{Pantry Basics} What's the Deal with Butter

It's time for another pantry basics post! In past pantry basics posts we've covered Olive Oil and Coconut Oil, so I thought it was only fitting to also cover butter to round out the picture.

Image from wikifitness.com

Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh milk or cream to separate the butterfat from the buttermilk. The colour will vary depending on the animal's diet, but in today's world it is often altered artificially during the manufacturing process. Look out for ingredients such as annatto or carotene as these are typical indicators of artificial colouring.

There is an age-old argument about whether butter or margarine is better for your health. We're not going to address that in this post - there are some great articles out there debating the health benefits or issues of both options. Just do a google search "Butter vs. Margarine" and check out some of the articles that come up. What I do know is that a) My hubby and I both agree that the taste of butter is significantly better and b) Butter tends to contain less processed ingredients and is more in line with our eating goals of eating less processed foods. Therefore in our house we always choose butter!

Types of Butter

Cultured Butter
Cultured butter is traditionally made from fermented cream. It is considered to be superior in taste and to have a fuller flavour. Using today's manufacturing methods, cultured butter is now made with fresh cream and during the manufacturing process, bacterial cultures and lactic acid are introduced to the mixture. This provides the same cultured taste in a far more efficient production process. Cultured butter is also known as European-Style butter as it is preferred in Europe.

Sweet Cream Butter
Sweet cream butter is made from pasteurized fresh cream. Sweet cream butter is the butter preferred in the United States and Canada and it tends to have a less full/ buttery flavour compared to that of cultured butter. It typically keeps in the fridge for several months at a time.

Raw Cream Butter
Raw cream butter is the same as sweet cream butter but it is made with unpasteurized milk. Since it is very difficult to find unpasteurized milk unless you get it straight from the farm, this raw cream butter is typically only homemade. The shelf life is very short - it only keeps for approximately 10 days.

Spreadable Butter
It is becoming increasingly popular for butter manufacturers to produce butter that is spreadable right from the fridge - no softening period required. This has been done in order to compete with margarine and it is typically done in one of three ways:
1) Chemical manipulation of the makeup of the butter fat molecules
2) Manipulation of the animal's feed
3) Incorporating vegetable oils into the butter product
As a result of the above methods, this product tends to be highly processed (somewhat like margarine) and defeat the purpose of selecting butter over margarine in the first place.

Clarified Butter (commonly referred to as Ghee)
Clarified butter is commonly used in Indian cooking. It is nearly pure butterfat as it has been clarified to remove most of the water and milk solids from the product. The clarification process takes place by heating the butter to melting point and then cooling it back down. Once it cools, it settles into three layers that separate by density - whey proteins on the top, butter fat in the middle and then the water and casein proteins settle at the bottom. The advantage to clarifying butter is that it can then be heated to higher temperatures without burning as all of the milk solids which typically burn if butter is overheated, have been removed from the butter during the clarification process.

Image from DrAxe.com

Butter & Baking

Most baking cookbooks will have a section on butter and baking. The most common topic for discussion is whether to use salted or unsalted butter. With salted butter, salt is added to the butter in the form of granules or brine during the manufacturing process. Salt preserves the butter and therefore gives it a longer shelf life than unsalted butter. But this also tends to indicate that unsalted butter is fresher than its salted counterpart.

Unsalted butter is most often recommended for baking as it is much easier to control the saltiness of recipes by adding all of the salt yourself. Since each brand of butter adds different quantities of salt depending on their individual manufacturing process, the saltiness of any brand of butter or even production batch of butter can vary widely which can therefore impact the amount of salt you would want to add to your baking. For example adding a standard 1/2 tsp of salt to a batch of cookie dough could result in very salty cookies if the butter is quite salty or in flavourless cookies if the butter is not very salty. Therefore, starting with unsalted butter gives the baker more control over the consistency of the end product.

Tips on Butter use and Storage

• If butter has melted and then solidified, don't use it in your baking! Melting butter changes the properties of it and therefore when mixed with flour, it won't incorporate in the same way it would if it had never melted!
• You can freeze butter for up to 4 months after purchasing it! Place it in a freezer bag to retain the flavour.
• To soften butter quickly, cut the butter into 1 inch cubes, place in a single layer on a plate on the counter. Butter should soften within 15 minutes. For baking, don't ever soften butter in the microwave!
• To preserve butter keep it tightly wrapped! Exposure to air and light increases the speed of butter going rancid. It also helps to avoid the butter absorbing other odours that may be present in your fridge. Wrapped butter will keep for several months in the fridge.

