Oils and fats in foods provide a high proportion of the flavour in almost any dish, and when oils combine with other ingredients they develop their own distinct character. By using different oils for different purposes, you can enhance the taste and texture of your cooking and dressings.

What oil is best for what purpose?

Oils can be extracted from many different plants, seeds and nuts; this means that they not only posses a variety of tastes, but can differ greatly in colour and texture as well. Due to these varying properties, certain oils may be spectacular with a particular dish and disastrous with another. For example, if you dress a basil angel hair pasta with sesame oil before serving it with fresh tomatoes, parsley and garlic, the result would be a strange tasting dish. However, the dish would be delicious with the addition of extra virgin olive, or even smoky Camellia Tea oil.

Olive oils, like wines, vary in intensity and can be peppery, acidic and/or fruity. Some can be combined with strong flavours such as citrus and mustards. Oils such as Hazelnut, Walnut, Sesame and Mustard oil can often be blended with other oils and used in mayonnaises, dressings and sauces to achieve unusual flavours. Sesame, Camellia and Avocado oils can be blended with quite pungent and salty flavours. Some oils are perfect on their own. A beautiful lobster, shellfish, basil or tangerine oil are good examples.

What do 'cold pressed' and 'virgin' mean?

Have you ever wondered what difference it makes if oil is cold pressed or if it is 'Extra Virgin'? Why are some oils unfiltered? For a start, these oils are usually more expensive and are rarely found in the supermarket. (While you may find cheap extra virgin oils in the supermarket, they will usually be oil from overseas that have been blended down from virgin and extra virgin oils. These imported oils may not have to undergo the testing that Australian oils undergo to be sold and exported.)

Oils are extracted in different ways. Some are produced by grinding, cracking, washing and bleaching. This is chemical extraction. This makes the oil cheaper and faster to produce, but as a result, the oils generally have less flavour. The other way that oils are produced is through pressing. There are basically two ways of pressing, hot pressing or cold pressing. They both involve pressing the nuts, seeds or plants, but one method uses steam and heat and the other is simply by old fashioned pressing. Cold pressing naturally yields the most flavour, however, as you can imagine, these oils may be quite expensive due to the labour involved in production.

You may be interested to know that even in this age of automation, for olive oils to be considered an 'Extra Virgin' the oil must be pressed no later than 72hrs after olive harvest, and must be cold pressed. In Australia most producers aim to press no later than 48 hours after harvest. Oil must have an acidity level of .08% to be 'Extra Virgin' oil and up to 2.2% to be classed as 'Virgin' oil. As each day passes after harvest the olives degrade and the acidity of the fruit changes the quality and grade of the oil. Amazingly, up to 90% of the oil is obtained in the first cold pressing. In Australia most oils are pressed so quickly after harvest that their average acidity levels are much lower than in many other countries.

Consequently, when you invest in a bottle of extra virgin oil, you can be sure someone has checked that it deserves its name. Like a good bottle of wine, it has been loved and cared for by a passionate grower who labours over every drop.

Filtered or Unfiltered?

In some cases, oils are left briefly to allow sediment to settle before being bottled. These are designated as unfiltered oils. Unfiltered oils can sometimes be a little cloudy, but retain the most intense flavour. When filtered they are clear and presentable, and may even keep a little longer than unfiltered oils.

At times, leftover pulp is sent to a refinery where it is exposed to heat or chemical processes to extract the remaining oil. This oil does not have the intensity of flavour and is simply known as Olive Oil. Most producers in our country aim to press only Extra Virgin oils. If they have produced a vast amount or, for any other reason have spare oil, it is most often bottled as Virgin or Olive oil. A lot of small growers use EVO's (Extra Virgin Olive Oils) to make tapenades and marinades for their olives. In Australia, as consumers, we often get a very good deal!

It is important to note here that some olive oils are sold as being 'light' and as you have already guessed; this has nothing to do with the fat content, and everything to do with the quality and flavour.

Are there any other considerations when buying oils?

It is sometimes worth considering the method you are going to use to cook a dish. Are you stir frying, deep frying or perhaps baking? Depending on how you are cooking you may choose certain oils because of their 'smoke point'. This is simply the temperature at which the oil will 'smoke' or burn, but it's important to realize that some oils can take more heat than others. When a fat or oil reaches its smoke point the oil will change colour and release an acrid smoke and at this point it will start to taste bitter and quickly burn the outside of anything you choose to cook. For this reason oils with a high smoke point will be more suitable for frying at high temperatures. In this way you can make sure that the oil you are using will give you a better tasting result and will not set fire to your kitchen or cremate the barbeque.

Here is a quick guide to smoke points for some oils:

Avocado oil	235°C
Safflower oil	235°C
Canola oil	225°C
Peanut oil	225°C
Sunflower oil	225°C
Light olive oil	220°C
Camellia Tea oil	220°C
Grape Seed oil	215°C
Walnut oil	200°C
Extra Virgin	195°C
Extra Virgin Camellia	195°C
Sesame oil	195°C
Butter	177°C

How long will it last?

The question of how long oil may last and how to store it is often an important consideration for consumers, considering the cost of good oil and its shelf life.

As a general guide, oil will loose some of its character with age. It may become less fruity, peppery or smoky or have a weakened flavour. It may not always be unusable; you may just have to use it in a different application. For example, baking or sautéing mushrooms, bacon and eggs on a Sunday.

There are exceptions. Nut oil will start to develop an unpleasant aged character if left to long, just as whole nuts do. Oils with additives such as herbs or cheese will also not keep as long as pure oil. The majority of virgin oils available to us in Australia will have a harvest date or best before date. This is just a guide as most oils are at their optimum within 18 months to 2 years of harvest. The oil should be sealed tightly and stored somewhere cool and not too light.

Our Oils that we stock

Extra Virgin Camellia Tea Oil - 500ml

This unusual smoky tasting oil makes an interesting addition to a marinade or dressing. Use it for fried rice, its great with seafood or stir fried with beef and lemongrass. It can be used in pastas and marinades, especially for seafood and BBQed meats.

Coconut Oil - 250ml

This is oil or a solid depending on the weather conditions. We are told it has amazing health benefits; however this is irrelevant if it does not pass the taste test. Luckily it does!

Coconut oil adds a new dimension to curries and stir fries. It can be used in baking, in rice dishes and soups, ideal for sautéing seafood and vegetables, making a crispy, sweet tasting finish. Use it in the crust for a coconut and cherry cheesecake or add it to some vegetables after they are cooked. It has a delicate fresh taste and will not oxidize easily, which means it has a long shelf life.