Olive Oil, the Staple Food of French Cuisine

Olive oil has the strongest aroma of all oils - it's slightly fruity but rather the smell one its own is easily recognizable and dominating. Olive oil is a part of the "French Paradox" making many French meals healthy in spite of high overall fat content. It is perfect for any salad, vegetable dish, and fish. The best olive oil is made of almost-ripe olives using the cold pressing technique, which excludes any chemical treatment. The first outcome of the pressing process is the highest-grade "extra virgin" oil, least sour and most fruity. It contains no more than 1% acids. Every next pressing gives more acid oils. However, it's not the best for frying

The lower-grade olive oil, with just "olive oil" on the label, is better for frying because it has a higher smoke point than extra virgin olive oil.