What Influences the Smoke Point of Olive Oil?
Many individuals contend that olive oil shouldn’t be used for cooking because of its “smoke point.” The smoke point of olive oil can actually reach 4700 F. The amount of free fatty acids in cooking oils affects their smoke points; generally, a lower acidity corresponds to a higher smoke point.
The FFA of extra virgin olive oil can range from 0.2% to 0.8%, which is the limit established by international standards. As a result, the Olive oil smoke point might differ considerably. Usually, it falls between 3500 and 4100 F.
Refined oils, like olive oil, contain very little FFA, which results in consistently higher smoke points. The range of temperatures is 3900–4700 F.
Cooking oil stability is more important than a smoke point
When choosing which oil to use for cooking, stability is more important than a smoke point. Olive oils are extremely stable because of the oleic acid and other trace compounds they contain. Extra virgin olive oil contains antioxidants and polyphenols that stop the generation of free radicals and oil oxidation. As a result, extra virgin olive oil has been found to be the most stable cooking oil.
Researchers compared how heating extra virgin olive oil and peanut oil affected the production of free radicals and oxidation in their study. The researchers measured the rate of oxidation and found that the extra virgin olive oil required more heat than the peanut oil to start the oxidation process. Although the extra virgin olive oil lost its polyphenols first, both oils created nearly the same number of free radicals over time at about the same rate.
It is reasonable to believe that if the polyphenols were still present, the extra virgin olive oil would perform even better than the peanut oil when considering free radicals. This is due to the polyphenols’ ability to prevent the formation of free radicals.
