Celebrating the festive seasons with quality food

A festive season often entails merrymaking with lots of eating or snacking with loved ones. As the year comes to a closure and more people are getting into the holiday festive spirit, consumption of festive food starts picking up. Many of these tasty festive dishes can be indulgent and unhealthy in many ways, but for the most part to make a dish healthier involves selecting the right cooking oil for the preparation.

About Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Extra virgin olive oil is a very popular type of oil. These days, it is one of the most popular oils for cooking. As a plant-based oil, extra virgin olive oil is among the healthiest cooking oils that there are. It is also versatile and can be used for a wide range of cooking techniques and methods. There are many reasons people choose olive oil over other types when cooking their favourite festive dishes. It comes with positive health benefits. It is all-natural, rich in antioxidants, nutrients and beneficial phenolic compounds.

This festive season, it may be good to take a step back to decide if any of your dishes can be prepared with healthier oil. It could be a good basis for some of our favourite festive dishes.

A lot of festive foods require a specific type of oil that brings out the best distinctive taste. Nevertheless, you still can whip them up tasty using EVOO, hitting the right notes for taste and health. Here are 5 great reasons to use EVOO during the festive seasons.

5 great reasons for using Extra Virgin Olive Oil on festive seasons

1. Free from harmful substances: EVOO unlike other plant oils which are refined and chemically processed for consumption, is mechanically extracted and is hence without harmful residual chemical solvents. EVOO also contains mostly heat-stable monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) which are regarded to be healthier than polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) which other plant oils are mostly made of. With the heat stability of MUFA, EVOO is highly resistant to thermal & oxidative degradation which produces unwanted by-products like trans-fats.
2. Enhances flavours: Besides being a healthier alternative for the festive season, EVOO has the ability to enhance the tastes of our meals. EVOO comes with natural properties that improve the taste, texture, and appearance of our meals. This means you can easily cook your festive meals with this oil without worrying about what it will taste like. There is even a food pairing guide for EVOO you could refer to if you want to take your food flavours up a notch.
3. Versatile for various cooking methods: Given the heat stability of EVOO due to it being mostly monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), it is the perfect oil to be used for cooking all sorts of festive meals. It can be used in different cooking methods from sauteing, roasting, etc. to even deep-frying. The extra virgin olive oil works well with all types of high-temperature domestic cooking that usually happens between 180 C and 220 C.
4. Provides anti-ageing support: Studies have shown that EVOO helps in protecting against age-related anomalies such as Alzheimer's, osteoporosis, and even skin ageing especially in older people. This is because EVOO contains a diverse composition of health-boosting nutrients and antioxidants such as vitamin E, polyphenols which are useful against various premature ageing processes. When consumed regularly, EVOO is also helpful in regulating the amount of bad cholesterol present in the body.
5. Avoids overconsumption of Omega-6: Researchers have recently found that other vegetable oils like soybean oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, etc. despite their low content of saturated fats actually cause more obesity than saturated fats like lard. They chalked it down to the high content of linoleic acid (an omega-6/PUFA) in these vegetable oils. Linoleic acid (not to be confused with alpha-linolenic acid which is an omega-3) is also a prime culprit in the risk of metabolic disorders and low-level inflammation. Apparently, extra virgin olive oil is the best of vegetable oils because it has the lowest linoleic acid content among them.

Getting great tastes with the right oil in the festive spirit

When it comes to the festive holidays, great food is tantamount to having an enjoyable social time. This is why you need to cook with the right oils. However, it does not have to be an unhealthy indulgence. Extra virgin olive oil known for its taste and health benefits is hands-down one of the best culinary oils available. It also comes in tantalising infused flavours such as Porcini and Lemon. Try some of these infused flavours along with the original to find out how these can work some hearty epicurean magic to your festive recipes today.