The decanter is cute but it is a very bad way to store oil if you don't use it quickly, especially in warm weather and doubly so right next to the stove like that. A little bit of oil in a large clear bottle is going to oxidize very quickly, and oxidization means rancidity. Air, light, and warmth are enemies of all food oils. Rancid oils not only taste downright wretched, but are unhealthy to consume. IMO only the amount of oil that you're going to use within a couple of weeks should be stored at room temperature in such a way that it will be exposed to air and light. Food oils should be stored in the dark (or in a dark bottle), at cool temperatures (the refrigerator is ideal), and with a minimum of air space in the bottle. I use mainly grapeseed oil when a recipe calls for "vegetable oil" or "salad oil". I prefer grapeseed for general use because I think it just tastes better and has a nicer texture than other neutral oils like canola and safflower, and it's cheaper than apricot kernel or avocado. Although the unit price is higher I purchase smaller containers so I have a fresher supply - it's not a good value if half the jug goes rancid - since we do not use a great deal of oil in cooking, an average meal for the two of us might use two tablespoons of oil assuming we're not splurging on something like pesto! I absolutely loathe olives too, but we do use quite a bit of olive oil - many olive oils on the market taste nothing at all like olives, thank goodness. Look for the ones labeled "extra light"; that term has nothing to do with calories, it's a description of its color and flavor. Even some of the extra virgin olive oils we've tried don't taste like olives, they have very different flavors ranging from buttery to peppery. A couple of the fancy-pants food stores around me have olive oil tastings from time to time and that's a good way to try different ones out. (Never buy "pomace" olive oil. It's not fit for human food IMO and doesn't even really make particularly good soap.) Cold-pressed or expeller-pressed oils are the way to go whenever possible; the solvents and high-heat processing used to produce cheap oils break down the oil and are not good for you to consume as well as just plain trashing the flavor. We also like to use some of the many unrefined vegetable oils out there because they taste so good, but they must be stored carefully (refrigerator) and the shelf life is still comparatively short. Unrefined corn oil is one of our favorites, sweet and buttery, and especially good for baking. I think I have five or six different oils in the fridge now, because they all taste distinctly different. Spectrum is one of my favorite brands for a wide range of good quality oils and is comparatively easy to find. I find clouding and thickening under refrigeration to be a minor problem and primarily an issue with heavier-bodied and unfiltered unrefined oils like higher-end olive oils. The oil still pours, albeit more slowly, and it cooks just the same. If I'm making a salad dressing or something like that and need the oil completely liquid right this moment, I pour it into a small bowl and set that into a larger bowl of very hot tap water. I never leave the entire bottle out to warm up, but rather pour out what I need and return the rest to the fridge. When I want a butter flavor for sauteeing fish or veggies, I use half butter and half a neutral oil to improve the smoke point of the butter (since I'm too lazy to make clarified butter), and toss in some broth or wine to assist further cooking and boost flavor without using a ton of fat. I almost never cook savory foods with plain water, except for boiling pasta - why throw away that opportunity to augment flavors? We don't use up butter very quickly (DH has gotten me spoiled on Kerrygold butter from Ireland which comes in a half-pound block instead of the usual 1/4-pound sticks, but it can take us weeks to go through a block!) so it does turn in warm weather if left at room temperature. I won't have margarine in my house though, foul stuff... there are two things DH and I will not give up no matter what, we'll rearrange other dietary components to accomodate them but real butter and real mayonnaise are sacrosanct. Oh, here's a trick if your butter is rock-hard and you need it to soften to a malleable texture quickly without risking melting (as often happens if you try to soften it in the microwave or the oven)... grate it on the coarse holes of a hand grater and spread it out on a plate. Set the plate in a warm, but not hot, place. oakleyok, what the heck is "Crisco lard"? Crisco does not manufacture lard (meaning rendered pork fat, and lemmetellya it is dang hard to find unhydrogenated lard!). Do you mean solid vegetable shortening?

Okay - I called my sister and she said the recipe she uses came from Cooks.com OLIVE GARDEN ITALIAN SALAD DRESSING 1/4 cup white or red wine vinegar (more or less, to taste) 1/3 cup water 1/3 cup vegetable oil or olive oil 1/4 cup light corn syrup 2 1/2 tablespoons grated Romano cheese 2 tablespoons dry pectin (used to thicken jelly) 2 tablespoons beaten egg or egg substitue 1 1/4 tsp. salt 1 tsp. lemon juice 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic or 1 tsp. garlic powder 1/4 teaspoons dried parsley flakes pinch of oregano pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste Combine all of the ingredients with a mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds -Or- in a blender on low speed for 30 seconds -Or- use a wand mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Chill at least 1 hour. Serve over mixed greens or use as a marinade. I like to add the hot peppers in the salad that the restaurant uses. It tastes closer to the original that way.

Same here... salads, salads, sauces, roasted, salads, roasted.... but I *still* haven't had a BLT this summer and I'm not sick of tomatoes yet. :) I've never roasted my tomatoes before, but tried it recently because of the raves on this forum and we absolutely LOVE them roasted, especially when they're mixed colors!!! they're so versatile too! It's late in the season here, but I still have plenty of sun gold, red grape, and way too many green zebra. :o) Your shrimp w/ sun gold combo sounds really good to me!

There are actually many different grades of olive oil. Grainlady, what you're describing sounds like Virgin or Extra Virgin. The stuff just called "Olive Oil" is more suited for cooking as it has fewer solids in it. I don't know about the free radical formation though, just breakdown in general terms. There's also light and extra light, which have a much higher smoke point, and don't break down under something like 375°. Not for deep frying, really, but great for sautes. I did some pretty thorough research on this awhile back, but I might have missed something important, or there might be newer information, so please check before taking my word on it.