Olive oil spread
I am not a lover of margarine or spreads, and always insist on butter on my bread unless I want to dunk it in olive oil. Many years ago, I did try a brand of so-called olive oil spread simply because I like olive oil, but it was just so lacking in flavour that the rest of tub was binned. This lack can probably be explained quite simply by the small quantity of olive oil used in these spreads - typically 21-22%. The largest proportion of oil (34-38%) however, is actually a combination of other oils such as rapeseed (canola), flax, sunflower or palm. Olive oil spread indeed!
| Olive oil spread | |
|---|---|
 |
| Servings: | Makes about 200g |
| Ready in: | 10 minutes (plus 12 hours chilling time) |
| Prep. time: | 5 minutes (plus 12 hours chilling time) |
| Cook time: | 5 minutes |
| Difficulty: | 
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The following is an easy recipe to make your own olive oil 'spread'. It is not a spread as such because it contains more than 80% fat, but can be used as such and does deserve to have 'olive oil' in the title far more so than its processed namesake.
Ingredients
Printable 🖨 shopping 🛒 list & 👩🍳 method for this recipe
- 200g extra virgin olive oil
- 12g Glice
Method
- Put the oil and Glice into a saucepan over a low heat
- Once the Glice flakes have dissolved, pour into a container (a small Lock & Lock box is fine)
- Leave to cool, then refrigerate for 12 hours
- It is now ready for use
Serving suggestions
Use as you would any normal spread, but do not expect it to have the same appearance when melted on toast etc. This is because the commercial stuff contains an element (or two) of dairy products
Variations
You can experiment with different oils or combinations thereof. If you find the taste of EVOO too strong, you can mix with a neutral tasting oil, perhaps a nice cold-pressed rapeseed oil.
Chef's notes
If you want the 'spread' to have a similar colour to butter or spread, choose a yellow tinted oil, rather than a green one