Food & Cooking

Are you cooking with the right oil?

14/08/2021 7:31 AM13 min read Damaris J. Dickerson

Are you cooking with the right oil?

Cooking oils explained

The first ingredient you reach for in the kitchen is usually oil. It helps food cook evenly, adds flavor, stops it sticking and brings an attractive sheen to the dish. But which is the right oil? The choice and differences can be overwhelming. We’ve selected 15 common oils you’ll find at the grocery store to explain how they’re made, the smoking point (the temperature you can heat the oil before it burns) and flavor profile, to help you pick the best one for the job every time.

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Buy the best you can afford

When you’re shopping for oils, cold-pressed is generally more desirable and expensive than refined oil. Cold-pressed oil, as the name suggests, does not involve heat extraction processes which can reduce the quality and nutritional value of the oil. It is expensive because it’s slower, less efficient and leaves oil remaining in the seed or plant after processing. Refined oil uses heat and chemicals including hexane and lye to extract more oil and is often used for large scale production.

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Olive oil

One of the most common cooking oils in Mediterranean-style cooking, olive oil is made by crushing olives into a paste and pressing them to extract the oil. Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) is cold-pressed, which means there’s no heat involved, resulting in a grassy oil with a peppery flavor. Cold-pressed oil that doesn’t meet extra-virgin criteria is neutralized and refined to remove impurities; this lighter oil is labeled as light olive oil or cooking olive oil and is cheaper than EVOO.

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How to cook with olive oil

Light olive oil has a neutral flavor and is best for general cooking as it has a high smoke point of 470˚F (240˚C), however, it isn’t suitable for deep frying because of its thicker consistency compared to vegetable oils. EVOO has a strong, distinctive flavor that’s best for dips, vinaigrette and drizzling. It also has a very low smoke point, so it shouldn’t be used for cooking food.

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Vegetable oil

Vegetable oil is neutral in flavor and pale in color. It’s made from crushed fruits, seeds, grains, and nuts (so not really vegetables at all), including corn, palm-kernel, safflower, soybean or sunflower seeds. These are mixed with hexane to extract the oil, solids are removed for animal feed and the remaining crude oil is distilled, refined, filtered, heated and deodorized until it is ready to use.

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How to cook with vegetable oil

Reach for the vegetable oil when you need a versatile, neutral oil for cooking. You can use a little in a salad dressing or mayonnaise to balance out olive oil, but it’s too neutral for drizzling or finishing dishes. Vegetable oil has a smoking point of 428°F (220°C) which is suitable for deep frying, and it’s useful for pan-frying anything from aromatics and vegetables to eggs and meat.

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Sunflower oil

Sunflower oil can be cold-pressed and unrefined, however most commercial sunflower oil is heated and chemically treated to produce a pale, golden, neutral oil. Sunflower seeds are heated, pressed, and mixed with hexane. The oil is boiled to evaporate the hexane, and then processed with lye to neutralize the flavor, before being steamed and heated again.

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How to cook with sunflower oil

Sunflower oil is a good all-purpose oil. It can be used for shallow or deep frying as it has a high smoking point of 450°F (232°C). It balances out stronger flavored oils in a vinaigrette, but it doesn’t have a distinctive enough taste for drizzling or finishing. Sunflower oil is great in both sweet and savory dishes like this classic carrot cake or spicy and delicious chicken kathi rolls.

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Coconut oil

Coconut oil is solid at room temperature, but quickly melts to a liquid when heated to 76°F (24°C). It is extracted from the fleshy, white kernel inside coconuts and is pale with a strong and distinctive coconut flavor. Coconut oil has high levels of saturated fat so in the recent years there’s been much debate whether it’s healthy or not. Much like olive oil, it is sold as virgin (cold-pressed, more expensive) or refined, however there are not industry-wide criteria to recognize these labels.

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How to cook with coconut oil

Unrefined coconut oil has a low smoking point of 350°F (177°C) which makes it more suitable for baking, like in these blackberry lemon cream tartlets. Refined coconut oil has a much higher smoke point of 450°F (232°C), which makes it well-suited for cooking stir-fries and curries, like this flavorful fish curry.

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Ghee

Not strictly speaking an oil, ghee is clarified butter that is solid at room temperature and melts to a liquid once heated. It is used as an oil in south and middle eastern Asian countries, especially India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Ghee is made by melting butter and separating the liquid fat from the milk solids. Read our guide on everything you need to know about ghee.

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How to cook with ghee

Ghee has a rich, buttery flavor and high smoking point of 485°F (251°C). It’s versatile and can be substituted for oil and sometimes butter in many recipes. Ghee makes buttery, fresh chapati or delicious naan pizzas. Heating aromatics in a flavorful fat like ghee will also add extra depth of flavor to the dish, just like in this turmeric and lime mussel broth recipe.

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Rapeseed oil

Rapeseed oil is made by pressing and extracting oil from the seeds of bright yellow rapeseed flowers. Some British chefs prefer to use refined rapeseed oil over olive oil, because it uses more local ingredients. In the US, rapeseed oil is not the same as Canola oil; they come from the same family, but Canola is a brand named registered for a genetically modified version of rapeseed oil with lower erucic acid levels.

