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Much like Bobby Flay’s burger seasoning preferences and his ground beef patty cooking technique, the multi-hyphenate celebrity chef, restaurant owner, and “Jeopardy!” clue has a slick trick that improves the way you lubricate your food. In an Instagram post in partnership with online grocer Misfits Market, Flay extolls the virtues of a cooking oil duo for peak performance and flavor. “I usually cook with canola oil, and then I finish dishes with extra virgin olive oil,” Flay tells the camera in a charmingly, relatably unaesthetic pantry setting.
Canola oil, which is typically more affordable than extra virgin olive oil, has a higher smoke point, which means it can bear the brunt of longer, hotter temperatures on the stovetop. But, individual preferences notwithstanding, most folks find extra virgin olive oil to be tastier. It makes sense to use the cheaper, flavorless oil as your cooking workhorse before you trod out the spendier, palate-pleasing EVOO as your triumphant show pony.
When to swap canola oil for extra virgin olive oil
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You can adjust almost any sauté recipe that calls for extra virgin olive oil to accommodate canola oil instead. The latter’s aforementioned smoke point can actually be more forgiving and less likely to scald your precious ingredients. Although most wouldn’t want to dip bread in it, canola oil’s relatively neutral flavor also means it’s doing the non-stick work without imparting much undesired flavor. These qualities almost send canola oil flirting toward secret ingredient territory, particularly once you cloak the pan with that last minute dash of EVOO.
Say you’ve gotten a nice piece of delicious but misleadingly named Chilean sea bass to an externally crisp, internally moist, tender near-completion with little more than a few dimes worth of canola oil. A squeeze of lemon and maybe a few capers could nearly push it over the finish line, but a last minute splash of extra virgin olive oil gives it the richer, inimitable note that makes the whole plate seem more restaurant quality. It also obscures the thrifty oil that made it all possible to begin with. Make sure to add it about a minute before the fish reaches its ideal temperature.