Image from BBC.co.uk

Finally, lets end with some fun facts about butter!

1. According to Wikipedia, differing varieties of butter are found around the world. "Smen is a spiced Moroccan clarified butter, buried in the ground and aged for months or years. Yak butter is a specialty in Tibet; tsampa barley flour mixed with yak butter, is a staple food. Butter tea is consumed in the Himalayan regions of Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal and India. It consists of tea served with intensely flavoured - or rancid - yak butter and salt. In African and Asian developing nations, butter is traditionally made from sour milk rather than cream."
2. Butter actually contains very little lactose as it is mostly just milk fat. This is why butter often doesn't bother people with mild lactose intolerance.

Also, if you want to try  your hand at making homemade butter here's a great tutorial. You don't need any special equipment - you can use your stand mixer! Why not give it a try! You'll be amazed how delicious freshly made butter is.

Thanks for stopping by! If there's any other ingredients you're curious about and would like to see featured in the Pantry Basics series, please let me know!

Pantry Basics: Whats the Deal with Eggs?

Photo Credit: Laura Hawkins

I'm late posting this week's pantry basics post! Better late than never I guess! Today we're going to talk about eggs! First we'll talk a little bit about the impact of eggs on your health, how to purchase eggs and finally how to cook them. For those of you who are allergic to them or sensitive to them, I've also got a little bit of info on egg substitutions.

Eggs and your Health

Eggs have a bad rap due to the amount of cholesterol contained in them. According to an article in the Globe and Mail, eggs have approximately 183 mg of cholesterol. The recommended daily intake of cholesterol for a healthy person is 300mg and the recommended daily intake for someone with heart disease or other issues is only 200mg. In a number of studies conducted, when healthy people ate one egg per day, there was no clear link to cardiovascular disease. But those one a day people's risk of developing Type 2 diabetes did increase and people with Type 2 diabetes have a 69% higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Its a vicious cycle isn't is? Seems like you just can't win when it comes to your health these days.

Does this mean you should cut eggs out of your diet? No way! People with cardiovascular disease or cholesterol issues already should definitely limit their intake of egg yolks, but egg whites are cholesterol free and fair game for those folks. For healthy people, eggs still offer a number of great health benefits including loads of vitamins, protein and nine essential amino acids. Eggs in moderation and combined with a healthy overall diet can provide a number of great health benefits for the body! So enjoy your eggs on the weekend and don't sweat it! Maybe go easy on the hollandaise sauce though. ;)

What you Need to Know Before you Purchase Eggs

Purchasing eggs is a pretty big bone of contention these days. There is information everywhere about how bad the chickens are treated and how awful the food they consume is. I won't go into details here because it is very graphic and disturbing, but if this is something you would like to learn more about, you can hop over to www.certifiedhumane.com to learn more. With this in mind, I will tell you a little more about the labelling on egg cartons and how to know which are best for you from a health perspective and also from a humane perspective to the chickens. These two items are often linked very closely to one another - healthfully cared for chickens = healthier and better for us eggs. Seems like a no-brainer doesn't it?

Information discussed below is from my cookbook Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair.

Conventional eggs are the typical supermarket eggs with no special labelling. These eggs are produced in large factories where two chickens are stuffed into a wire cage of approximately 2 feet square. These chickens don't get outside and their feed is allowed to contain antibiotics, meat, meat biproducts and bioengineered corn. This method of production is banned in some areas of Europe, but still fair game in North America. Given the condition the chickens are stored in and the feed they eat, you can imagine that their eggs are the least nutritious and contain many toxins.

Cage Free, Free Run, Free Roaming and Free Range sounds nicer doesn't it? But this can be deceiving. These labelling terms mean there aren't any cages in the chicken barn or that they have access to the outdoors. These terms don't mean the chickens actually go outside, nor does it mean that their diet is any different than conventionally raised chickens.

