Do you use olive oil when grilling? Perhaps you shouldn’t. Olive oil has a lower smoke point than other oils, so it will burn faster.

Each fat (including butter, lard, oil and shortening) has a particular smoke point, which is the temperature at which the fat begins to break down. At this point, both the flavor and the nutritional value of the fat begin to degrade; and the fat will eventually smoke and burn if kept on the heat.

The higher the cooking heat, the higher smoke point your fat must be. That’s why grapeseed oil (485°F), soybean oil (490°F) and safflower oil (510°F) are so popular for deep fat frying, the highest heat of stovetop cooking.

While extra virgin olive oil has a smoke point of 440°F, few people would use this pricey oil for grilling. Much of the regular olive oil has a smoke point of just 320°F.

Here are some comparative smoke points:

440°F:
Peanut Oil
Sunflower Oil

450°F:
Corn Oil (Refined)
High-Oleic Sunflower Oil (Refined)
Palm Oil
Peanut Oil (Refined)
Safflower Oil (Refined)
Sesame Oil (Semi-Refined)
Soybean Oil (Refined)
Sunflower Oil (Semi-refined, Refined, High Oleic, Refined)
Vegetable Shortening

468°F:
Olive Oil, Extra Light

485+:
485°F: Grapeseed Oil
485°F: Tea Seed Oil
490°F: Rice Bran Oil
495°F: Soybean Oil
510°F: Safflower Oil
520°F: Avocado Oil (Refined)

MORE ABOUT THE SMOKE POINT

Why your fats smoke and burn, or not: What’s the smoke point?

 
CHART OF SMOKE POINTS OF OILS

Different oils have different uses in smoke points. Here are the comparative smoke points of most oils.

Three-pea salad. Photo © Hannah Kaminsky
| Bittersweet Blog.

Says Hannah:

“Spring is on my mind, driving me to the point of distraction. Longer, brighter days captivate me while simultaneously throwing of my finely tuned rhythm, and the influx of fresh, vibrant produce easily overwhelms my senses. What to eat first? Where to go, what to do?”

The best cure for seasonal disorientation is immersion, so let’s jump right in and celebrate the other reason for my pea-brained state: Peas! In all their green glory, this simple salad combines snow peas, pea shoots, and English peas to showcase their myriad textures, flavors, and shapes. The rather silly, rhyming title doesn’t do this combination fully justice, but was unavoidable thanks to the matcha tea-infused dressing, lending equal parts bitterness and sweetness to the blend.

RECIPE: THREE PEA SALAD WITH MATCHA TEA DRESSING

Ingredients For 3-4 Servings

 
Green Tea Dressing

Preparation

1. TOSS the sliced snow peas, pea shoots and English peas together in a large bowl.

2. WHISK together in a small bowl all of the ingredients for the green tea dressing. Beat the mixture thoroughly until smooth.

3. POUR dressing over the vegetables, tossing to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
  

[2] You can serve smaller bites.

[3] You can also swirl the blueberry topping into the cheesecake batter.

May 26th is National Blueberry Cheesecake Day. It may be hard to find a piece of blueberry cheesecake—cherry and strawberry are the popular berries toppings.

But you can easily make your own, from fresh or frozen berries. A homemade sauce is much tastier than the gelled goop into which berries are set on many commercial cheesecakes.

Then, just pick up a slice of cheesecake, top, and celebrate. You can also use the berry topping on ice cream/sorbet, pancakes/waffles, puddings, and other cakes: angel cake, chiffon cake, pound cake, and sponge cake.

You can bake your own cheesecake and create a blueberry swirl cheesecake by swirling the topping into the batter.

> Here are some of our favorite cheesecake recipes.

> The history of cheesecake.

> The history of blueberries.
 
 
RECIPE: BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE TOPPING

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. MIX the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl.

2. COMBINE the blueberries, 1/2 cup of water, sugar, and lemon juice in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until the mix comes to a low boil.

3. GENTLY STIR the cornstarch into the blueberries, taking care not to crush the fruit. Simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon (about 5 minutes).

4. REMOVE from heat; gently stir in the vanilla and zest. Cool; refrigerate until ready to use. Warm very slightly in the microwave for easy pouring.
 
Recipe Notes

Make fruit and cheese “bites.” Stuff dried apricots, fresh or dried figs or other dried or fresh fruits with a piece of cheese—with anything from creamy goat cheese to salty, tangy Parmigiano Reggiano.

These suggestions from EatWisconsinCheese.com provide pairing ideas along with drink ideas beyond the conventional beer, red or white wines most people serve with cheese:
 
Soft-Fresh Cheeses
Cheeses: Chevre, Feta, Mascarpone, Ricotta
Fruits: Figs (fresh, dried or stewed), Fresh Peaches, Plums
Garnishes: Pistachios, Toasted Almonds or Walnuts*, Fruit Jam
Drinks: Chenin Blanc, Green Tea
 
*Raw nuts have a slight bitterness. The best way to serve nuts with cheese is toasted or candied/caramelized. Almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts go best with cheese.

Hispanic Cheeses
Cheeses: Asadero, Cotija, Queso Bresco
Fruits: Dried Apricots or Figs
Garnishes: Toasted Nuts
Drinks: Cava, Mead (honey wine), Mexican Beer
 
Semihard Cheeses
Cheeses: Cheddar, Edam, Gouda
Fruits: Dried Apricots, Honeycrisp Apples, Pears
Garnishes:Caramelized or Toasted Nuts, Jams/Compotes (apricot, blueberry, fig, quince)
Drinks: Ale (especially fall’s spiced ales), Riesing, Small Batch Bourbon, Sparkling Cider

Alpine/Swiss Cheeses
Cheeses: Comté, Gruyère, Emmenthaler
Fruits: Any Dried Fruit
Garnishes: Toasted Nuts
Drinks: Lambic, Manhattan Cocktail

Check out our delicious Cheese Glossary and much more about gourmet cheeses.
  

We love mozzarella and tomatoes. Caprese salad is a favorite, along with skewers of mozarella balls with cherry tomatoes and basil leaves.

But we’re also trying to eat more vegan dishes, part of our personal commitment to save the planet. (Animal methane is the leading cause of greenhouse gas.) You’d be surprised how delicious a tofu substitution can be. Try this easy recipe from House Foods, which adds a bright herb sauce for dipping.

RECIPE: TOFU & TOMATO SKEWERS WITH HERB SAUCE

Ingredients For 10 Skewers

For The Herb Sauce

1. WRAP tofu with paper towel and place on plate. Microwave for a minute to remove excess moisture.

2. PLACE garlic and shallot in a food processor and give it a quick whirl. Add parsley, cilantro and give it another whirl.

3. COMBINE chopped herbs and add vinegar, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and olive oil in a bowl.

4. CUT tofu in cubes in the same size as the cherry tomatoes. Place two tofu cubes and two tomatoes alternately on skewers. Brush tofu with the sauce and grill for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Brush a couple more times until grill mark is shown. Brush tofu again before serving.

5. SERVE with herb sauce.

You can also make tofu Caprese salad.
Tofu is made in a variety of firmness levels, ranging from soft to extra firm, depending on the use. Desserts and smoothies, for example, use soft tofu; grilling requires extra-firm tofu, the texture of which is similar to meat.

House Foods’ line of Premium Tofu products that are made with non-genetically modified (non-GMO) soybeans grown in the U.S. See all of the products at House-Foods.com.