Curiosities about Pangia Oil | Italian extra virgin olive oil

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The results of our efforts is an extra virgin olive oil of exceptional quality, with a thousand flavors and nuances…

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Curiosities italian extra virgin olive oil

From a small town in Molise, nestled in a hill, comes a centuries-old tradition olive oil.
Pangia Oil will submit a selection of urban legends and various curiosities collected in this “how not to do it” guide, in order to dispel myths in the world of extra virgin olive oil.

Pangia Family, oil since 1870 - Rotello (CB) Italy.

CURIOSITIES, “HOW NOT TO DO IT” GUIDE AND LEGENDS

 

Frying with olive oil
You say oil and you think of frying. Frying gives food that unique taste that makes your mouth water: french fries, fried chicken, fried shrimps, schnitzel…
The habit of frying foods dates back to the Romans, two thousand years ago; some people say this technique originated in ancient Egypt.
To make the outside of the food crispy you can deep it in eggs and coat it in flour or bread crumbs; otherwise you can place food directly into hot oil.
The high temperature of oil heats the water within the food and the bubbles of water vapour immediately come up to the surface making oil sizzle. The oil temperature must not be excessive to avoid burning the food, but high enough not to penetrate and make the food greasy and soggy.
It is very important not to heat oil over its smoking point: the smoking point is the temperature at which an oil begins to break down releasing toxic componenents such as acroleyne. A high quality extra virgin olive oil is a very stable fat and has a high smoking point, well above the temperature required for frying, while other cooking oils reach their smoking point before reaching the temperature needed for frying. That’s why olive oil is an excellent choice, dispelling the myths that frying with other oils is better. Actually there are oils with a high smoking point, such as refined palm oil, but refined oils undergo many chemical treatments so they are not reccommended for a natural and healthy diet.

The colour green: is it so important?
Before tasting an extra-virgin olive oil we often stop briefly and take a look at its colour.
Some are very green, others verging on yellow. Can we judge an oil from its colour as we do for wine? Colour changes according to olive variety, season and picking. The colour of the oil can verge from yellow to green, with no relation with the nutritive value of the oil and its quality. The conviction that the best oil is green makes some firms pack oil in transparent bottles, endangering thus its quality. The colour green is due above all to chlorophyll, which hasn’t any nutritive value and is potentially harmful (see preservation ) The ancient millers said: “ A little leaf is always good! “ , that’s why oil was very green; nowadays olives are washed and trimmed very carefully and the complete lack of leaves makes oil more yellow. Next time you will choose an oil don’t be influenced by its colour.
A curiosity: in panel test tasting is carried out with blue glasses that make oils look black, which confirms that colour has no relation with the organoleptic qualities of an oil.