What cooking oil do you use?

[patrickamory]

Fair enough, but by the end, I think a lot of people were answering just the topic question 

 

I'm happy this spawned a 4-page thread, but what I was really curious about was what affordable, neutral-tasting oil people would use in situations calling for such… including but not exclusively meaning deep-frying, and I got a lot of interesting answers.

 

(And as much as I love them, olive oil of any sort, butter and peanut oil do not fit the bill.)

[patrickamory]

Sorry and yes… ALSO... what oil that fits the above description that doesn't carry sizable health risks, not that there seems to be particularly reliable information on that these days outside of trans-fats.

 

I'm not particularly worried about consuming huge quantities of animal fat or coconut oil or anything in between, but I am a bit concerned about the number of oils, especially the ones available in large quantities for affordable prices, that seem to be produced industrially using various chemical solvents like hexane. Maybe it's an idle worry?

[Mofassah]

Rapeseed (not grapseed) and extra virgin olive oil for dressings, depending of the taste I want
Regular cheap olive oil for cooking sauces and other stuff that doesn't require high heat
Sunflower oil for searing and fries

Sesame oil in some asian dishes like ramen and spring rolls

Sunflower oil for mayonaise

 

Edit: I forgot to mention truffle oil, which is olive oil infused with truffle. Delicious stuff.

Edited June 3, 2014 by Mofassah (log)

[Norm Matthews]

I went to a boutique olive oil store yesterday and tasted some oils.  Grapeseed was the most neutral tasting oil they had.  Sunflower oil tasted like sunflower seeds.  It would be interesting in mayo but not sure I'd like it on a regular basis.  Grapeseed oil was very expensive at the boutique store but then I went to the Asian market and got half a gallon of rice bran oil for about the same price as a pint of grapeseed oil at the other place.  It is pretty neutral tasting too.

Edited June 3, 2014 by Norm Matthews (log)

[Katie Meadow]

Just a word about health upsides and downsides. If you read various testimonials by doctors, homeopaths, seemingly level-headed people and nut cases it is clear that no one oil is going to be all purpose useful or healthy. There is one site in particular that cautions against rice bran oil, as it has no omega 3's and lots of omega 6's, suggesting that if you use rice bran oil a lot, you might want to supplement your diet with omega 3's. I have no idea if this should be taken seriously; at a certain point my mind fogs over and I just concede to the benefits of moderation and variety. 

 

For baking it seems that any oil that has a flavor you like (or has no detectable flavor) and no objectionable transfat, corporate or GMO factors--if that matters to you-- can be appropriate, and you don't have to worry about a high smoke point for that. There's a lot of swooning over coconut oil for baking these days, touting its health benefits, but it seems to me the benefits might be sweet taste and the fact that it is solid at room temp, so often suggested as a sub for butter, although we all know nothing tastes like real butter.

 

For high-heat cooking such as stir fry or deep fry, it sounds like refined vegetable oils work well, as do rice bran oil and peanut oil. I always assumed that the best oil for wok cooking is peanut, but maybe that isn't a slam dunk.The most recommended peanut oil around these parts is Golden Lion, but it does have a distinct flavor, so you have to like that. Rice Bran oil is suggested for tempura.

 

I don't like peanut oil (or olive oil) for popping corn, so I am going to find myself some rice bran oil and see if I like it for stir-fry as well or for whenever I would have reached for corn oil, which I don't want to buy any more. Truthfully it has been so long since I bought safflower or sunflower oil I don't even remember what they taste like; I associate both of them with the 1970's and tasteless salads and casseroles.

 

Unless I start baking a lot, my oil money is tied up in olive. This has been a very useful thread.

[patrickamory]

Thanks Katie, extremely useful and detailed post. I'm definitely going to be checking out rice bran oil (thanks liuzhou!)

 

I'm not so concerned about which oils have or don't have omega 3s or omega 6es… more about whether the refining process might produce hazardous byproducts.

