If olive oil was just used for flavoring, emulsification and dipping bread in we'd have a huge over supply - too many people were raised on "Drizzle some olive oil in your pan before heating".
I'm pretty sure I can taste the difference between popping corn in peanut oil vs. olive oil. In any case, I can certainly smell the difference which affects taste.
> and olive oil actually has a relatively low smoke point compared to other cooking oils.
I'm pretty sure I've popped corn with olive oil on multiple occasions without hitting the smoke point.
And for things like pasta sauces or roasting potatoes it's not even close to the smoke point.
There's also a fringe health benefit. Because high quality extra virgin olive oil is so difficult to find-- and so expensive-- relying on it as one's sole cooking oil essentially adds a tax to frying the hell out of all one's foods. This encourages healthier eating. :)
Seed oil?
Cause no thank you!!
Luckily everyone seems to think animal fats are no good, so my family gets grass fed tallow for $30 a gallon tub.
Tallow and lard are excellent for frying or fattening bready items.
I'd love to get "grass finished" tallow for anywhere near that price.
It's a local farmer. Only the last two months are grain.
I was getting Grass fed and Finished before I moved.
Grass fed and grain finished meat tastes better though the health benefits may be lesser. IDK