Which oils are best to cook with? • Hacker News Board

Re: Which oils are best to cook with?

#101

Post by 13years » Tue, Jul 28, 2015, 5:38 PM UTC

gambiting wrote: post #62

jballanc wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Olive oil's smoke point is highly dependent on the variety. Refined olive oil is just as useful for high-heat frying as just about any other. Extra virgin, on the other hand, is not something you want to cook with. In Turkey we have a variety known as "naturel sizma", which is what comes off the olives before pressing even begins. In contrast to other olive oil varieties, it's appearance is cloudy, and you can barely…

Really? I only ever cook with extra virgin olive oil. I really can't tell the difference :P

That's because possibly there wasn't a difference. http://lifehacker.com/the-most-and-least-fake-extra-virgin-o...

Re: Which oils are best to cook with?

#102

Post by Enzolangellotti » Tue, Jul 28, 2015, 6:15 PM UTC

scurvy wrote: post #76

To me, the largest problem I have with olive oil is the counterfeiting and adulterous nature of the industry and its infiltration by organized crime. I stick with ones made in California, but wasn't Costco busted for selling fake olive oil? I realize it's possible to get good stuff and probably avoid the bad, but I'd rather steer clear of the entire mess and use a better alternative.

I'm starting a new import startup/e-store for original italian (Apulian, Campanian, Umbrian and Sicilian) olive oil aimed at the food lovers niche as my family hails from there, moreover I'm on friendly terms with some family producers. So far the biggest issue (other than those export regulations) has been finding a decent packaging. I wanted those nice Vietri/Positano/Amalfitan ceramic bottles (http://www.ceramicpositano.com/data/images/vaso-a-collo-stre...) but I fear the cost might be too high for the buyer.

Re: Which oils are best to cook with?

#103

Post by nogridbag » Tue, Jul 28, 2015, 9:17 PM UTC

I've been pan frying with grape seed oil as it has a high smoke point but it wasn't mentioned in the article. Should I be worried? :)

Re: Which oils are best to cook with?

#104

Post by AdmiralAsshat » Tue, Jul 28, 2015, 9:40 PM UTC

logicallee wrote: post #83

AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #79

I'm disappointed that this article did not evaluate avocado oil or peanut oil. The latter is increasingly used in frying in the US due to its very high smoke point, and I've been personally using the former for that purpose.

how would you describe the taste? I googled and saw that it's kind of like olive oil - if so it's interesting because I can't normally cook with olive oil. (precisely because of its low smoke point - i like the flavor though.)

Its flavor is more neutral than olive oil, which makes it useful in some applications. Olive oil is my go-to oil for pretty much everything that's NOT deep frying (I blame my Mediterranean upbringing), but avocado works well when I need to deep fry (burned oil is an unpleasant ingredient), or if I don't necessarily want the flavor that olive oil imparts on the food. So, useful for Asian cuisine, I suppose--although they might tell you to go for sesame oil if you're the kind who uses your wok more than once a week.

I do recommend trying to re-use the stuff if you're planning to deep fry, though, as avocado oil is pricey compared to olive and vegetable oil. Even at Costco the stuff runs like $15/liter. Let it cool and strain it to get any food particles that are floating in it, and you should be able to use the oil at least once more before tossing it.