Olive Oil as a Baking Ingredient

Olive oil is a staple in baked Mediterranean dishes. Civilizations have been using it to bake good for centuries. There are numerous reasons for you to consider using olive oil as a replacement butter or margarine. Olive oil serves as a healthier alternative because of the reduced amount of cholesterol olive oil includes. It also drastically cuts down on the amount of cholesterol and saturated fat common in most deserts. The vitamin E helps to preserve the freshness of your baked goods. Baking with olive oil can also lead to a lighter sheen on cakes and cookies.

One of the benefits of olive oil is its ability to replace “bad” fats with “good” ones. It contains lots of antioxidants and monounsaturated fat known as oleic acid which is very helpful in reducing inflammation and fighting cancer genes. There are a large variety of dessert recipes you can use olive oil for. The types of olive oil that you should use depends on the type of dish you are cooking, and the type of flavor you want to highlight. Choosing the wrong olive oil can lead to the dish tasting like the oil instead of the baked dish.

The only time baking with olive oil wouldn’t be recommended is when there is a recipe calling for a high amount of frosting or other solid fat that aids in creaming of the baked product. Olive oil can also work as a substitute for canola or any other vegetable oil. The consensus agreement is that extra light olive oil is the best to use for baking. The light oil offers a neutral flavor that won’t be too noticeable. A good rule of thumb to abide by is to not bake with any olive oil that you wouldn’t include on a salad or a pasta dish.

You might wonder what would be a good recipe to try to bake your first dish using olive oil instead of butter or canola oil. Just a simple google search will lead you to an array of lemon cake, muffin and chocolate chip cookie recipes. Any of the above would be a good place to start. There are some steps however, to making sure that you add the appropriate amount of olive oil to the recipe.

One of the keys to remember is that olive oil is only a “healthy replacement” if you aren’t adding an amount that exceeds how much saturated was in the recipe. Typically, when olive oil replaces butter there is a 25% total reduction in fat because of the water and milk in butter. There is a chart click here to help you calculate the conversion amount necessary for successfully replacing the butter in the recipe with olive oil. Replacing butter with olive oil will provide a definite way for you to reduce the amount of calories and fat you consume and allow you to enjoy more desserts you love. Once you make the switch, you won’t regret it!