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Which oils are best to cook with?

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Which oils are best to cook with?

#31

Post by ousta »

benihana wrote: post #21
ousta wrote: post #7

has he already tried frying with olive oil? this is literally one of the shittiest oils to fry in. First the olive flavor dissapear even before it becomes frying temperature, second it is being replaced by a rancid taste that is totally awful due to the low heat resistance of olive oil. I don't care the study it is quite obvious that Olive OIl breaks down much before Sunflower oil and as such produce nocive substance…

> First the olive flavor dissapear even before it becomes frying temperature, second it is being replaced by a rancid taste that is totally awful due to the low heat resistance of olive oil It sounds like you're frying with extra virgin olive oil, which is better used as a dressing and not cooked with. Regular olive oil is what you fry with.

you are right i was talking about extra virgin oil. being mediterranean myself I only got to know about regular olive oil when i was overseas and it just tasted like crap. cooked or raw. but i agree you can fry with this. I just don't see the point of using this.

Re: Which oils are best to cook with?

#32

Post by athenot »

It would have been nice if the study included sesame oil. It has a high smoke point and it's used in many Asian diets.

Frying in olive oil can be done if it's a low temperature fry, I've only done it for pan frying potato slices or cubes, with generous amounts of dried herbs. But I consider that an edge case of using olive oil. The smoke point is just too low to do much frying.

Re: Which oils are best to cook with?

#33

Post by lambda »

Grue3 wrote: post #17
eitally wrote: post #12

This article is very hard to draw conclusions from. For one, when they talk about frying, are they literally meaning deep frying / pan frying, or also including sauteeing and similar? Secondly, for Americans at least, they don't mention canola/rapeseed oil at all, and that's by far the most commonly used here. Thirdly, most people have absolutely no clue how hot their pans get when they cook, but I suspect the majori…

They do mention rapeseed oil, and it's one of the best along with olive oil. And it has higher smoke point, so I suspected it's the best oil for frying for quite a while. Unfortunately it's very rarely sold in my country.

And for anyone who's not familiar, rapeseed oil is sold as canola oil in the US and Canada.

Re: Which oils are best to cook with?

#34

Post by qznc »

richthegeek wrote: post #14
ousta wrote: post #7

has he already tried frying with olive oil? this is literally one of the shittiest oils to fry in. First the olive flavor dissapear even before it becomes frying temperature, second it is being replaced by a rancid taste that is totally awful due to the low heat resistance of olive oil. I don't care the study it is quite obvious that Olive OIl breaks down much before Sunflower oil and as such produce nocive substance…

I emailed the author about the smoke point issue, his response as follows: > I agree - some extra virgin olive oils do have a smoke point as low as that, but certainly not all of them. The smoke point is not the major focus of the issue - we're investigating the oxidation of polyunsaturates (and, to a lesser extent, monounsaturates), which generate toxic lipid oxidation products when subjected to standard frying epis…

Ok, but the title says "Which oils are best to cook with?", which suggest a much broader article.

Re: Which oils are best to cook with?

#36

Post by golergka »

jwr wrote: post #22

Over the years I've learned to take advice like this with a large grain of salt. Every couple of years this sort of advice seems to get reversed. I still remember reading about olive oil being bad for frying because it was supposedly less resistant to high temperatures and decomposed into something not too healthy. It's been the same with eggs, coffee, and many other things.

> with a large grain of salt

This made me stumble, as in this context I wasn't sure if you were being literal or figurative.

Re: Which oils are best to cook with?

#37

Post by mishkovski »

andy_ppp wrote: post #13

The answer to all of this of course is don't eat fried food. It's all very bad for you!! Try a nice salad instead, I can recommend any of the Ottelenghi cookbooks if you don't have any good ideas!

For most people not eating fried food is not an option. Fried food tastes great and we love it. Yes it is not as healthy as a salad but it is much more fun. Being healthy is only one part of the equation. Eating is a complex process and very important part of our lives which can be adversely affected by any type of limitations. Probably moderation is the key to a healthy and satisfying diet.

Re: Which oils are best to cook with?

#38

Post by radoslawc »

jwr wrote: post #22

Over the years I've learned to take advice like this with a large grain of salt. Every couple of years this sort of advice seems to get reversed. I still remember reading about olive oil being bad for frying because it was supposedly less resistant to high temperatures and decomposed into something not too healthy. It's been the same with eggs, coffee, and many other things.

Depends who's lobbying I guess, butter vs margarine, coffee vs tea, lard vs sunflower oil. Joking aside traditional western Europe cuisine was based on lard frying (people also ate large amount of eggs which is also supposed to be bad for you) and many of them reached 100 years and more. Of course env pollution was not that big, but limited calories intake plus animal fats and physical activity contributed to their longevity greatly.

Re: Which oils are best to cook with?

#39

Post by rebeccaskinner »

ousta wrote: post #10
fdomig wrote: post #8

This is the essential thing. I do prefer fat over carbohydrates and I am quite healthy with that. "After years of being told, and telling others, that saturated fat clogs your arteries and makes you fat, there is now mounting evidence that eating some saturated fats may actually help you lose weight and be good for the heart"

this saying is true for healthy people. definitly not true for overweight people fed with corn syrup colas where saturated fats can be lethals paired with the high carbohydrate intak

Although I'm very hesitant to put too much faith into anything in the area of nutrition and health based on a single study, I do recall reading a longitudinal study a few months ago where they looked as various carb/fat/protein ratios in diets and basically found that both high carb/low fat/high protein and low carb/hight fat/high protein diets promoted weight loss and increased overall health, and that high carb/high fat/low protein diets tended to cause a lot of health problems and participants either gained weight or lost weight at a much lower than expected rate based on their calorie deficit.

Anecdotally, as a person who has struggled to control my weight (420lbs -> 100lbs -> 200lbs -> current back down to around 190lbs), I found that a low carb/high fat/high protein diet did help me lose weight and my vitals (based on blood pressure, resting heart rate, and CBC with metabolic panel) were extremely good during that time (although I suffered from bradycardia and low blood pressure for a time), but the high caloric density of fat made it very difficult to feel satisfied with the amount of food I was eating to maintain a consistent calorie deficit. I'm losing weight a little more slowly on a high carb/low fat/high protein diet, but my vitals are still good (bp and heart rate are more normal than the high fat diet, but I'm struggling with anemia now) and it seems more sustainable for me in the long run.

Re: Which oils are best to cook with?

#40

Post by athenot »

VeejayRampay wrote: post #9

I've found that clarified butter (or its close cousin ghee) offers a very high smoke point (around 250°C or about 480°F) and is good for lactose-intolerant people. It's also extremely easy to make.

And when it comes to browning, or making a crust around the edges of what's being pan-fried, butter is the best.

Also, I'm not sure why but I've found that adding sesame oil to butter helps keep its properties a bit longer under heat.

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