What Makes Olive Oil So Good? | Healthy Nest Nutrition

There is confusion on whether it is OK to cook with heat with olive oil because of the oil’s smoke point. The smoke point is the temperature at which oil starts emitting a bluish smoke. If oil is heated past the smoke point, oil begins to break down, react with the oxygen, and free radicals are produced ruining the flavor, but it is also producing harmful inflammatory pro-oxidants (not good).

According to the North American Olive Oil Association, the extra virgin olive oil smoke point range is 350⁰ to 410⁰ F. 350 degrees is about what your medium burner heat is on. So, it’s OK to heat olive oil using a medium burner with medium heat. Please do not high heat olive oil. NO big stir-fries, YES to a quick sauté.

Again, it is OK to heat olive oil on medium, low-medium and low heat for sautéing your food. DO NOT use olive oil on high heat. In the oven, I would not exceed 350 degrees using olive oil. If you would like to use higher heat, I would choose avocado oil, which has a smoke point of 520 degrees. If you like the flavor of olive oil, drizzle a bit over your food after you take it off the heat.