Sometimes you'll see Omega-3 on the label. This means that the chickens feed is supplemented with 10-20 % flax seed which increases the nutrient content of each egg. This doesn't mean that the eggs are free from the above hormones and toxins because the rest of their food and conditions aren't any different than the two categories discussed above.

Organic eggs are a little different from the above noted egg types. To be labelled organic, the farmer must guarantee that flocks have access to an organic outside area year round and are fed at least 80% organic non-GMO feed. No meat, meat by-products, antibiotics or hormones are allowed in the feed and each bird must have a minimum of 2 square feed of floor space. They aren't caged - this just means that if you have a 40 square food barn, you can't have more than 20 chickens. These eggs are expensive - in most grocery stores they are approximately $7 per dozen compared to $3 for conventional eggs. But the price tag is worth it! It is an investment in your health and you can avoid being exposed to hormones and toxins that can be harmful to your body. I recommend buying organic eggs unless the next category is readily available to you.

Pastured eggs means that chickens are kept in a moveable enclosure with nests that are moved once or twice daily to a new piece of grass. This results in the chickens obtaining at least 20% of their diet from foraging and eating insects (which is their natural diet). This method of production provides the highest quality eggs you can buy! You can find them at local farmers' markets (ask the vendor) or by making friends with your neighbor who has chickens!


How to Cook Eggs

Some basic egg cooking methods and tips can be found below:

Boiled
Bring eggs to room temperature. Put eggs in a pot and cover with cold water. Turn heat on high until it is just about to boil, then turn down to a simmer (just barely bubbling). Start your timer now! For soft cooked eggs - 2-3 minutes, medium cooked eggs - 4 minutes and for hard-cooked eggs, simmer 10-15 minutes.

Scrambled
Whisk eggs with salt, pepper and 1-2 tbso of cream or milk. Melt a pat of butter in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add eggs and stir, scraping up cooked bits from the bottom of the pan. Stop stirring whil eggs are still a bit runny on top. Cover pan, remove from heat and leg eggs cook in pan for five minutes. You can toss in some minced chives and grated cheese at this time and let it melt into a delicious, flavourful dish at this time!

Fried
Place a pat of butter in a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Cook until whites of eggs are firm, but yolks remain soft (tip: shake the pan to see how soft egg is in the center).As they finish cooking, put lid on for one minute.

Poached
Bring eggs t room temperature. Heat two inches of water in a large non-stick skillet and add 1 tbsp. vinegar or lemon juice and 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to rolling boil. Tip eggs into boiling water and immediately cover the pan and turn off the heat. Poach for 3 minutes for soft yolks, 4 for firmer yolks. Lift eggs out with slotted spoon, drain well and serve. (These eggs make delicious eggs benedict if you're up for a treat).

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Egg Substitutes
Some of you may have egg allergies or sensitivities. If a recipe calls for two eggs, you can substitute the following (though keep in mind - eggs bind ingredients together so the texture will change if you make these substitutions.

Increase liquid and fat in recipe by 1/4 cup each (so if you have milk and butter in your recipe, add an extra 1/4 cup of each to the recipe).

Substitute 1/2 cup of your favorite fruit or vegetable puree (dates, bananas, applesauce, sweet potatoes are good ones).

Grind  2 tbsp. flaxseed, add 6 tbsp. boiling water then let mixture set for 15 minutes. Whisk with a fork.

I hope you found this post informative and useful! If you have any questions or if you have anything to add, feel free to use the comments section of this post!! Thanks for stopping by!

Pantry Basics: What's the Deal with Organic?

We've all seen the buzz words and the mountain of information about whether to pay more for organic and natural foods and the possible health benefits of them. But the more I hear about organic vs. natural foods, the more I feel like I don't quite understand. So, if I'm going to pay more for something I put in my body, I want to learn about why I'm paying more and whether it is worth it. This post is dedicated to shedding some light on the mystery behind organic foods and educating ourselves to be able to make an informed decision on whether or not to start incorporating organic foods into our diet. We'll also briefly touch on the difference between organic and natural foods at the end to make sure we're all clear on that one (I was surprised when I found out).

What is Organic?

