Filippo Berio: Spray Olive Oil

Hey, they can not all be crazy new inventions, I'm not made of money

I have been looking at these in the grocery store for sometime now. Thinking, "Hmmm this is 5 bucks and filled with potentially not very good oil and I could go to Sally's Beauty Supplies buy a spray bottle for 2 bucks and fill it with my own good oil." Well I finally caved and bought it. Not so much as because I like the product but I like the idea. Sorry this is not a blog about the new thing that turns cotton candy into a weight loss beverage with the abilities and well endowments of your choice, it is about a pump spray bottle with olive oil in it.

I do not dislike PAM spray or in the case of the professional kitchen Vegelene, I use it for spraying all sorts of things. Including and if you tell anyone I will deny it and you will meet Jimmy Hoffa, lightly spraying items to be toasted or grilled quickly rather than dirtying up a cup and some brushes to coat some bread. Again...Jimmy Hoffa. I bought this for the same reason, not for non-stick purposes but to lightly coat food items. Ready for the excitement, what fantastic amazing item is Robert going to grill up for his eights of readers???

HAHA...Belgian Endive...I'm poor...sigh

So, I sprayed some Belgian Endive and sprinkled it with my favorite multi-purpose seasoning SPIKE. I also did not pay for the endive it was given to me to emphasis the fact I have no money. Now what amazing way will I cook these, sous vide? inverter microwaves? green non-stick pans? Nope, are you ready!

I did not pay for this either, I think my sister gave it to me, or I stole it. Notice the SPIKE, mmmmm.

Yes, I grilled it on a George Foreman. Shut it, they work well for adding some grill marks in a pinch. George had it right by selling these to the public, they have been around forever, in Italy, they are called panini grills, or panino if you want to get technical. Here is the proof:

Sure looked grilled to me, and they are cooked, and if you count them, they are tasty

The spray was fine enough that it covered it quickly and evenly. As you can see there was good heat transference because of the grill marks. It worked. So it is a good idea. Now here is the low down. This is a one shot deal, they rigged it so when it is empty you need to buy another one. Go to a hardware store for a large one, or a beauty store for a small one. Then go to the grocery store, you have one of those right? and buy your favorite oil that will not smoke and ignite if you are going to cook it (pure olive oils, canola, sunflower, etc), or the best tasting one if you are going to just serve it (walnut, avocado, extra virgin olive oil, or if you are rolling in the dough white truffle, then call me), finally pick up eggs, Zebra Cakes, and Diet Mountain Dew for me. Do not mix and match bottles, dedicate them, because oil leaves flavors and smells behind. Do not stop at oil; vinegars, wines, syrups, and liquors will all benefit from being finely misted on to food. Now you can say "Oh I added a essence of XO cognac to my turkey sandwich on Wonder Bread" Spritz anything, your imagination is your key.
I also can tell you that it works fantastic as a non-stick spray as well. My eggs came out beautifully for breakfast the next day...so what if it was at noon it is still breakfast. Buy your own bottles and add a touch of professionalism to your own kitchen. You can also tell your "I am opposed to chemicals" hippie friends that you did not use propellants...but secretly add MSG from my Umami Paste blog to get even and have the last laugh. Maybe next week I will have more money to talk about something more intriguing to the masses. Until then work with some basics and quit crying about it.