If you’ve ever walked into the spice section of your local grocer, you’ve seen a bunch of different options for oil to cook with. But which is best?
Well, none. They all have different purposes and reasons why we use them. But I’ll break down a couple of key factors when selecting which oil to use to cook with. I’m going to break down some things to think about as well as common cooking oils.
First thing: cooking temperature. Are you frying? Sauteing? Flavoring? All of these impact on which type of oil you use. Oils have different burn temperatures. If you’ve ever put a low heat oil like olive oil on a hot pan and cooked on high and noticed that it started to smoke, then you’ve seen what I mean by burn temperature. Different oils have different burn temperatures, and once it’s burnt, kinda like toast, it loses some of its flavor and it’s no longer good to cook with. I mean, unless you like blackened toast. Then by all means, do what you do.
Second thing: Flavor! Oils might imbue a flavor into your cooking. Is there a certain palette you’re going for? Seasoned oils, or oil that has a flavor added, might be beneficial for what you’re looking for. Fat is the basis for flavor in your cooking, so choosing a good oil can add a lot to a dish.
Vegetable oil: You know it because it’s cheap and typically good for frying. Does this mean it’s bad? No, it’s usually made up of a couple of different oils which make it so that you don’t have a whole lot of flavor in it. This name goes hand-in-hand with canola oil usually. It’s got a high burn temperature of upwards of 450F, which also makes it great for use on the grill and non-stick surfaces.
Olive oil: Usually right next to the vegetable in a bunch of different bottles and codes like “virgin”, “extra virgin”, “cold-pressed” and different colors of bottles. Sometimes you might even see grades.
Olive oil is made by taking fresh olives from the trees and crushing them, as they release the juices it can heat up and become oil. “Virgin” just means it was never treated with anything and the olives are fairly young. “Extra virgin” means the olives were picked as soon as they were grown. “Cold-pressed” means it wasn’t heat treated, which means you might see some settling at the bottom of your container and it’ll need to be shaken every so often. I prefer cold-pressed because it has a lot of the raw flavor of the olives. The dark container is because olive oil needs to be stored in a cool, dry place to maintain peak freshness. Olive oil burns between 325-350F, so it’s used for adding flavor to dishes or dressings and for low-heat cooking.
Side note: When buying flavored oils, olive oil is typically used as the base and then various notes such as garlic, herbs, or peppers are added.
Corn oil: Pretty similar to vegetable oil spec and usage-wise. Some people have reactions to canola oil and use this as a substitute. Burn temp is still around 450F.
Avocado oil: My personal favorite for high-temp cooking. Burns between 400-450F, with higher qualities seen up to 500F. Doesn’t have an avocado flavor if that’s what you’re worried about; but it can have some omega-3’s in the higher quality types so it’s also great when used in dressings.
Coconut oil: This has very similar cooking temperatures to olive oil, this is just for taking very low heat cooking, like vegetables, and because you want to add MCTs (medium-chain triglycerides, something that can help lower your triglyceride and LDL levels) into your diet. This is solid at most room temperatures but then turns liquid when it gets warmer or if kept near your stove, so be very careful about opening the jar.
Look forward to more tips and knowledge on how to use oil and fats in your cooking in 102!
The Family Cookbook 