Lets start things off right - what does organic really mean? In the context of food there are two meanings to the word organic. First is in regard to the agricultural practices used to produce the food and second is in regard to the food itself.

 

According to the Organic Trade Association agriculture meeting the standards of organic production is a system of farming that maintains and replenishes the soil fertility without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers. The Whole Foods website indicates that this type of farming emphasizes renewable resources, conservation of soil and conservation of water. These products are produced through agricultural management processes that promote environmental health and prohibit the use of GMO seeds or crops, sewage sludge (yep, some food production uses these products... its gross!), long-lasting pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. Rather they focus on planting crops that actually belong in the terrain they're being planted in and focusing on raising healthy plants that can protect themselves from disease or insects rather than having to treat those conditions with nasty chemicals (similar to how if we eat well, exercise and generally lead a healthy lifestyle, we can fend off many illnesses we would have otherwise contracted).

 

In addition to those farming practices, organic products are raised with priority being placed on raising healthy, humanely treated animals through giving them healthy feed, open air conditions and no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is simply products raised and produced in the above described environment. According to the Organic Trade Association,

 

"Organically produced foods also must be produced without the use of antibiotics, synthetic hormones, genetic engineering and other excluded practices, sewage sludge, or irradiation. Cloning animals or using their products would be considered inconsistent with organic practices.  Organic foods are minimally processed without artificial ingredients, preservatives, or irradiation to maintain the integrity of the food."

What do the different Organic Labels Mean?

There is a lot of uncertainty regarding what the different organic labels mean. See below for the USDA and the Canadian versions of the labels.

 

Certified organic means that an item has been raised in line with strictly enforced production standards that are verified by independent organizations (in fact, the USDA verifies approximately 90% each year). Certification involves inspection of farm fields, processing facilities, detailed records, and periodic testing of soil and water to ensure that growers and handlers of organic food are meeting and maintaining compliance with the strict standards set out for organic food producers.

 

In the USA, the USDA sets out three main categories for organic foods:

1. 100% Organic - only made with organic ingredients. No antibiotics, hormones, genetic engineering, radiation, synthetic pesticides or fertilizers may be used. These items are allowed to display the USDA organic logo along with a logo stating who certified the particular producer as organic.
2. Organic - Contains 95% organic ingredients. The remaining 5% coming from ingredients on the approved National list (there is some controversy surrounding this list - check out the OTA for more details).
3. Made with Organic Ingredients - Made with at least 70% organic ingredients, 3 of which must be listed on the package with the remaining ingredients being on the National list of approved ingredients. These products may display the certifier's logo, but not the USDA organic label.

Are Organic Foods Free from Pesticides and Chemicals?

So - we've established that chemicals and pesticides aren't added during the production of organic food. Does that mean that organic foods are free from chemicals and pesticides? Nope! Due to the prevalent use of chemicals in North American farming practices and also in development of society, there are chemicals that occur in soil and in water. Organic produce may be inadvertantly exposed to these chemicals during the production process. What this does mean though is that organic produce has significantly lower levels of chemicals and pesticides than crops produced using conventional farming methods.

 

This picture below shows the results of a survey of American families regarding organic foods:

What's the deal with how Expensive Organic Food is?
Organic food is more expensive than conventionally farmed food. This is just a fact. But lets make sure we understand why this is the case. According to the OTA, there are additional costs associated with becoming certified organic. These costs support ensuring compliance with the rules to protect the consumer (such as inspections, regulatory functions, etc). Farmers obtaining and maintaining their certification tend to have more labour and management intensive operations due to the increased monitoring and different farming practices required by this method which result in smaller scale operations which in turn results in less economies of scale in production as are experienced in bigger farms. All of these factors contribute to higher prices of organic produce. Lets look at whether this organic food is really that much better for us to justify paying higher prices for it.

Is Organic Food Really Better for Us?
There have been a number of studies done on whether there really are more nutrients in organically produced food. Studies are beginning to emerge that indicate that this is the case! In a number of studies, higher levels of some nutrients, antioxidants and beneficial fatty acids occurred in organically produced food vs. non-organically produced food. You can check out links to those studies here if you're interested. The general concensus among researchers though is that more research needs to be done before concluding that these claims are in fact representative of all organically produced foods.

