Frying

• Olive oil is commonly used to stir-fry and saute vegetables and meats in a skillet or pan. This style of olive oil is heated to a high temperature, often until it begins to smoke a little, so that ingredients can easily be cooked and rotated while being shuffled on the slick olive oil surface. For this type of cooking, flavor is not the most important characteristic, so you don't need to use your most expensive olive oil. Choose a medium-priced, virgin olive oil that has a relatively strong flavor.

Garnishing

• Olive oil is commonly used for garnishing dishes and is also used for making salad dressing and for dipping bread. When you incorporate olive oil into the rawer form of cooking, it is more important to pay attention to quality and flavor, since it will often be tasted on its own or used as a true complement to other flavors in the dish. Extra-virgin olive oil has high flavor and low acidity, so it is a good choice when used for garnishing, dipping and mixing. Save your expensive specialty and imported olive oils for the times when the oil will really be tasted on it's own, such as bread dipping.

Mild

• Some olive oil offer a milder taste for those that do not like the strong extra-virgin flavors as much. You can buy "lite" or "light" olive oils that are filtered and have a paler color than virgin olive oils. You can fry and saute foods with these oils, and stick to spices for your flavor, but they will not have much taste if they are used in a salad dressing or garnish. Olive oils from Greece are also known to be well-rounded and smooth, but not too heavy, unlike the stronger olive oils from Italy and France.

Strong

• Italy and Spain are known for their robust and flavorful olive oils, and their flavors should usually be enjoyed away from the skillet so that they can be fully appreciated. Italy's olive oils are known to stand up to their love of cooking, so whenever you use Italian olive oil, you will be sure to taste it. Spain's olive oils are generally rich and nutty in flavor, and should also be highlighted, not smothered, within a dish. Extra-virgin olive oils will have the strongest flavors, no matter their origin. Olive oils are also pressed at all different stages during both green and black olive ripening, so try a few to decide which flavors suit you and your cooking style.