Why It's A Mistake To Use Extra Virgin Olive Oil In Your Marinades

Foodies love getting the best ingredients to use in their kitchen, but sometimes the best version of a product isn't actually the best fit for the job. Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is widely considered the best type of olive oil on the market, but Michael Lomonaco, Chef at Porter House, says not to use it for marinades.

Lomonaco's reason for discounting an EVOO marinade was simple: "Extra virgin olive oil is costly." High quality comes at a higher price, and we all want a high-quality marinade, so what's the big deal? If the cost of EVOO is within our budget, it may seem like a no-brainer to use it when we can. But even if money is no object, we'd still be making a mistake by reaching for a bottle of EVOO as a marinade base.

"I use [EVOO] primarily for finishing or enhancing a dish at the end of the cooking process," Lomonaco continued. "So the heat from cooking doesn't dissipate that great flavor." All of the best finishing olive oil brands are EVOO, and for good reason. It's the same idea behind not making cocktails with top-shelf spirits. You could, but you won't be getting the full value of your ingredients by doing so. Although they're both made from olives, EVOO is different from regular olive oil because of how it's processed. All that extra work goes to waste if you cook with it, thereby subduing its flavor.

"For a basic marinade I would recommend a more general-purpose olive oil labeled 'olive oil' or 'pure olive oil,'" said Lomonaco. There are some great olive oils for cooking, but you're making the most of your ingredients by knowing which type of oil is good in what kind of role.

A lot of people will point to the smoke point of olive oil as a reason to not cook with it, regardless of how it's processed, but EVOO has a high enough smoke point (between 350 and 410 degrees Fahrenheit) to withstand most cooking needs. That being said, just because the smoke point is high enough doesn't mean you should use it in that way. There are other factors at play, and as Lomonaco points out, an oil can diminish in quality before the smoke point is reached.

Most of the time, that doesn't matter. But if you're serious about fine-tuning your working knowledge of basic kitchen ingredients, keep in mind that the increase in quality that you're buying into with EVOO is diminished when you introduce it to heat. If that's acceptable to you, by all means, fire it up. If you enjoy cooking but your finances aren't infinite, maybe think twice before coating your next roast in a pricey EVOO marinade when a more basic olive oil would work just as well.