Comments (0)Cooking For The Holiday
Using oils in a variety of ways
December 2009By Debra Roth Kane
Oil is at the heart of the story of Chanukah — miraculous, sanctified oil, only enough to burn for one day, and yet it lasted for eight. The key role of oil in the Chanukah story has led naturally to a starring role in holiday recipes.
The oil of ancient tradition is olive oil. Olives are indigenous to the Middle East region and Chanukah falls at the end of the olive-pressing season. Today some latke recipes recommend using peanut oil because it won’t burn no matter how hot it gets. Others suggest canola oil, which has a higher smoke point than olive oil.
Sarah Mogol, owner of The Bountiful Experience, has been catering and teaching cooking classes since 2002. “In order to cut down on how much oil I use in cooking, I always start with just a bit of oil in the pan. After it heats up, it thins out and spreads, so I can then judge how much I will really need, not only to keep food from sticking but to impart flavor,” she says.
For those wanting to branch out in their choice of oils, Mogol and nutritionist Elise Rubenstein recommend nut oils like almond and walnut for their flavor. Rubenstein cautions that nut oils are great choices for dressings but not good to cook with because of their low smoke points. “Eating oil that you have burned isn’t healthy — and obviously it won’t taste good,” she says.
Almost any grocery store these days will carry a wealth of oil options, from store brand basic olive oils and expensive designer olive oils to pricier items like macadamia nut oil. Budget, intended use, and taste buds are all factors when choosing what to purchase. Mogol points out, “Oils, like wine, can be a matter of taste and preference.” Indeed, a small-scale olive oil tasting conducted for this article (see box) supports this idea.
There is no shortage of recipes that put oil into play. Everyone has his or her own favorite latke recipe, whether for classic potato latkes or latkes with a twist.
Shelley Hettleman of Pikesville suggests adding shredded zucchini, carrots or beets to a traditional potato latke recipe. Melissa Kaplan of Lutherville has a variation with a unique virtue; it allows cooks to use a leftover that might otherwise go to waste-soup greens. Kaplan warns that the measurements for her soup green latkes may be a little inaccurate. The recipe is a classic example of the tradition of shitteryne — Yiddish for cooking without a recipe, based on ‘a little of this and a little of that.’
A trial run of this recipe, handed down through generations of Kaplan’s family, created wonderful latkes that taste like fried soup.
Mogol emphasizes that people can celebrate the Chanukah tradition of oil without frying at all. She created a recipe for a terrific fresh spinach and bulgur salad with lemon and tomato vinaigrette (available online) when a vegan friend joined her Chanukah celebration.
Clearly there are many routes for commemorating the Chanukah miracle of the oil.
Taste Test
There are more oils available than time to taste for anyone but a professional. Three local tasters — the author, the author’s husband, and Elise Rubenstein — chose six oils for a blind taste test, smelling first, then dipping breads in the oil to compare. (These amateur tasters did not have the stomach to swill the oil as experts do!)
Sliced apples were used to clear the palate between selections. We tasted five olive oils, then added a macadamia nut oil to the bunch for variety. The oils, which are readily available in area supermarkets, along with our assessments, follow:
Rao’s Homemade Extra Virgin Olive Oil: A clear favorite for two tasters with an appealing olive smell and fruity kick.
Trader Joe’s Organic Olive Oil: The favorite of one taster, who cited a preference for very pungent oils. The other two tasters were put off by a slightly metallic aftertaste.
Giant Extra Virgin Olive Oil: All tasters found this to be a nice, mild choice, very pleasant if not outstanding in flavor — a good all-purpose oil.
Trader Joe’s President’s Reserve Extra Virgin Olive Oil: A pleasant aroma coupled with good fruity flavor made everyone a fan of this lower-priced olive oil.
Newman’s Own Organics Extra Virgin Olive Oil: This oil was judged as bland at best; one taster thought it unpleasantly “different.”
Australian Mac Nut Oil: A macadamia nut oil thrown into the olive oil tasting just for fun, this was clearly something different. A distinctive and appealingly sweet and nutty oil.
Fresh Spinach & Bulgur Salad
Soup Green Latkes
Lemon and Tomato Vinaigrette