Olive oil is a staple in the kitchen. It’s often used for salad dressings, sauteing vegetables, and marinating meat. But are there other ways you can use it?
While olive oil has a variety of uses, many people don’t know that it can also be used as an alternative to vegetable oil. Vegetable oils are typically made from soybeans, corn, or wheat and require extensive processing before they become edible. Whereas olive oil is just picked up off a tree and pressed into its final form! So if you’re looking to try something new with your food, check out these six different ways you can use olive oil instead of vegetable oil.
Can You Use Olive Oil Instead of Vegetable Oil?
Olive oil is a healthy oil that can be used in place of vegetable oil. Olive oil has many benefits such as it helps to maintain the health of skin, hair, and nails. It is also good for weight loss and promotes a healthy heart. Olive oil is a rich source of antioxidants that help to slow down the aging process; it also helps to reduce the risk of heart diseases.
How To Cook With Olive Oil?
Use it to fry eggs
If you’ve ever cooked an egg on the stove, you know that your pan will usually get covered in this sticky layer of oil after you’ve cooked the eggs. By using olive oil instead of vegetable oil, you can eliminate this problem and save yourself from having to clean up the messy pan after cooking.
Use it in a roux
A roux is a mixture of fat and flour used to thicken sauces like gravy, white sauce, tomato sauce, and cream sauce. A roux is traditionally made with butter or vegetable oil but olive oil can also be used as a substitute for vegetable oil. If you’re looking for healthier options, don’t forget about olive oil!
Use it as a salad dressing
Olive oil is chock-full of healthy fats like omega-3s that are great for your heart health! It’s also very low in saturated fat which makes it a good choice if you’re watching what you eat. Plus, many people find that they prefer the taste of olive oil over other types of oils because it doesn’t have that strong flavor that others do like vegetable oils. To use olive oil as a salad dressing all you need to do is pour some onto your salad and mix! Easy as pie!
Use it for sautéing vegetables
With all the health benefits mentioned above, there’s really no reason not to cook with olives oils instead of vegetable oils if possible. Olive oil can be substituted for vegetable oil in cooking, although it may require a bit more work to get the same results.
Use it for baking
Olive oil is great for baking because it doesn’t have any bitter or strong taste like other oils. This is also why it’s great for making cakes and bread because you don’t need to add as much of an ingredient to make them taste good. This means that you can use less of the oil and still get a tasty result. It’s also a great choice if you’re looking to reduce your fat intake because olive oil has little saturated fat, unlike other oils which are high in saturated fats.
Use it as a marinade
If you’re looking to add some extra flavor to your dish, olive oil can be used as a marinade instead of vegetable oils or butter! You can use olive oil as part of your marinade by mixing with lemon juice and herbs like parsley and oregano.
Use it on your skin
If you’d like to apply some extra oil to your skin, olive oil is a great choice! It’s not as greasy as other oils and is actually very moisturizing for your skin. It’s also a good choice because it contains vitamins and minerals like vitamin E which are great for your skin.
Use it as a hair treatment
Olive oil can be used in place of a conditioner to help smooth and soften the hair! If you have dry or damaged hair, just mix some olive oil with rosemary essential oil and apply it to your hair as a leave-in conditioner! Don’t forget to rinse out the conditioner after applying it because the oils in olive oil can damage your hair if left on too long.
Use it as an eyeliner
If you have oily eyelids, olive oil can be used as an eyeliner instead of petroleum jelly or mineral makeup! You can mix some with rosemary essential oil to give it a nice fresh scent too!
Use it as a deodorant
If you’re looking for a natural deodorant, olive oil is the way to go! It’s natural and doesn’t contain any chemicals like baking soda or baking powder which are all used to make commercial deodorants. You can make your own homemade deodorant by mixing some olive oil with coconut oil and arrowroot powder (or cornstarch). This will also help keep you smelling fresh throughout the day!
What Are Other Uses For Olive Oil?