What we can say though, is that limiting our exposure to unnecessary chemicals and harmful agents can't be a bad thing. Paying a few cents more for organic food is hardly a high price to pay for limiting our exposure to such things.
More Reasons to Go Organic
If the above information didn't convince you that going organic (or eating more organic food) is a good thing. Here's some more reasons:

• Organic food tastes great! I used to scoff at this one - "who can even taste a difference?" then I tried organic bananas. Its a night and day difference! Try it, you'll be convinced.
• Organic agriculture results in less chemicals and contaminants being put into our eco-system.
• Organic agriculture builds healthy soil instead of depleting it as conventional farming tends to do.
• Organic farming helps keep rural communities and small farms healthy. By producing a market segment for these farmers to compete, smaller operations are able to farm in an eco-friendly way while charging fair prices for their produce. If they had to compete with conventional, large-scale farming, there is no way they could cover their costs.
• Health of farmers and farm workers. High occurrences of cancer and other health issues have been noted in farm workers on conventional farms due to high exposure to pesticides and chemicals. Farming without these substances will result in decreased exposure and in turn decreased health risks for these workers.
• For future generations. If farming practices are sustainable and work in harmony with the land, we will preserve the land so that future generations can benefit from it and continue to produce healthy food for themselves.

Those all seem like pretty good reasons to me! Those reasons were taken from the Whole Foods website and the Daily Green.

Organic vs. Natural

One last topic I wanted to touch on is the organic vs. natural topic. I was under the impression that natural was a similar label to organic and that it was always a healthier option than "regular" food items. The label "natural" or "100% Natural" is supposed to mean that the product is free from artificial colour, flavour or synthetic substances. However, since this food label is not governed by any government body as Organic is, there is typically very little consistency in the natural label on products. When an item is labeled as organic (see above discussion) you know you can trust that the product truely is produced without those substances and has met strict standards to carry that label.

I'm not telling you not to buy naturally labeled products. What I'm telling you is that it is even more important to read and understand the labels, ingredients and nutritional information of those products labeled as natural in order to ensure it truely is natural and free from unhealthy ingredients. Don't pay more for an item labeled natural if it isn't truely free from artificial ingredients!

The Verdict - Final Words of Wisdom

The above info seems like a fairly strong case toward starting to consume as much organic food as we can. I understand it can be a big adjustment in the budget department, but some foods are worse than others regarding chemical absorption. Here is a list of the Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen. The dirty dozen consists of a dozen produce items that absorb more chemicals than their counterparts the Clean Fifteen. If faced with a choice of which organic produce items you can afford, stick to ensuring the dirty dozen are organic to minimize the health risks associated with the chemicals in non-organically produced food. Switching to organic is a gradual process - a little bit at a time is a great approach! It makes it manageable and less overwhelming. Remember - every little change you make in your lifestyle is a step in the right direction!

If you're interested, here is some more reading you can do on the organic topic and some great resources:

Organics its Worth It

The Organic Pages

I hope you found this post useful and informative! If you have comments on this post or have other great resources, please leave me a note below or send me an email! I would love to hear from you.

Let me know if there are any topics you would like me to cover in upcoming pantry basics posts. Happy Cooking my Friends!

Pantry Basics: Coconut Oil

 

This week's Pantry Basics post will focus on Coconut Oil. I have just started using coconut oil recently and really didn't know much about it other than that I really liked the taste of it. So, I decided to do a little research and see what I could find out about it to share with you. We'll look at general information about coconut oil such as how it is processed, types of coconut oil available, health facts about coconut oil, and recipes to put it to good use. That's a lot to cover in one post, so we better dive in!

 

How Coconut Oil Is Produced

I did a little online reading and the general consensus among a number of different websites is that there are two main methods for producing coconut oil. The first method is the wet process and the second is, you guessed it, the dry process. Here is a brief description of each method:

 

1. The Wet Process: For the wet production process, oil is extracted from fresh coconut meat using a variety of processes including boiling, fermentation, centrifugal force and other processes. The highest quality type of coconut oil (see types of coconut oil below) is made using a wet extraction process and then cold pressed to extract the oil without the addition of heat or chemicals.
2. The Dry Process: For the dry production process, coconut is first dried to produce a product called Copra. This copra is then pressed and solvents are added to extract the oil from it. This oil often needs to be refined further to be fit for human consumption and is often hydrogenated in order to raise the melting point further (regular coconut oil has a melting point of approximately 24 degrees C, hydrogenated coconut oil's melting point can be raised to 36-40 degrees C).

