Getting Adventurous with Cooking Oils

For many home cooks, vegetable oil is normally the go-to cooking oil, but there are many different alternatives that I like to incorporate in my cooking that not only taste better, but are better for you. Cooking oils vary so it’s helpful to know some specific things about them. Because different kinds of oil have different smoking points, each will start losing some of their nutritional value and flavor at certain contrasting temperatures.

The smoke point is the temperature at which the oil begins to burn, but worse than that, it’s also the temperature where the oil begins to degenerate and throw off unhealthy free radicals. Although cooking above the smoke point doesn’t necessarily mean your food will burn, it is the point at which you should probably ditch the food and oil that is in the pan and start over.

Safflower oil and grapeseed oil are good to use because they have higher smoke points (great when you need to cook at a higher temperature) and they do not emit any particular flavor that will affect your recipe. When shopping for cooking oils, be sure to look for the refined versions as they will have higher smoke points than their unrefined siblings.

Lately I have been experimenting with coconut oil. While safflower oil and grapeseed oil are interchangeable, unrefined coconut oil adds a bit of flavor. You want to make sure you are thinking about the flavor the oil will add to avoid a weird mixture of tastes. While unrefined coconut oil might taste great in a fruity sautéed chicken salad, your chicken parmesan might take on a tropical flavor that you did not intend. Cooking with refined coconut oil not only gives you a higher smoke point, but the light coconut flavor is no longer discernable. You can fry with any of these three oils to have some flexibility in the kitchen. I do not cook with extra virgin olive oil because of its low smoke point. Instead, I reserve extra virgin olive oil to finish a dish (for instance, drizzling over a cooked homemade pizza) or to add to salad dressings and dips.

I always try to cook with the healthiest ingredients, and oil is no exception. Stick to the basics: naturally occurring fats in oils are processed much more easily by your body than the unnatural trans fatty acids (made by the hydrogenation process) that are mostly stored in the arteries. Doctors will tell you the healthiest oils contain mostly unsaturated fats, but do not let that scare you away from expanding your cooking techniques. Cooking in moderation with, say, coconut oil or butter, which are higher in saturated fat, can improve your dish’s flavor. I’m the first one to admit fat equals flavor! While I try to maintain a healthy diet, the key is moderation. Avoid ingredients that contain trans fatty acids, but the occasional indulgence in coconut oil or butter with their saturated fat is ok in my opinion. Get adventurous in the kitchen and try something other than vegetable oil. There are many healthier alternatives that are full of flavor.

Until next time, eat well!