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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?

#41

Post by richthegeek »

qznc wrote: post #34
richthegeek wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The subject of the research was quite narrow. The BBC article expanded it into something much more broad, as always seems to happen.

I agree, though, that it seems irresponsible for Prof Grootveld to ignore the issues of smoking/burning your cooking medium.

Re: Which oils are best to cook with?

#42

Post by bluedino »

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.

Which the article mentions:

>> When it comes to cooking it doesn't seem to matter whether the olive oil is "extra virgin" or not.

It's pretty obvious the people doing the article or the people who are doing the experiments have never actually cooked.

Re: Which oils are best to cook with?

#43

Post by rebeccaskinner »

weego wrote: post #20
ousta wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

There's literally no science behind the notion that fats and carbs together are any worse/better than separate.

I think they were referencing diets that are generally higher in fat and carbs rather than meaning that they are worse eaten together at a specific meal. I have seen a study that supported that, but in all of science and nutritional science specifically a single study (that I can't find a reference too right now unfortunately) is about as reliable as "my cousin's brother in law's dog told him that..."

Re: Which oils are best to cook with?

#44

Post by bluedino »

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…

My favorite frying oil is peanut oil. Not even mentioned in the article although it's very common in restaurants.

Re: Which oils are best to cook with?

#45

Post by Lennu »

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.

Dunno how bad burnt olive oil can be for you. But there certainly are many kinds of olive oils, and some of them (especially extra virgin) are very likely to get very bad taste when heated to high temperatures.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooking_oil#Types_of_oils_and_...

Re: Which oils are best to cook with?

#46

Post by kseistrup »

bluedino wrote: post #44
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…

My favorite frying oil is peanut oil. Not even mentioned in the article although it's very common in restaurants.

Mine too.

Re: Which oils are best to cook with?

#47

Post by forgetsusername »

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.

>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.

This hasn't changed. Olive oil has one of the lowest smoke points of all cooking oils. Once it's burning, you're eating all kinds of things, some of which aren't good for you.

[http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/05/cooking-fats-101-whats-a-...]

Re: Which oils are best to cook with?

#48

Post by hedgew »

Some practical lessons about cooking oils for amateur chefs:

- Learn to understand what's meant by "neutral oils". They are the most versatile, and best for amateurs.

- Extra-virgin olive oil has a strong, complex taste. It's difficult to use. Get normal olive oil instead for dishes that need it. (NEVER make mayonnaise or cook eggs with "EVOO". Try it once and you'll understand.)

- Different oils will combust at different temperatures. Get a neutral oil with the highest smoke point you can find for deep frying and pan searing.

- Toasted sesame seed oil is my most commonly used non-neutral oil because it has a strong but simple taste which works well in many dishes. Walnut & other oils can be nice but usually not worth the extra cost.

Re: Which oils are best to cook with?

#49

Post by kom107 »

Many years ago, worked as a line cook in a high-end restaurant. TL;DR version of what I learned there (and still my rules of thumb):

-EVOO is best for salad dressings, oily dipping sauces.

-Olive oil is best for raw emulsions (aioli, etc)

-Canola for high heat stovetop

-Vegetable for baking and deep frying

-Sesame for Asian

-Don't worry about flavored oils until a recipe calls for them or you're comfortable experimenting

One of my favorite books for cooking is by Harold McGee, 'On Food and Cooking'. He takes a wonderful look at the science (chemistry and physics) behind your food and cooking, and I learned quite a bit from it. If you get the chance, it's worth picking up.

Re: Which oils are best to cook with?

#50

Post by forgetsusername »

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…

>For one, when they talk about frying, are they literally meaning deep frying / pan frying, or also including sauteeing and similar?

They're talking about any method in which the cooking oil is heated to temperatures where it can "burn". Sauteing would fall under this category, though generally you're using a lower cooking temperature.

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