That above is the most basic method of processing coconut oil for human consumption. Lets talk about the main two types of coconut oil produced using the above methods that are available for purchase.

 

Types of Coconut Oil

There are two main types of coconut oil on the market - Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (can be cold pressed or not) and Refined, Bleached, Deodorized Coconut Oil (RBD).

 

Extra virgin coconut oil is made using the wet process of production as this typically produces the highest quality coconut oil. This oil has a fresh, mild coconut flavour. Cold pressed is the highest quality since it doesn't have any heat or chemicals applied during production which means minimal flavour change or loss of nutrients. Either way, you will notice that extra-virgin coconut oil is the most expensive because using the wet process yields far less oil than the dry process and as a result more coconut goes into the making of extra virgin coconut oil.

 

The second type of coconut oil is RBD. This oil is highly processed to the point where the coconut smell and flavour are removed from the oil. This oil is often used for cooking where the coconut flavour is not desired. This oil is also often used for cosmetic and other industrial applications.

 

Moral of the story: Based on the above information, in most cases extra virgin coconut oil is best - it has superior flavour, is processed less and if you buy cold pressed it doesn't have chemicals applied during processing. Especially from a health perspective, I would go with the extra-virgin oil.

 

 



Cooking with Coconut Oil

When you're cooking or baking with coconut oil, the substitution ratio with butter and other oils is one-to-one. That means if a recipe calls for one tablespoon of olive oil, you can use one tablespoon of coconut oil. Coconut oil can make a great substitute for olive oil, butter, shortening and canola or vegetable oil.

 

Coconut oil has a high smoke point - 350F for regular coconut oil and 320F for virgin coconut oil. This makes it great for most cooking and baking related applications! Remember that oil shouldn't be used at temperatures past its smoke point.

 

 

Health Facts about Coconut Oil

There are a lot of claims out there about the miraculous coconut oil. I don't really buy into most of them because there doesn't seem to be a lot of scientific research to support those claims, but what I do know is that there are some great things about coconut oil and some not so great things. Here's what I know:

• Coconut oil has a significantly higher level of saturated fat compared to most other oils which can lead to increased cholesterol and other health issues if consumed in large quantities on a regular basis (saturated fat per serving of coconut oil is 91% saturated fat compared to 13% of olive oil). If you want to read more about that, you can look at this article.
• Using coconut oil on the skin or hair can improve condition of them - providing added moisture to skin and making hair very shiny.

After doing some reading online, there has been a small amount of research done on coconut oil's health benefits, but there has not been much in the way of conclusive results. According to the Mayo Clinic website:

"Although eating coconut oil in moderation for a short-term diet probably won't harm your health, it may not help you lose weight. And keep in mind that coconut oil actually has more saturated fat than do butter and lard. For successful, long-term weight loss, stick to the basics — an overall healthy-eating plan and exercise."

That seems to be the general consensus among researchers and medical doctors that are science based. Any other benefits that may be experienced may be legitimate, but the benefits so far haven't been able to be reproduced over the general population. 

 

Recipes using Coconut Oil

Despite the inconclusive results regarding the wild health claims made about coconut oil, its no worse for you than any other type of oil when used in moderate quantities, and it has great flavour, so you may as well try it out! Here are some recipes and ideas for incorporating it into your kitchen routine:

 

• Pop your popcorn using coconut oil. Drizzle with a little more melted coconut oil, and sprinkle with nutritional yeast, chili powder and Himalayan salt.
• Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Coconut Maple Granola (Shutterbean)
• Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
• Whole Wheat Waffles (100 Days of Real Food) 
• Coconut Oil Roasted Sweet Potatoes (NY Times)
• Sautéed Shrimp with Coconut Oil, Ginger and Coriander (NY Times)

Hope this gives you a good start! Do you already cook or bake with coconut oil? If so, what is your favorite thing to make with coconut oil? Please feel free to share in the comments. :)

 

Happy Cooking my Friends!

