One of my favorite things I learned at The Chopping Block is that it’s important to consider your oils before you start cooking. For many, especially for all of our regulars, this is old news. But for me, this was a huge lesson and a total kitchen game-changer.
I was raised using olive oil for everything. It was a touch pricey but that’s the price for good health, right? Making a stir-fry? Olive oil. Sauteing something? Olive oil. Baking? You get the picture. I never thought about it, and if I had, I would have assumed that some oils were just “good,” and some were “bad.” And that was it.
Luckily for me, a year ago I started working at The Chopping Block and the whole world of oils suddenly appeared before my eyes. I discovered that they have different flavors, smoke points, colors and uses. It’s totally worth popping into the stores sometime and having an associate give you a tour of the many options on our shelves, but as a starter here are some major points that every cook needs to know.
Oil Basics
![frantoia]()
Here’s something about olive oil: it’s really expensive, and you’re paying for flavor. Like wine, olive oil comes in many shapes and sizes. Some olive oils are yellow and buttery; some are green and grassy. This difference is illustrated really beautifully by Frantoia, an Italian oil, and Columela, from Spain. It’s wild!- Another thing, which many people miss, is that olive oil has a rather low smoke point. This means it burns when you cook with it, so you’re not only losing that pricey flavor you paid for, you’re also rendering a bitter quality to whatever you’re cooking. Olive oil is best used raw, commonly as a finishing oil and in dips, dressings, and sauces.
![villux]()
When you are frying, sauteing, or baking, you want to use an oil with a high smoke point. We recommend Vilux grapeseed oil because it is inexpensive and flavorless. This oil can be used willy-nilly in the kitchen because it won’t add its own flavor to your food (unlike coconut oil, for example, which has the sometimes undesirable effect of making your stir-fry taste like a pina colada). The best part about grapeseed oil is you don’t need to worry about pouring your money down the drain, because it’s only $12.50 a bottle (again, unlike coconut oil, which costs a million dollars).
Here’s something about olive oil: it’s really expensive, and you’re paying for flavor. Like wine, olive oil comes in many shapes and sizes. Some olive oils are yellow and buttery; some are green and grassy. This difference is illustrated really beautifully by Frantoia, an Italian oil, and Columela, from Spain. It’s wild!
When you are frying, sauteing, or baking, you want to use an oil with a high smoke point. We recommend Vilux grapeseed oil because it is inexpensive and flavorless. This oil can be used willy-nilly in the kitchen because it won’t add its own flavor to your food (unlike coconut oil, for example, which has the sometimes undesirable effect of making your stir-fry taste like a pina colada). The best part about grapeseed oil is you don’t need to worry about pouring your money down the drain, because it’s only $12.50 a bottle (again, unlike coconut oil, which costs a million dollars).Now I hope you will think twice before drizzling one of these puppies all over your salad! Stop into The Chopping Block if you want to learn more and do some tasting.