Olive Oil -- Extra Virgin or Spanish?

As I was watching the cooking channel last month I noticed that many of the cooks were recommending the use of extra virgin olive oil. This made me wonder about how beneficial this stuff really is. So I did a little research and found that it is extremely good for you.

The problem is that it is so darned expensive. So I went to my local Save-A-Lot grocery store and found a large bottle of naturally pressed Spanish olive oil for less than $4.00. A little more looking around told me that it is just as good for cooking as the more expensive oil.

The extra virgin oil is what you need for salad dressing and light marinades but the naturally pressed oil is better for cooking because the smoke point is higher. As I went to other large chain stores I noticed that the prices they were asking were still quite a bit higher than what I had paid.

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