Olive oil is perfect for frying. The smoke point myth, debunked.

The claim that olive oil should not be used for frying — because its smoke point is too low, because it becomes toxic, because it imparts a strong flavour — has been repeated so many times by food writers, nutritionists, and cooking shows that it has achieved the status of received wisdom. It is not correct. Italians have been frying in olive oil for two thousand years and the food has been excellent throughout.

The smoke point argument goes like this: olive oil smokes at around 160–190°C (lower for extra virgin), which is below the 190–200°C ideal frying temperature, therefore it burns and produces harmful compounds. The problem with this argument is that it treats the smoke point as the only relevant variable. It is not. Stability under prolonged heat matters more than the smoke point for actual cooking conditions.

The stability question

Extra virgin olive oil is high in monounsaturated fats and polyphenols. Monounsaturated fats are more stable under heat than polyunsaturated fats — they resist oxidation better and produce fewer harmful compounds when heated. Most seed oils (sunflower, corn, soybean) have higher smoke points but are high in polyunsaturated fats, which oxidise rapidly at frying temperatures and produce significantly more harmful breakdown products than olive oil does.

“In Naples we fry everything in olive oil. Pizza fritta, cuoppo di fritto, zeppole, pettole. We have been doing this since before anyone invented the smoke point as a concept. The food is very good.”— ENZO COCCIA, LA NOTIZIA, NAPLES

When to use what

For shallow frying and sautéing: extra virgin olive oil. For deep frying at very high temperatures: a neutral oil with a higher smoke point (peanut oil, rice bran oil) is more practical simply because you need a large quantity and the cost of using premium EVOO becomes significant. For flavour: olive oil always. The argument against olive oil for frying is economic, not scientific.