Olive oil is the most stable vegetable oil in the range of temperatures commonly used for frying.
That is due to two reasons. The first one is due to its high concentration of oleic acid, monounsaturated fatty acid, which is more stable at high temperatures that the polyunsaturated fatty acids, which predominate in the composition of the oils of seeds (e.g. sunflower). The second is due to the presence of polyphenols, which are natural antioxidants in olive oil that prevent, during a time, the Olive Oil degradation.
Its stability allows frying up to 180 ºC, which causes the rapid formation of the crust that keeps the inside of the food free of oil, which leads to lower caloric contribution to the food, light and appetizing food frying, and a lower cost of oil.
This same stability also allows, if olive oil is correctly used during frying, that it can be reused several times more compared to the seed oils, which ensures you significant savings.
Finally, the olive oil, because of their high coefficient of expansion, 'grows' in the frying pan as it heats up, with what can fry more food with less oil. On the contrary, some compounds in seed oils (e.g. sunflower) evaporate during frying, decreasing the amount of oil available.
Among all the varieties of olive oil, Picual olive oil is ideal for frying because it is the olive oil that contains the highest amount of oleic acid and polyphenols, the natural antioxidants that prevent the oxidation of the oil.
Some people believe that frying with Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) is a waste due to its higher price in relation to other sort of oils commonly used for frying.
In our opinion, and apart from the benefits mentioned above for the simple 'olive oil' with regard to the seed oils, we think that there are a couple of additional advantages.
Firstly, the extra virgin olive oil adds more flavor to your food during frying, this way you can reduce the amount of salt and sauces to add to the product already fried.
Secondly, the extra virgin olive oil contains, on average, five times more polyphenols than a simple 'olive oil', so that the stability of the extra virgin during the frying is greater.