DavidW wrote:
>
> In a masterclass on the TV show Masterchef chef Matt Moran said that a lot of
> chefs say that they only cook with extra virgin olive oil, but he says that's
> silly because the extra virgin quality of the oil is lost when it's heated, for
> frying say.

Look at the wording. it says that EVOO works for cooking but its flavor
advantage is lost in coooking. As a result it's using a more expensive
product when a less expensive product would have worked exactly as well.

> In Australia we are told that European countries dump their lowest quality oil
> here because we don't have strict enough labelling standards, so it's safest to
> use only Australian olive oil, which is good quality. However, in the big
> supermarkets I can see no Australian olive oil that's not extra virgin, and
> therefore I assume not suitable for cooking. So, what olive oil to cook with?

Again check the wording. I suggest the imported olive oil is the sort
that works in cooking and with cooking can't be told from EVOO. In this
I might be mistaken but I am certain about the wording of the previous
one.

So how much olive oil do you go through?

Little - Get the more expensive local oil and use it in cooking anyways.
So what that the extra flavor advantage is lost. You're benefitting
local family farms.

Much - Get the more expensive local oil for raw applications. Get the
cheaper imported product for cooking applications where the flavor
advantage does not matter. You're increasing world trade.

That's my take. At home we have extra virgin and extra light - Opposite
ends of the spectrum - as a result of this thought process. Works fine
for us.