Replace Vegetable Oil in Baking
If you’re baking and want to replace vegetable oil with olive oil, there are a couple of easy ways to do it. A general rule is that you will need around 1/3 cup of olive oil for every cup of vegetable oil. So if you were using vegetable oil in a cookie recipe, for example, and wanted to use olive oil instead, you would replace the 1/2 cup of vegetable oil with around 1/3 cup of olive oil.
Use it as Lubricant Instead of Vegetable Oil
If your pan or griddle becomes too hot, but you don’t want it to cook your food any more than necessary, place some olive oil on top and it will cool the surface down quickly. The same thing goes for when you’re cooking meat on a pan. Olive oil won’t have the same effect as vegetable oils like canola or sunflower because it doesn’t coat the pan as heavily as those other oils do.
Use Olive Oil Instead of Butter
Butter is another common replacement for vegetable oils in baking recipes and sauces like Alfredo sauce. You can substitute butter with olive oil by using 3 tablespoons less butter than what’s called for in the recipe and adding 2 tablespoons more olive oil to make up for the lost liquid fat content (butter has around 7 grams per tablespoon).
Add It To Soups or Stews
Adding some extra flavor to your soup or stew can be as easy as adding a spoon of olive oil. If you’re making a soup or stew with meat, poultry, or seafood and want to add some extra flavor to the dish, try adding some extra-virgin olive oil at the end of cooking.
Use It as an Alternative to Canola Oil and Other Vegetable Oils for Deep Frying.
It’s important to use vegetable oils in moderation when deep frying foods because they are high in saturated fat. If you’re worried about the amount of saturated fat in your diet, you can replace vegetable oils with olive oil when deep frying foods. The best way to do this is by using a thermometer for deep frying and adjusting your cooking time accordingly so that your food doesn’t burn or stick to the pan.
Blend Extra-Virgin Olive Oil into Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise is another common replacement for vegetable oils that happens often in American kitchens because it’s so simple and easy to make without having to use a lot of oil. Instead of using canola oil or vegetable oil in your mayonnaise, use extra-virgin olive oil.
Use It as a Cooking Oil
Cooking oil is another way that olive oil can replace vegetable oils. If you’re cooking pasta, vegetables, meats, and fish in a skillet, coat the pan with some extra-virgin olive oil before adding your food and it will help the food cook faster and more evenly.
Use It in Salad Dressings
Salad dressings are another place where you can use extra-virgin olive oil instead of vegetable oils that are high in saturated fat to help reduce the amount of saturated fat you’re getting from your diet. This is especially important for people wanting to lose weight because if you eat salad dressing with mayonnaise on top, you’ll be getting about 25 grams of saturated fat per serving if mayonnaise is made with vegetable oil (or 40 grams if it’s made with butter). If you use extra-virgin olive oil to make your salad dressing, you’ll be getting less than 1 gram of saturated fat per serving.
Use It in Bread and Baked Goods
Bread and baked goods are yet another place where you can replace vegetable oils with olive oil to reduce the amount of saturated fat in your diet. When making bread, try replacing vegetable oils with olive oil so that you don’t get as much saturated fat from the bread. To help make your baked goods healthier, reduce the amount of sugar that’s added to them as well (remember that sugar is also high in saturated fat).
Use It for Cooking Fats and Oils
If you want a quick way to replace vegetable oils or shorten their shelf life, try using extra-virgin olive oil instead of vegetable oils when cooking foods such as stir-fry vegetables or frying fish or chicken. Olive oil has a higher smoke point than most vegetable oils, so it’s a great choice for cooking because you can use it over high heat without burning the oil.
Conclusion
Cooking with olive oil is a healthier alternative to cooking with vegetable oil. Olive oil has a lower smoke point than vegetable oil, so it is not appropriate for deep frying. Olive oil is a healthier alternative to cooking with vegetable oil. Olive oil has a lower smoke point than vegetable oil, so it is not appropriate for deep frying. Olive oil can be used for cooking, as a salad dressing, and for dipping bread, among other things. One of the most popular uses for olive oil is as a substitute for butter on bread. When cooking with olive oil, you should use it in moderation to avoid an excessive amount of calories and saturated fat in your diet.