Pantry Basics: Olive Oil

 Its Wednesday and that means its time for another Pantry Basics post. This week the theme of our pantry basics post will be Olive Oil. Check out last week's post on what makes a Well Stocked Pantry for the kickoff to the Pantry Basics Series.

Olive oil comes in a lot of varieties and I think there are a lot of misconceptions and confusion about what the various grades and varieties are or what the differences are. Here is a bit of information I found on Wikipedia:

First - the USA doesn't follow the same grading standards as other countries which is no surprise since they usually have their own system in place for most things (imperial vs. metric anyone?). I am going to talk about the standards the rest of the world follows which are in line with the International Olive Council (IOC). For more info on the USDA naming conventions and grades, see the Wikipedia page linked above.

The following grades of Olive oil are available:

• Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: The lowest level of acidity and judged to be the most superior tasting Olive oil. It is typically used in applications such as salad dressings, dipping or other uses where the oil flavour is the star of the show.
• Virgin Olive Oil: Slightly higher acidity than extra-virgin olive oil and judged to have a good taste, though not as superior tasting as extra-virgin.
• Pure Olive Oil: Typically a blend of virgin olive oil and refined olive oil. The flavour will not be as good as virgin olive oils and will not be suitable for culinary uses where the flavour of the oil is intended to be the star. Olive oil connoisseurs do not think highly of any products using refined olive oils and as such, wouldn't recommend such an oil grade to be used for any culinary exploits unless using at higher temperatures (see more information about this in post below).
• Olive Oil: Blend of virgin and refined oils. Acidity level is higher than that of it's primarily virgin counterparts and the oil is judged not to have a strong olive flavour. Also considered to be a sub-par option by olive oil connoisseurs. 

The remaining grades are non-food grades and as a result won't be discussed here. 

You may have noticed the terms virgin and refined and been wondering what they mean. I know I was! According to Wikipedia:

• Virgin Oil indicates that the olives have been pressed to extract the oil and that no heat or chemicals have been applied in the process. No surprise that virgin processed olive oil contains the highest levels of polyphenols and antioxidants and therefore has more health benefits than its refined counterpart.
• Refined oil means that the extraction process is controlled by chemicals which is typically done to improve the taste and smell of lower quality oil.  

Oils labelled cold-pressed retain the most nutrients and antioxidants because during the extraction process they are not heated above 27C. This ensures the nutrients degrade the least amount possible.

One other thing to be aware of is that bottles containing the labels Pure, Light and Extra-Light olive oil are all terms to describe refined oil types. The light and extra-light labelled oils do not have less calories or fat than regular olive oil contrary to popular belief. They are simply light on flavour due to a being chemically refined oil.

Moral of the story: Look for cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil. It is the best option for cooking because it tastes the best and doesn't contain chemicals or other processing techniques that cause the nutrients or quality of the oil to breakdown. It is also healthier because it retains the most antioxidants and nutrients despite the processing of the olives during the extraction process.

 Now that you know what type of olive oil is healthiest and best for cooking, here's the nitty gritty of how to cook with olive oil and what to use it for.

Olive oil is best used for applications that do not require much heat application such as salad dressings, drizzling on finished pasta dishes or for dipping fresh bread into. The taste of olive oil is impacted mainly by three things:

1. Freshness of the oil - fresh oil tastes significantly better than older oil since the oil degrades over time. The best place to get fresh olive oil is from regions that produce the oil because the freshness can be guaranteed!
2. Varietal of olives - selecting olive oil is like selecting wine - the taste varies greatly depending on the type of olives, the extraction process, ripeness when harvested etc. You may have to taste a few different olive oils before you find the one you love.
3. Heat application - the higher the heat applied to olive oil, the more the taste breaks down or changes. The reason for this is that the application of heat to the oil actually burns the unrefined particles in extra-virgin oil and the result is a bitter, burned tasting oil or dish. Olive oil has one of the lowest smoke points.

So, how about some ideas for using olive oil in recipes! Here are some of my favorites:

Salad with Pears & Candied Pecans
Blackberry Avocado Salad
Spaghettini with Oil & Garlic (Lidia Bastianich)
Marinated Tomato Salad (Rebuild the Blog)
Classic Hummus (Queen Creek Olive Mill)
Sea Salt and Olive Oil Brownie Cookies (Something Swanky)

What is your favorite Olive Oil recipe? Feel free to share it in the comments section below.

