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Health and
Fitness
For Crispies and Health, say 'Olè' to Olive Oil
by Madhusree Chatterjee
 Chefs
say it makes your pakodas more crispy and doctors swear by its health
benefits! We are talking of olive oil - the famous export of Spain that
is currying favour with Indians.
"There is a gap of knowledge about the properties of
olive oil in India. It has one of the highest smoking points," Virender S.
Datta, president of the International Institute of Culinary Arts (IICA), a
chef development institute in the capital, told IANS.
"Olive oil
disintegrates into unsaturated fats at 210 degrees Celsius and we Indians
generally cook our curries and fry our pakodas in oil at 180 degrees C."
Datta and his team of chefs from IICA demonstrated live how
Spanish olive oil could replace traditional oil in Indian kitchens to fry
crispies and curries because of its high smoking point, low "bad
cholesterol or saturated fats" and zero transfat content.
Olive
oil can be used almost for everything, Datta said.
"It can be used
as a traditional salad dressing or for shallow cooking - to make
paranthas, pakodas, cakes, fried sweetmeats, tartlets like papri for chaat
and pastries. It can also be used for deep fat fries like curried meat and
veggies," Datta said.
Atul Mathur, director of interventional
cardiology at the Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, said his
hospital has been advising heart patients to use olive oil as a cooking
medium for at least three to four days a week.
"There was no
awareness about olive oil even five years ago. Since it has low bad
cholesterol or saturated fats, it prevents accumulation of fats in the
arteries. Studies show that people living in the Mediterranean region have
low heart disease rates," Mathur told IANS.
Spain is currently the
largest producer and exporter of olive oil in the world. It has nearly
5.19 million hectares of olive groves in the countryside with an average
annual production of between 600,000 and 1,200,000 tonnes.
Spanish
manufacturers are eying a bigger slice of the Indian market since "it is
the segment of the future", a Spanish embassy official here said.
History cites that the cultivation and production of olive oil in Spain
and the Mediterranean region date back to 1550 BC during the Phoenician
era, when Greeks arrived in Spain.
"The best part is that olive
oil makes fries more crispy than other oil. At very high temperatures, the
proteins in olive oil coagulate and the natural sugar caramelises forming
a protective layer on the surface of pakodas. It prevents the oil from
penetrating the soft core, making the surfaces more munchy," Datta
explained.
He has been researching the benefits of olive oil and
"perfecting Indian recipes" with it. He had rustled up a spread of dahi
kebabs, papri chaat, matar samosas, fish kebabs and chicken fried Andhra
style with olive oil as the medium at the Spanish ambassador's residence
Wednesday.
Citing health properties, the chef said the high
Vitamin E content makes olive oil anti-allergic.
Studies cite that
the high-level of anti-oxidants like Vitamin A and E in olive neutralises
cancer-causing radicals. When used with fresh lemon juice, it flushes out
toxins from the liver. Doctors also recommend it as a dental cleanser.
Olive oil, Datta said, was available in four varieties - extra virgin,
virgin, pure and extra light.
"Olive oil, like wine, is produced
by pressing and crushing the fruits. The first presses yield the best oil
- the extra virgin variety or Pomace olive oil which is good for deep fat
frying," Datta said.
Spanish olive oil is priced around 30 percent
higher than other oils in the Indian market. But for many the health
benefits may outweigh the cost.
Dietician Ritika Samaddar of Max
Healthcare at Saket said, "It is best to switch to an oil with low bad fat
and high smoking point as India will become the global capital of
cardio-vascular diseases by 2020, according to WHO predictions.
"We are already the diabetes and hypertension capital globally," she said.
(Madhusree Chatterjee can be contacted at madhu.c@ians.in)
IANS | September 19, 2009
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