Why Olive Oil Isn't for Every Temperature
Extra-virgin olive oil is perfect for everyday cooking — sautéing, roasting, dressings, finishing. It's only very high, prolonged heat where a neutral oil like avocado does the job better, and where you'd waste good olive oil's flavor anyway.
Everyday heat is fine
The idea that you can't cook with olive oil is a myth. For the temperatures we actually use at home — sautéing and roasting — it's excellent, and I use it for almost everything.
Save the good stuff for raw
A really good, peppery extra-virgin olive oil shows its flavor best uncooked — drizzled over a finished dish, a salad, a soup. Using your best bottle for high-heat frying is a waste of both the oil and the money.
For very high heat, go neutral
Deep frying or searing in a screaming-hot pan? Reach for avocado oil, which takes the heat without fuss, and finish with olive oil at the end.
Keep two oils: a workhorse olive oil for cooking, and one nicer bottle you only ever use raw, for finishing.