[radtek]

To me deep-frying stinks up the place. Badly. Is the problem the peanut oil I've been using?

[huiray]

Well, for myself (again, my personal experience) using peanut oil for deep frying does indeed stink up the place.  Yes, I've used "refined" peanut oil in this regard before too.  Canola/Corn/vegetable oil does not, even if they *do* leave a "presence" of their use but which, *to me*, is not objectionable.

[GlorifiedRice]

Hi, I had never used Avocado Oil before, I used some today.

I LOVE AVOCADOS.

However that Avocado Oilis bitter and has the flavor of oil fryer grease from a diner.

Is this normal? I see people use it all the time on tv. Expiration date is Nov, 2015

[FeChef]

Veg or canola oil for deep frying. (which ever is on sale when i need it) I honestly can not tell much difference when deep frying fries, wings..ect.

 

I prefer using peanut oil for all other cooking where oil is needed. (asian wok cooking..ect)

 

If my deep fryer did not require a gallon of oil i would probably use peanut oil but in my area it cost 3x as much as Veg oil.

 

My turkey fryer requires 3 gallons of oil.

[Shel_B]

Veg or canola oil for deep frying. (which ever is on sale when i need it) I honestly can not tell much difference when deep frying fries, wings..ect.

 

 

 

I'm curious - what do you consider "veg" oil to be?  In what way is it different than canola oil?

 

Oh, what veg oils do you use?

[gfweb]

I use peanut oil. I find canola to have a fishy smell.

[Ashen]

Hi, I had never used Avocado Oil before, I used some today.

I LOVE AVOCADOS.

However that Avocado Oilis bitter and has the flavor of oil fryer grease from a diner.

Is this normal? I see people use it all the time on tv. Expiration date is Nov, 2015

 

  the chosen foods one which Willie posted a picture of upthread,  having been refined is fairly neutral tasting .  The extra virgin avocado oil I have tried has quite a bit of solids to it and  much more ripe avocado taste.  No bitterness  or used fryer grease flavour to either in my experience.   

[GlorifiedRice]

  the chosen foods one which Willie posted a picture of upthread,  having been refined is fairly neutral tasting .  The extra virgin avocado oil I have tried has quite a bit of solids to it and  much more ripe avocado taste.  No bitterness  or used fryer grease flavour to either in my experience.   

 

This is what I bought

https://latourangelle.com/index.php/avocado-oil.html

Its in a metal can.

I see Christina Pirello use it in pastries I just cant fathom that the way mine tasted.

[CatPoet]

I use rapeseed oil.  Why? Well it has the same health benefit as  olive oil even though it doesn't have the same popularity.

 

I use it in everything and it never smell rancid and it is tasteless and well great in cakes instead of butter if  the recipe ask for melted.

 

For salads  I use cold press rapeseed oil,

Edited October 19, 2014 by CatPoet (log)

[FeChef]

I'm curious - what do you consider "veg" oil to be?  In what way is it different than canola oil?

 

Oh, what veg oils do you use?

Vegetable oil. Most likely Soybean but i dont bother to read the ingredients. Like i said, I honestly do not taste much difference when deep frying to justify paying 3x as much for an oil i use sparingly for normal day to day cooking. When i pay more for oils i tend to keep them past there expiration use and that makes the food taste bad so paying $5/gallon and changing it every month vs paying $15/gallon and keeping it for 3 months works better for me.

 

Also, if you use your fryer correctly, less oil absorbs into the food then pan frying. Another reason i dont notice a taste difference is my fried foods do not come out greasy like most people claim because they dont have a good fryer, or dont know how to use it.

[Ashen]

This is what I bought

https://latourangelle.com/index.php/avocado-oil.html

Its in a metal can.

I see Christina Pirello use it in pastries I just cant fathom that the way mine tasted.

 

 

It is a good brand name, I have tried their walnut and hazelnut oils in the past, and enjoyed them.   I am at a loss to explain why  the avocado oil would taste that way unless at some point in the retail chain, from producer to the store you bought it from, it was stored at an unfavourable temperature.

