Greek cooking made easy - I hope!

Everything that is to do with Greek cooking is based on the food being cooked/dressed with one ingredient - Olive Oil! Many people buy Olive Oil here to take home with them, for many reasons; it’s a lot cheaper here, and most of the time the quality of the oil is superior to what is sold in chain stores across Europe. What many people don’t know is how to look after their oil, the different types of oil there are, and what each one should be used for. So I thought I would give a brief guide to buying, storing and using Olive Oil.

There are two main types of Olive Oil; Extra Virgin and Olive Oil. Before you buy your oil, think what you want to use it for, either to cook in or to use on salads etc. Extra Virgin is not so good for deep fat frying but is wonderful as dressing on food, so buy the cheaper Olive Oil if you do a lot of fat frying, or better still buy both and use them accordingly. If using the oil in a deep fat frying be sure to filter it after each use, and change the oil after 3 usages. All Olive Oil should be stored either in a dark coloured bottle or in a dark place as light will effect it. Don’t keep it in the fridge if possible. Kept like this the oil should be good for a year or so.