The Olive Oil Brand Giada De Laurentiis Can't Stop Using
If you like Italian food (and let's be honest, who doesn't?) then there's a good chance you've heard of Italian-American Food Network personality Giada De Laurentiis. And if you know anything about Italian cooking (whether from her show Giada at Home or your own culinary excursions), you won't be surprised to learn that in her kitchen, olive oil goes in (or on) pretty much everything. Seriously, even sweet things like breakfast or desserts. So when a true expert on Italian cooking recommends a product this ubiquitous, we're all ears.
As you might imagine, De Laurentiis' dry goods stash looks more like a luxury Italian grocery store than a home pantry, and Bon Appétit got an inside look and dished all the secrets, including the celebrity chef's favorite olive oil — which can be slathered on everything from roast chicken to salads and even ice cream. Olive oil is both healthy and delicious, and has a huge range of uses in the kitchen as a medium for sautéing or roasting, and even as a stand-alone salad dressing or a finishing touch on a dish. But does the type of olive oil you use really matter? Well, according to health experts and De Laurentiis herself, it absolutely does.
The importance of using good olive oil
If you've been to the oil section of a grocery store lately, then you know the shelf is bursting with different varieties of oil, including a plethora of olive oils. From extra virgin to garlic-infused, what's the difference — and which one is the best? First, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is made from cold-pressed olives, with no fillers but according to Healthline, a lot of health benefits. By contrast, olive oil that doesn't specify "extra virgin" is typically lighter in color, less expensive, and subject to more, sometimes chemically-mediated processing. The result is a weaker taste ... and fewer health benefits than EVOO.
In fact, where health is concerned, did you know you can go ahead and add EVOO pretty much to your heart's content — literally? Healthline informs us that it contains heart-healthy fats, vitamins, and anti-inflammatory compounds that we may not always get enough of, and there have been many studies around the world looking at its impact on overall health. In one of those studies published in BMC Medicine, researchers in Spain demonstrated a decreased risk of cardiac events; even when participants supplemented their diet with copious amounts of extra virgin olive oil, they had fewer cardiac events than the control group — less and less with increasing consumption. All things in moderation, of course, but if you feel so inclined, go ahead and pour it up, knowing it's not only tasty but good for you, too.
Giada De Laurentiis uses Lucini olive oil
We already know Giada is going to use the best of the best in her kitchen, but that doesn't necessarily mean the most expensive. She's published several cookbooks, and you can be sure that she's taste-tested a huge variety of olive oils. But her go-to EVOO for not only the recipes in her cookbooks but even her morning oatmeal? Lucini olive oil, says Bon Appétit — and the best part is, you can find it pretty much anywhere, including on Amazon or at Walmart. Though it's not the cheapest on the shelf, it won't break the bank, and it has the perfect flavor profile and texture to stand out as a dressing, a drizzle, or a vessel for sautéing or baking.
We're not saying all of your meals are going to come out looking or tasting like Giada's, we're just saying you can get one step closer by using the same ingredients as the professionals. Once you've stocked your pantry with basically the No. 1 ingredient in Italian cooking, though, make sure you're taking proper care of your oil. According to the experts at Michigan State University, that involves keeping it away from heat and light, as those denature the oil and make it spoil quicker. Unfortunately, that means it's probably not ideal to leave your bottle out next to the stove for easy access — instead, though it comes recommended by a celebrity, you'll want to keep it out of the spotlight in a closed cabinet or pantry.