Happy Cooking my Friends! I hope you found this pantry basics post informative and useful and if you've made it all the way to the bottom of my post, I'm assuming that you did. Thanks so much for stopping by - I hope you'll be back soon. If there are any pantry ingredients you would like to see featured in my pantry basics posts, just leave me a comment or send me an email and I will be sure to add it to the list of items I plan to feature.

Pantry Basics: What Makes a Well Stocked Pantry?

Hi Friends! This past weekend I went to a yoga retreat. At the retreat I had the opportunity to really ground myself and refocus. I have decided that I really need to spend more time nurturing the areas of my life that bring me joy. And you guessed it, my blog is one of those areas of my life that brings me joy. This year it has really fallen aside as I have spent time focusing on other areas of my life that don't make me as happy and as a result haven't been feeling as inspired or motivated in some really important areas of my life; my blog being one of those areas. So, I have made a plan to revamp my blog and refocus my efforts. The change will be gradual, but I plan to try to post more regularly on a variety of food and wine related topics.

One of my ideas was to have a post once a week on Pantry Basics. What those posts will be comprised of are information regarding how to stock your pantry (the topic of this post actually), ingredient studies where we look at one ingredient in particular and think about what it is, what nutritional benefits it may have and how you can use it in your day-to-day cooking and baking. If you have any items or ingredients you would like me to feature, please let me know!

For my first pantry basics post I thought a fitting topic would be a discussion on what constitutes a well stocked pantry! Here's my thoughts on what a well stocked pantry would include so that you're prepared for anything. If you have anything to add to my list, feel free to add it in the comments! I'm always curious what others keep on hand and consider to be essential. I've broken my list down into categories to make it more manageable.

Photo credit to Blisstree.com

Fats/ Oils:
Olive oil (preferably extra virgin), coconut oil, canola oil, sesame oil, butter

Vinegars:
Red and white wine vinegar, rice wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar (organic tastes way better than regular - Braggs is my favorite brand so far)

Spices & Seasonings:
Sea salt, black peppercorns (none of the pre-ground nasty stuff), red chili flakes, dried basil, thyme leaves, cinnamon, mustard seeds, nutmeg, oregano, granulated garlic, chili powder, smoked paprika, regular paprika (aka sweet Hungarian paprika), cumin (whole seed and ground), ground coriander, turmeric, cloves, bay leaves, garam masala, curry powder

Bottles & Jars:
Dijon mustard (I like the really grainy stuff or the stuff with chardonnay in it), Asian chili paste (aka sambal oelek), mayonnaise, curry paste (thai and indian), barbecue sauce, pesto, apricot jam, maple syrup, soy sauce, ketchup, tabasco or other hot sauce, peanut butter, tahini, honey, vanilla

Canned Goods:
Chicken, beef and vegetable stock, canned tomatoes (preferably good quality, whole tomatoes), black, red and white beans, tomato paste, kernel corn, plain tomato sauce, chickpeas, chipotle chilies in adobo, sweetened condensed milk, light coconut milk, canned salmon and tuna

Frozen Goods:
Nuts (almonds, pecans and walnuts), peas, assorted fruits

Dry Goods and Other Miscellaneous Items:
Good coffee, loose-leaf teas, assortment of good quality dried pasta (fettuccini, penne, spaghetti, rice noodles), bittersweet chocolate, dried apricots, dried cranberries, flour (unbleached and whole wheat), sugar (granulated, brown and icing sugar), oats, cornmeal, rice (basmati, brown and Arborio), lentils, popping corn, tortilla chips, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, dried yeast, unsweetened cocoa powder, cous cous, quinoa

Photo credit above: coffeeproductionandstuff.blogspot.ca

Seems like a super long list doesn't it? But it really is amazing how far the above ingredients will go. Really all you need are your fresh ingredients to supplement those items and the odd specialty item and you're set! I hope you have found this post useful and informative. Let me know what you think about the pantry basics series I'm starting on and what you would like to see in the future.

Thanks for stopping by!