[TeddyAllen]

Peanut oil and coconut oil are fine to me. But how about trying using animal fat instead? It brings better aroma & flavor to the dish, especially stir-fried dishes.

[huiray]

Peanut oil and coconut oil are fine to me. But how about trying using animal fat instead? It brings better aroma & flavor to the dish, especially stir-fried dishes.

 

True enough.  I certainly use animal fats for cooking/frying/stir-frying as occasion or desire arises, but for *routine* use I would go with one of the "liquid at room temperature" oils as largely discussed here.  I've made many a dish using chicken fat, duck fat, (pig) lard, and so on...but no longer do so as a routine manner - for myself.  Certainly in various cuisines or circumstances animal fats would be more of a routine oil for cooking.  They were in older times too, of course.  Some dishes cannot be made (or at least made correctly) if animal fats were not used.  Confit, for one.  KL Hokkien Mee, as another** - where pig lard is NECESSARY for the dish to be called "KL Hokkien Mee", and also certainly requires the addition of a generous amount of pork fat lardons into the dish at the end.

 

** which is one of the most delicious dishes in the world, IMO and that of many other folks, I am daring to say. :-) Oh, wok-hei needed, of course.

Edited October 21, 2014 by huiray (log)

[Katie Meadow]

Since deciding to not buy corn oil any more, my husband, who does 95 percent of the stove-top corn popping, has been experimenting with a variety of oils. He has declared that his favorite oil for popping is now grapeseed. He has tried olive and rice bran and thinks grapeseed does the best job: it leaves fewer unpopped kernels, tastes better and pops up nice and fluffy. We used the same bulk organic pop corn for all tests. Canola and peanut were the worst. Canola popped corn tasted fishy and that convinced me I didn't ever want to use it again for anything. So many recipes call for it that I wonder if the fishy taste is perceptible to only a percentage of people, the way some people think cilantro (I'm not one of them) tastes soapy.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I like grapeseed oil but it does not stand very high heat.

[CatPoet]

This odd  canola is basically  a rapeseed oil  but  the European  rapeseed oil isnt fishy or smell rancid, does any one  know why?

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Cat Poet,

 

I use canola oil that's labeled "made in USA". I can't taste any fishy, rancid or stale odors to it at all. I have a sensitive palate, and sometimes have to just ignore something on my plate without saying anything while my husband is eating it happily. I speak up when he's finished, and he says he not only found nothing wrong with it but thoroughly enjoyed.

 

I'm careful not to buy too much oil at a time though because we normally don't go through it very fast. On the rare occasions when we fry or deep fry, I'll make a special purchase of oil. 

 

I prefer peanut oil for frying, but it's currently not in the budget.

 

I use canola because it has many of the health benefits of olive oil at a much cheaper price, and it withstands heat much better. It's cheaper than butter, too, and while for some baked goods, that lovely butter flavor cannot be replaced with oil satisfactorily, I find that cakes and muffins are moister and keep longer made with oil.

 

I too would love to know if anyone knows the science behind why some perceive canola as "fishy". It seems quite a common complaint. I feel lucky I don't have those receptors or always luck out on fresh oil.

[Shel_B]

Cat Poet,

 

I use canola oil that's labeled "made in USA".

 

[...]

 

I use canola because it has many of the health benefits of olive oil at a much cheaper price, and it withstands heat much better.

 

Most canola oil is processed with hexane, a known carcinogen.  I'd not consider that to be healthier than (extra virgin) olive oil.

 

According to several sources, the smoke point of Canola oil is lower than that of olive oil (except evoo), i.e., it doesn't withstand heat better than olive oil.

[Katie Meadow]

I like grapeseed oil but it does not stand very high heat.

That's my understanding as well, so I was surprised that it worked well for popping corn. Maybe my husband doesn't pop on super-high heat? No idea, I'm just happy to have someone do it for me.