What is extra-virgin olive oil?
What is extra-virgin olive oil?
Extra-virgin olive oil is the precious unrefined first result of cold-pressing olives to make a fruity liquid that contains less than one percent acid.
Extra-virgin olive oil is the most expensive olive oil variety, and it is best appreciated in salads or as a garnish to give preparations a final flourish. If you are using olive oil to cook, it's fine to use regular olive oil.
Greece is the #1 consumer of olive oil in the world and also the leading producer of extra virgin olive oils, which account for 82 percent of their olive oil production. The U.S. is not a member of the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC), which regulates olive oil standards worldwide, and the IOOC does not recognize the U.S. standards for extra-virgin oil.
There is much controversy in the olive oil world, with accusations of corruption and adulteration smearing consumer confidence and shedding doubt on the purity of so-called virgin olive oil.
What's the difference between broccoli and broccoli raab?
What's the difference between broccoli and broccoli raab?
Along with cabbages, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower, broccoli raab and broccoli are in the brassica family. They look like modified versions of one another -- broccoli with its thick, branching stems, large florets and few leaves, and broccoli raab with its long, thin, uniform stems, small florets and pronounced leaves.
Both have a similar green vegetal flavor, but broccoli raab is bitter -- surprisingly so to the uninitiated -- while broccoli raab tends more toward the sweet. Despite that main difference, each works pretty well in place of the other whether in classic Italian pastas, soups, stews, simply steamed or sautéed alone with a splash of lemon or vinegar and olive oil.
Both pair especially well with pork and sausages, raisins, pine nuts, bell peppers and just about any kind of cheese -- especially ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella.
Broiling is a cooking method in which food is cooked directly under high heat. Scallops or steak can be cooked under the broiler, giving them a nice caramelized crust and a juicy interior. (A broiler is also called a salamander in a professional kitchen, and is often a small, separate heat source where dishes—especially those made with cream—are given a final blast of heat before serving.
Grilling is often used as a synonym for broiling, though when we use the verb "to grill" in America, we technically mean that the food is cooked over a direct heat source, rather than under. Barbecuing, on the other hand, generally refers to cooking food over indirect heat.
To confuse matters, our British and Australian friends refer to what we call broiling as grilling; hence the term "grilled cheese," which in the U.K., is generally made open-faced and heated under a broiler, not fried in a pan in the American fashion.
Recipe: Broiled Salmon With Miso (Cookthink)
Recipe: Broiled Chicken With An Indian Spice Rub (Cookthink)
