Olive oil
Oils & Ghee
Raw as a finishing drizzle, and gentle heat for sautés — not a frying or tempering oil.
What to know
Extra virgin has a low smoke point and turns bitter and acrid once the pan gets properly hot, which is why it fights a tempering and wastes what you paid for. Keep it for finishing or low heat, and use a neutral oil for anything that has to get hot.
- Choosing it
- Extra virgin in a dark bottle if it is going on raw — that is the only version with a flavour worth drizzling. Bottles labelled light or pure are refined and close to tasteless, which makes them fine for heat and pointless on top of a finished dish.
- Storing it
- Cool, dark and tightly capped. Light and heat turn it rancid, and a bottle kept by the hob goes off far sooner than one in a cupboard.
- If you cannot get it
- Widely stocked in Indian cities and expensive next to groundnut or sunflower oil. Any neutral oil does the cooking; only the raw drizzle actually needs it.
Measures
- 1 tsp ≈ 4.5 g
- 1 tbsp ≈ 13.5 g
- 1 cup ≈ 180 g
Cups here are the Indian 200 ml cup, not the 240 ml US cup — a common reason a recipe does not work. Weigh where you can; the grams are the figure we cook to.