy no matter what oil is used.

 

[Soft Cars]

I deep fry corn tortillas for tacos. I was just wondering last night how much different they'd taste using olive oil.

 

[mcrn]

Olive oil can not take higher temps as well as oils like peanut oil.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

It would be expensive as heck but can it be done? How much would it change the flavor of the food over regular vegetable oil?

Deep fry temps are typically done around 350-375 degrees

The smoke point of virgin olive oil is 410F which is well over that of extra-virgin olive oil at 374F. So yes it can be done. As for taste it's going to depend on what you're frying. I wouldn't want to use it for something sweet like apple fritters or donuts.

 

[MParr]

It would be expensive as heck but can it be done? How much would it change the flavor of the food over regular vegetable oil?

Olive oil is not ideal for deep frying. It has a low smoke point and it’s expensive.
Remember, in ancient times, olive oil was used as fuel in lamps. This predated kerosene.

 

[MParr]

Cooking Oil Smoke Points

Knowing what smoke point is and how each cooking oil differs is essential to using them. Here we list the smoke points for all the most popular cooking oils.

www.webstaurantstore.com

 

[Oro_O]

Olive oil is not ideal for deep frying. It has a low smoke point and it’s expensive.
Remember, in ancient times, olive oil was used as fuel in lamps. This predated kerosene.

This, PLUS - some really don’t like the taste.

Much more than other oils, olive oil can impart a bitter taste to food at high temps. Some don’t mind it but I taste it and hate it. I do like most olive oils as “finishing” oils but never fry (pan or deep) or bake with them. Canola oil is a good deep-fry oil that is cheap. Soybean oil has real health concerns on the gut front and I avoid; canola is a better alternative and the same exact same (low) price as soybean (“vegetable oil”) in my grocery store.

Olive oil is massively over-used because of marketing and people perceiving it as healthier or premium when in fact it is not.

Good primer on cooking oil use. I keep grapeseed, canola, avocado, and olive oils around and use in different places.

https://latourangelle.com/blogs/general/best-finishing-oils

 

[hemioiler]

Apparently the smoke point of an oil is not the same thing as the point when it oxidizes (which is the real problem). This video explains it:

 

[97prizm]

It would be expensive as heck but can it be done? How much would it change the flavor of the food over regular vegetable oil?

You can't deep fry with light olive oil. It has too low a smoke point. Peanut, avocado, or grapeseed oil are ok to deep fry with

 

[Thebigm]

It would be expensive as heck but can it be done? How much would it change the flavor of the food over regular vegetable oil?

Olive oil has a very low smoke point so it wouldn't be good for deep frying

 

[cdlamb]

a High Oleic Low Linoleic canola oil can handle temperatures of up to 475 F.

Many fast food restaurants have been getting better service life out of these types of oils.

Canola oil: heart-healthy oil for all kinds of cooking

Canola oil is a healthy cooking oil made from crushed canola seeds. Benefits include low saturated fat and a high smoke point making it one of the most versatile high-oleic cooking oils.

www.canolacouncil.org

 

[vavavroom]

I won't recommend deep-frying in any case but I will say that avocado oil has a high smoke point of over 500°F and that it is rather flavor neutral. However, like all oils, it oxidizes, and it does so even more than olive oil at mere room temperature.