Day 9 - The Olive Oil Journey

November 9th, 2021 (real picture)

Day 9

Granada --> Malaga, Andalusia, Spain | November 2nd, 2022

2:55 am I went out a bit later than I should have and needed to get back to the hostel. To reduce obvious risk, I decided to run [instead of walk]. Next thing I know, I see flashing lights and I’m pulled over by a Spanish Policeman: for running.

All clear but thankfully I spoke Spanish to prove my innocence...

I woke up, wrote a bit, had some breakfast and boarded the bus to Malaga - my final city before resuming primarily Olive Oil related activities.

I learn quickly that Malaga is beaches, Picasso, tapas, shopping and clubs. I walked around the city for a couple hours and had some cool food (pictured below).

Later at night I had some OK pizza and watched the Copenhagen Champions League game with some Danish guys at the pub (I studied abroad in Copenhagen in Spring 2019), then called it a night.

Photo Dump

There's a bad drought all over the region this year. Pictured below is what seems to be an extremely low river / waterway through the city of Granada.

Quick visit to the truffle store - overstayed my welcome (measured in samples) and exited slightly uncomfortably.

Caracoles - the cheapest food on the menu at one tapas restaurant

Anchovies in Vinegar.

5.9 / 10 Rating. Coming from New York I'm a bit of a snob.

1 Olive Oil (Hot) Takeaway: Smoke Point doesn't matter

Age-long criticisms of using Olive Oil to cook cite a low smoke point as potential damage to food. Smoke Point is the point at which free fatty acids smoke. But free fatty acids are only 1% of Oil's Composition.

Oxidative stability is resistance to Oxidation (remember oxidation = bad).

Olive Oil's high oleic acid levels help stabilize it at high temperatures (high oxidative stability). Refining Levels (think extra light oils) and high polyunsaturated fat levels ~ low oxidative stability.

The bigger health issue with oil for cooking is degradation into polar compounds.

For more info, read the Smoke Point Wikipedia or this article from NAOOA.

I am not (even close to) a health expert - this is not health advice. For more health-related questions or concerns, please consult your doctor.

-Jack

Thank you for reading and welcome to the blog! I'm traveling through Europe on a quest to find great Olive Oil.