Hi, I keep reading conflicting answers whether or not you can microwave olive oil without it turning into a bad fat?
I want to make popcorn with olive oil on the kernels to add more nutrition but I don’t know if it’s healthy to microwave.
Olive Oil has a lower smoking point compared to a lot of common cooking oils. This lead people to believe that it is unhealthy to use in high-temperate cooking, as the oil smoking was a sign that it is getting broken down, oxidizing and creating harmful chemicals.
It’s not the case though, this has been disproven. EVOO/VOO has been shown to be significantly more stable compared to PUFA based oils (seed oils like Canola) and smoke point is not a cook predictor on an oil’s stability:
https://actascientific.com/ASNH/pdf/ASNH-02-0083.pdf
All olive oil producers don’t recommend consuming olive oil after more than 18 months of producing it becayse of oxidation. Why would you want to accelerate that process? You have the animal fats for cooking, olive oil is for salads, worst case scenario sauteeing.
I would say this entirely depends on the heat the microwave is reaching upon use. Olive oil has a smoking temp. When unsaturated fats pass their smoking point they oxidize which doesn’t necessarily make it “the bad kind of fat” but it just creates reactive oxidative species which are not great for you in large amounts. Olive oils smoking point is 375-405, being the temperature maximum it reaches before it becomes rancid or oxidized.Now typically microwave popcorn ideally is popped at 375 F. So its toe-ing the border but also only 2 minutes of cooking so Id say youre likely fine.As a poster replied below, smoking point is not the always the only way to analyze the stability of an oil, but in this case, I think these are decent parameters to go by!
I’ve used it with high heat on the stovetop, but I have also used it to help reheat certain foods in the microwave. I never noticed anything really different or bad. To be fair, it is the general EVOO and I didn’t look at it under a microscope or analyze it like some people would hope.
I would stay away from (microwave) heating it above smoking point changes the chemistry creating carcinogenic volatile compounds (I think). You can just cook popcorn normally, then toss with EVOO and salt in a big bowl afterwards. It’s best used raw or heated at low temps. Unlike bio-engineered Canola oil that you should avoid