As I usually only have EVOO on hand, I use it for just about everything that calls for any grade of olive oil. Generally, people use the more expensive extra virgin olive oil for salad dressings, bread dipping oil, and to finish off pastas or other foods with a drizzle of oil just before serving. EVOO usually has a more pronounced olive or peppery flavor.

Plain olive oil can be used for other needs: to saute foods, when roasting meats or vegetables, or frying. Pure or virgin olive oil usually has a milder flavor.

It really depends on what kind of recipe you are making and what the directions are calling for you to do with the oil.

JMO,
Teresa

Like Teresa, I usually only have EVOO on hand because it works well for most things. I don't always use it for sauteing, depends on the ingredients and how hot I need to get the oil, but if I don't use EVOO I use vegetable oil never regular Olive Oil. I do keep a very special bottle of EVOO for certain special salad dressings and bread dipping.

I have two bottles of olive oil in my pantry.

Colavita Extra Virgin Olive oil and a good brand of "light" olive oil.

Colavita, in my opinion, makes the best olive oil. It's richly olivey-fruity without being "peppery" or bitter or musty or sharp in any way. It's the best for dipping, making rich salad dressings good sauces and for cooking husky vegetables or meats. I don't use it for cooking light meats (seafood, chicken). For making a light salad dressing, I'll blend Extra Virgin with some "light" olive oil.

For regular cooking -- recipes that call for cooking with olive oil -- I use the "light" versions of Pompeii or Bertolli. I don't use "light" Colavita mostly because it's hard to find here and also because it's a little more expensive than the other brands and for just cooking, I don't think it's worth the extra $.

Some time ago, some cooks were saying "light" olive oil was better for cooking with than extra virgin because, they explained, the extra organic matter in the oil gave it a lower smoking point. The most recent studies show that the difference in smoking points between extra virgin and "light" is insignificant.

Bottom line, if you like the flavor of your brand of Extra Virgin, use it for whatever you want.

And did you notice that I never used the anagram "EVOO". Bothers me as much as "yummo".

Joe

Ha, Joe. Rachel grates on you too, eh? :)

I doubt you would feel much of a difference in taste, however cold pressed is considered healthier. There is an interesting article on product marketing influencing the nutrition in home cooking on the page below. If you don't have financial reasons to purchase processed cheaper versions, why not go for the purest and least processed foods?

Here is a link that might be useful: Recipes for Health

Joe, would you believe that I bought Colavita Extra Virgin Olive oil first press at BIG LOTS today? Got 3 bottles.

mustangs:

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!!!

What size bottle, how much $$??

There's a Big Lots in Santa Maria (15 minutes from me).

Joe

I used the term "EVOO" before RR came on thes cene....and she grates my ear more than most! I can nearly berak the speed of sound getting to the TV to turn her off!
Think of EVOO compared to OO as say the different labels of Gallo Wines between the $5 bottle of a blend and the $12 bottle of a varietal. Both are OK for say using in a beef stew....but for sipping, while the cheaper is OK...you will like the flavor of the more expensive wine better.
Since the difference in cost is very little for the everyday EVOOs and just OOs, I just always buy EVOO.
But I really don't like the taste of Pompeii at all. Where I live, Bertolli is cheaper, but I think it tastes better.

Linda C

Joe :
You made a joke!!!!! , " Yummo " ??? lol
They started me using them here, I don't like to use Anagrams either.
Can't figure most of them out.

Now I'll have to find some Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Or is it CEVOO ? lol

Cathy:
Do you think Big Lots on the East Coast up here,
would carry it.?

I use Bertolli Light (something like Bud light ) and
Crisco for frying.
Lou

Joe, would you believe that I bought Colavita Extra Virgin Olive oil first press at BIG LOTS today? Got 3 bottles.

That's odd--my same post posted 2 hours later and I haven't been home.

Joe, it has the certified DOP stamp; 8.5 oz; extra virgin of Terra Di Bari; first cold pressed for $3.

Oh, my....I live about 15 minutes from the Santa Maria, CA Big Lotz.....maybe Joe and I will meet there. LOL

I do buy EVOO from Scabica's in California, I like the Marsala variety best, but I only use it for salads and dipping bread, by the time I pay shipping it's pretty expensive.

I buy just "olive oil" at the Mediterranean Market, imported from Italy, and in a metal can that holds 4 liters. The last can I bought cost about $15. For cooking, I really can't tell much of a difference, but I couldn't tell you the name of the brand. I'll look next time I buy a can, before I decant the last of it into my jar on the counter.

Annie

I bought some at the Spanish import store that's near Gina & Jessy. I really enjoyed the taste of this one. Normally I buy TJ's EVOO except when a business assoc of DH's brings in some from his vineyard(?) in Tuscany. It's light and sometimes wonderful, sometimes not so much. I guess it depends upon the pressing and the storage.

DRAT!!!

I just came from Santa Maria (I'm sorry I missed you Carol) and the brand of olive oil on sale was NOT Colavita. It was "Mediterranean Market'. I've never tried it and I simply passed on it. Maybe, for $3.00 for gosh sake's, I should have bought one bottle.

Joe

Joe, My Big Lots frequently has the Mediterranean Market but I have never tried it; I just didn't think EVOO from BLs was something I wanted to try. But when I saw Colavita, I couldn't pass it up for $3.