When cooking with olive oil you will want to select the olive oil that best suits the dish at hand. Use the more flavorful hearty extra virgin olive oils when seeking the rich flavor of the olive in your dishes. If this proves too strong for you, select the lighter oils. It is also common to infuse these lighter oils with additional flavors such as porcini mushrooms, herbs, lemon, garlic and spices. These additions are limitless and are a great way to infuse flavor into a dish or to use simply as a seasoning to sprinkle over tomatoes, crusty bread or pastas.
Storage is also important.
Once the oil is opened it becomes vulnerable to its immediate environment. Keep the oil tightly sealed in a cool place away from direct sunlight. The oil can and will go rancid if stored improperly. If you expect to keep it on hand for more than a couple of weeks. The oil will become cloudy when cold but the flavor remains relatively unaffected.