Some time ago, “cooking oil” in the ears of the average American chef meant vegetable oil.
Or just a clot of melted lard to keep the undertakers and cardiologists in caviar or just some olive oil of undefined quality used for the preparation of salad dressing. Later on, say a few decades later the variety available at our regular grocery store became somewhat intimidating if not engaging and that’s minus the stock pile of cooking oils we can see in most grocery stores. Nowadays, we have a whole lot of choices and recommendations from coconut oil to avocado oil, etc. Each one of these oils also has their unique features and characteristics, and these characteristics at times match what you have heard about them from top chefs or experienced people like my mum.
Coconut Oil
Perfect for:
- Baking
- Sautéing
- Low heat roasting
- Smoke Point: 359°F
Coconut oil has of late gathered some reputation as a result of some hipster approval and dubious health claims. And sincerely speaking it deserves some of it. When coagulated at room temperature it serves as a perfect substitute for butter in some cakes, cookies and other baking recipes either for the creation of non-diary option or only just because it tastes great with banana, chocolate, and other tropical flavours. When it comes to low heat recipes, you want to use it with sautéing vegetables or chicken.
Fun Facts:
Coconut oil is also excellent and positively effective for your skin and hair, any beauty product that has coconut oil as one of their ingredients can be trusted to do an excellent job. Coconut oil could save the day if you eventually run out of massage oil on a date.
Peanut Oil
Perfect For:
- Dishes that have a lot of nuts in them, especially with intense heat like in a stir fry
- Smoke point: 440°F
The advantage and also disadvantage of the peanut oil is that it tastes exactly like peanuts. Well, it’s entirely idle if you are coating your wok for… say Thai cooking, but it isn’t that great for coating your skillet to boil a steak. Its smoke point is exceptionally high, which makes it ideal for deep frying as well as regular frying. Utilise it for dishes that already are amenable to peanut taste for instance moles, fried chicken and South East Asian dishes.
Fun Facts:
Peanut oil goes foul quickly and even faster than other oils. Purchase little quantity and store in places with low temperatures like a dark cabinet far off from the cooking stove.
EVOO aka Extra virgin olive oil
Perfect For:
Sprinkling over delicious dishes, dips, salad dressing, etc. (in that other)
Smoke Point: 320°F (do not use EVOO for high-temperature cooking as it destroys its excellent flavor and quality.
Cold pressing prepares EVOO, thus means that it have at a temperature not higher than 80.5°. More extreme temperatures will produce some more oil effortlessly, and this is what makes this oil more expensive. This retains more antioxidants, flavours, and monounsaturated fats and offers a far more complex and robust flavour profile. Dependant on the region, flavours could be buttery, grassy, fruity, or bitter. Utilising it for those flavours ain’t a bad idea, but not as a lubrication or texture agent… and obviously not as a means of deep frying.
Fun Facts
EVOO is most times counterfeited, buying from a trusted supplier is a way to confirm authenticity, and you could also research on that effect.
Sesame Oil
Perfect For:
- Frying and Sautéing
- Smoke Point: 410°F
Though it most times has a nutty aroma, the sesame oil still has a neutral flavour. It also has a mid high smoke point; this makes it a fantastic choice for coating your wok or fry pan before plunking down veggies or meat. It incorporates a lot of minerals, fatty acids, and vitamins before cooking so that it will work perfectly for salad dressing, mostly with an Asian flavour like orange or ginger. The heat releases more of the Sesame so smoked sesame oils might taste very nutty. Utilise it for recipes where you require the sesame flavour to carry through.
Fun Fact:
There’s a saying that originated from Urdu that goes “there isn’t any oil left in this Sesame” this means a person is very cranky.
Olive Oil
Perfect For:
- Sautéing, frying, and, deep frying, you can make this your default oil for anything.
- Smoke Point: 465°F
The Olive Oil is sure to be in the pans of the commercial kitchens if they are not using any vegetable oil. the regular olive oil usually has an unremarkable ooze, great working texture which makes it among the most versatile among cooking oils, and a high smoke point. Because it has a palate and a neutral nose, it’s perfect for incorporating pepper, garlic, and other flavours.
Fun fact:
Some of the popular olive oils are washed with solvents at an intense temperature to neutralise or normalise its flavour. Go with EVOO for taste. But remember, do not heat it!
Corn/Vegetable/ Canola Oil
Perfect For:
- Deep frying and frying
- Smoke Points: 450°F
This oil comes with a small price tag with a high smoke point, thus making this kind of oil the standard issue for most professional kitchens. It doesn’t have a flavour so whatever you cook in it tastes like itself and not like the oil. You could make this your default oil, just like basic refined salt. Just like salt, it isn’t the best oil for your health; this is why people are opting for the fancier and more expensive options. Be sure to use it in most recipes, and especially for fried chicken, recipes that involve throwing stuff in boiling oil and stir-frying.
Fun Fact:
The small price tag is as a result of using subsidised crops as the primary raw material for the making of the oil.
Grapeseed Oil
Perfect For:
- Low temperature sautéing and emulsified recipes.
- Smoke Point: 420°F
Grapeseed oil has been thrown in the trash bag for a long time now and referred to as an undesirable byproduct of wine production. But some fresh research on how it affects our body system has made it a cosmetic item in the present times.
Proof from trusted sources say it curbs hunger chemically when you consume even a little. It’s an excellent choice, and it will not separate at lower temperatures. So it’s perfect for making dressings, sauces, and mayonnaise.
Fun Fact:
This great oil has been used for decades if not centuries as a skin moisturiser in dry climates, and it’s also awesome with hair.
Avocado Oil
Perfect For:
- Grilling
- Smoke point: 510°F
Avocado oil is known to have one of the highest smoke points of all other oils. Which makes it ideal for high-temperature cooking: stir-frying and fried eggs for example. It has butter like texture and flavour as well as a high content of monounsaturated fat (the good part). Even with its extreme temperature tolerance, it’s still as versatile as the olive oil. It makes for great sprinkle or garnishes, especially when mixed into a vinaigrette.
Fun Fact:
Discovery has been achieved via reliable research that the lutein in the avocado oil does a fantastic job with improving eyesight.
Safflower/Sunflower Oil
Perfect For:
- Substituting vegetable oil.
- Smoke point: 440°F
Produced from pressed seeds of sunflower and it younger sibling the safflower, it has the same smoke point, texture, and flavor as vegetable, canola and corn oil. It’s far better for health, has less bad fat and much more healthy fat than the cheaper veggie oils.
You have to keep in mind that it goes wrong in a short period, so it is advisable to buy in small bottles. Utilise in similar baking, frying, and roasting applications you would with veggie oil.
Fun Fact:
Sunflowers are freaking gigantic. The tallest species grow as long as thirty feet. That’s a whole lot of seeds and a ton or great oil.
