EVOO vs OO

[Bill M. Hesse]

So I picked up a some more Olive goodness. I was piqued to see regular OO on the shelf that said it was good for cooking and grilling and EVOO is good for salads and marinades. So my question is this: I know one is to stay away form cooking with EVOO due to low smoking point and fat oxidation, but what about straight olive oil? I have never used it and am finding varying answers as to it's use online. Thanks guys!

[Chris Walls]

When I'm pouring a bunch into a smoothie to jack up my fat/calories for the day I use the cheap stuff. When I'm drizzling it over food/salads and will actually taste it I use the good stuff.

As for whether or not the plain OO is better for cooking I don't know. I know the EV is what comes out from the first squeeze basically, and the next grades are from subsequent squeezes and processing to get the rest of the oil out. Maybe that stuff is more robust in regards to heat and smoke point but I'd have to think it's the same...

[Bill M. Hesse]

Further reading indicates that OO is supposedly able to go up to 410 deg F vs the 200 whatever the EVOO can. Not sure if this is true or not.

[David Fletcher]

I cook just about everything with light olive oil. The smoke point is high enough that I've not run into any problems that I wouldn't encounter with other oils.