I use extra virgin olive oil for general cooking, and grape seed oil for deep frying deep to its higher smoke point. I also use grape seed oil for cooking Asian food as well, for a neutral taste.
Which oil do you use for cooking with heat?
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Sunflower oil, because Trader Joe’s sells it cheap. But I don’t do much high heat frying.
Sunflower, also, for most frying although I use olive oil from time to time for Mediterranean type dishes.
By the by, it’s extra virgin rapeseed or olive oil for salads, etc.
Me, too. Olive oil at lower temperatures and grapeseed oil at higher.
I also use organic canola oil when I need a neutral tasting or higher smoke point oil. Canola is easily available to me in the grocery store at a good price.
Peanut if I want a neutral flavor, coconut if I want a hint of coconut, and bacon grease, lard or rendered beef fat (tallow) if I want some meaty flavor. All of these fats stand up very well to high heat. If I want excellent browning, I may add a little butter to the pan (the milk solids in butter help create nice color on food).
I rarely cook with olive oil because I feel like its delicate flavor is destroyed by heat - I use it for salads or finishing dishes almost exclusively.
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I forgot to add, I sometimes use butter to cook. Brown butter gives nutty and toasty taste.
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I’m reading a book right now and the author keeps on talking on the healthy benefits of cooking with coconut oil. It said that if one wants to cut the coconut flavour, add salt. The book doesn’t recommend cooking with olive oil as it is high with AGEs (advanced glycation endproducts) which causes inflammation. I’m open on this and try to research more…
I don’t cook with extra virgin olive oil as it breaks down with heat - salads only.
Canola, grapeseed, avocado oil - that’s in escalating order of price. If I had easier access to international markets, peanut and gingelly (sesame) would be on that list.
Smoke point of cooking oils
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Smoke_point_of_cooking_oils
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Extra virgin olive oil exclusively. That’s what my mother always used (for her, Pomeiian in the conical bottle; I use Kirkland). I found it doesn’t pay for me to have multiple kinds. I use sesame oil for flavor at the end sometimes, but not for cooking.
I never deep fry.
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Very timely. Thanks for starting this. I just added grapeseed and avocado oil to my collection which includes peanut, coconut, olive , vegetable, and ghee oils and bacon fat. Lately my internet activity seems to be monitored and reflected in every news feed, but here, I’ll just assume great minds think alike.
“I found it doesn’t pay for me to have multiple kinds”. @eleeper, I was wondering about that.
Last time I had grapeseed and avocado it went rancid before I ended up using it, so I would love some ideas too. They seem relativey expensive to be using in quantity, and then tossing.
I mostly use bacon fat for searing proteins, veg oil (sunflower when it’s on sale) for high heat flavorless, ghee or coconut when I think I might like those flavors . I use coconut for popcorn too. I use peanut for my extremely rare deep fries.
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General cooking with canola or another vegetable oil - one at a time in stock. Extra virgin olive oil only for finishing or dressing. We keep some small bottles of other things (I’d have to look) like sesame oil. Can’t beat sesame on asparagus!
I focus on turnover to keep ingredients fresh.
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We are diehards for avocado oil thanks to Costco’s great deal on the stuff. Use it 85% of the time. Then grape seed, olive oil and coconut.
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When I use my beloved flat bottomed carbon steel wok to stir-fry I always use peanut oil. Otherwise, we shallow fry and sauté in olive oil (not extra virgin) and sometimes in olive oil + butter. I used to use reserved bacon fat, but I can’t eat smokey flavored food anymore. We use olive oil to oven roast meats, and vegetables as well. I might have some corn oil around but can’t remember why. Sesame oil rarely to sauté but definitely to drizzle on as a finish.
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Canola for both shallow and deep frying. Olive oil for starting sauces., butter at the end. LOTS of butter for potatoes, melting tomatoes.
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I cook over a low heat with general olive oil (not extra virgin) or butter, occasionally some rendered fat if there’s any in the fridge. High heat (stir fries, rubbed onto steaks) I use peanut oil (which seems to be called groundnut oil in UK supermarkets). Deep frying I use sunflower oil, as it’s economical and I never get many uses out of the oil.
Extra virgin olive oil and cold pressed rapeseed I save for raw uses.
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I could have written the exact same response. (Except that part about mom’s choice. My mom kept a big metal tin downstairs and refilled from it.)
In my part of the world, even the cheaper olive oil in supermarket, they are extra virgin. Although I notice when travelling outside Europe, EVOO is becoming more rare.
I checked the label of the grape seed oil that I’m using now, maximum temperature is limited at 180ºC / 356ºF.
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I’ve recently had some safflower oil and liked it - very good performance and a much better taste than the canola oil I had been using previously. I have olive oil but I only use it for low- or no-heat things.
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I use peanut oil for high heat stir fries in my old carbon steel wok. Otherwise, it’s olive oil and/or butter. I don’t deep fry at home.
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