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How to cook with rapeseed oil

Rapeseed oil can be used in place of olive oil, vegetable or sunflower oil. It has enough flavor to bring interest to a salad dressing, but it’s also neutral enough to work in dark chocolate brownies. Refined rapeseed oil has a high smoking point of 430°F (220°C), whereas unrefined cold-pressed rapeseed smokes at 300°F (150°C) and is better suited to dressings and drizzles. Rapeseed oil is also a great oil to infuse to then use in this tandoori chicken recipe.

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Grapeseed oil

Grapeseed oil is extracted from the grape seeds after the fruit has been juiced. It’s a useful by-product of winemaking that’s considered a healthier alternative to vegetable oil. It can be cold-pressed or extracted using chemicals much like vegetable, olive and sunflower oils.

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How to cook with grapeseed oil

Use grapeseed oil for shallow frying as it has a moderately high smoking point of 421°F (216°C). It is light and odorless, so many chefs prefer it to other oils to let the rest of the ingredients shine whilst still carrying flavor. Try it in a hot dog recipe or use it to dress a purple sprouting broccoli salad.

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Sesame oil

Sesame oil is extracted from white sesame seeds. The seeds release their oil once they are completely ripe and their protective capsule bursts. It is cold-pressed using an expeller press or heated and extracted using different methods, depending on the country of origin. Sesame oil is relatively stable but it should still be kept in a dark bottle to avoid discoloration.

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How to cook with sesame oil

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Walnut oil

Walnut oil is extracted from fresh walnuts by cold-press or refined methods. Walnut oil, like other nut and seed oils can turn rancid if exposed to light or not used within date, so it’s best to buy smaller bottles.

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How to cook with walnut oil

Walnut oil is a finishing oil, as it can turn bitter if overheated. Try it in this unusual combination of goats’ cheese with a walnut and blackberry vinaigrette or treat your dinner party guests to retro deviled eggs. It’s also delicious in baking and cakes.

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Peanut oil

Also known as groundnut oil, peanut oil is a mild-tasting vegetable oil derived from peanuts. Refined peanut oil has been treated so heavily that it is safe for most people with a peanut allergy to eat, however, you should always check with your doctor first. Cold-pressed, expelled or extruded gourmet peanut oils are usually not safe for those with allergies as they contain nut traces.

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How to cook with peanut oil

Unrefined peanut oil has a smoke point of 320°F (160°C) and is used as a finishing oil, much like sesame oil. Refined peanut oil is more stable and has a higher smoke point of 450°F (232°C), which makes it suitable for commercial deep fat frying. It’s one of the 30 secret ingredients professional chefs swear by and is a great substitute for palm oil in this vegan red stew.

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Avocado oil

Avocado oil is made by pressing the pulp or green fleshy part of avocados. The fruit is washed, peeled and the stone removed, then processed in a vat to make a smooth avocado purée. The vat is spun using a centrifugal process, which forces oil and water out of the pulp. They are separated to leave unrefined avocado oil.

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How to cook with avocado oil

Avocado oil has the highest smoke point of any oil at 520°F (271°C), which makes it suitable for cooking at high temperatures – although it’s so expensive, it’s more commonly used as a finishing oil. You can also buy an avocado oil spray, which is a great alternative for pan-frying if you’ve got a good non-stick pan and want to cut down on how much oil you’re using.

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Rice bran oil

Rice bran oil is a byproduct of the rice milling process which converts brown to white rice. The outer husk is removed to make brown rice, and when the brown bran and rice germ layer are removed, it leaves a white rice grain. Rice bran oil is extracted from the bran and germ, and then refined and filtered to create a pale, golden oil.

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How to cook with rice bran oil

With a high smoke point of 450°F (232°C) and mild flavor, rice bran oil is often used for high-temperature cooking like deep-frying or stir-frying. It is also useful to season woks or cast-iron pans because of its high smoke point. Find out how to season your pans with oil, and other useful cooking tips.

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Hemp oil

Hempseed oil, or hemp oil, is made by pressing hemp seeds. The oil is extracted and cold-pressed for unrefined hemp oil, which is dark green with a nutty taste. The darker the color, the grassier the flavor. Refined hemp oil is clear with little flavor and is often used in beauty products.

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How to cook with hemp oil

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Infused oils

You can purchase or make your own infused oil to add extra flavor and a professional finishing touch to your dishes. Extra-virgin olive oil or rapeseed oil are often used as a base, as they’re both good finishing oils but will carry the infused flavor and transform a dish. Read our guide on how to make chili oil at home or have a go at making your own infused garlic oil.

Step up your game in the kitchen with our 60 best ever food hacks

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A note about palm oil

Palm oil is a vegetable oil made from the fruit of oil palm trees. It’s most commonly found in mass-produced foods like chocolate and margarine, as well as shampoo and make-up. Mass produced palm oil is severely destructive to the environment and it’s best to avoid products containing palm oil as much as possible. You can still purchase sustainable cold-pressed palm oil to cook traditional recipes from West Africa, Indonesia or Malaysia where oil palm trees grow.

Now discover our in-depth guide to olive oil here

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