Spotty, old chap, many thanks. I?ve always known (sort of) that oil is the key ? or perhaps one key amongst others.

A breakthrough comes, sometimes, not in an Archimedes moment of inspiration but in a confirmation of an idea that comes from a source that you believe has credibility. Your scientific rationale for the cooking medium of oil has that credibility (although I did have to look up ?partition coefficient?).

I also need your thoughts ? and anyone else?s ? about the base gravy in Kris Dillon?s new book which substitutes olive oil for plain vegetable oil (at a ratio of 50%). The conventional wisdom has always been that olive oil is anathema because of its strong flavour but she recommends it because it eliminates the pervasively strong cooking smells.

Full disclosure: I haven?t cooked it yet so I can?t comment. Any thoughts?