A cooking oil is a cooking oil is a cooking oil.... right? Well, no actually. There's a little more to the vast array of cooking oils than just price. And what about those terms cold-pressed, extra-virgin and superunsaturated? Do they really mean anything? Well, yes, usually. And what about fat being bad for you: Should I really be using oil at all? Well, yes... absolutly! Figuring out the cooking oil world isn't exactly an easy task, but here's a little primer to help you along.
Despite concerns about fat in the diet, fat actually plays a really important role in good health. Fat provides the means to transport fat-soluble vitamins, like A, D, E and K, to key areas of the body, thereby contributing to healthy bones, nerves, skin and mucuous membranes. So if you're limiting fat in your diet becuase you thought it was bad for you, think again! It's not the fat that's bad for you, but the type of fat that seems to be the problem. I won't get into details here, but saturated and trans-fatty acids seem to be the culprits associated with poor health. So stay away from the butters, margarines, pre-baked goods and lards and you should be doing great. On the other hand, look for fats labelled superunsaturated (like flax seed) or monounsaturated (like olive and canola oil). Polyunsaturated oils are also healthy choices.
In terms of cooking, fat acts like a flavour vehicle. Even small amounts seem to draw out the the flavour and aromas of a meal, and enhance the creamy mouth "feel" of each delicious morsel. Depending on the dish you're preparing, the recipe may call for a strongly-flavoured oil like olive or sesame, or a more meek oil like canola. Alternatively, it may be calling for an oil with a high flash-point for frying, like safflower, or be trying to add some extra nutrients to the dish, like flax-seed. Generally-speaking, if you're substituting an oil in a recipe, you should take a few moments to consider why the oils is being used and what an appropriate substitution might be.
Confused yet? Don't worry, here are a few guiding thoughts:
Full-flavoured fruity oils are good for most Italian and Coutry-style French fare, uncooked salad dressings, marinades, sauces and dips. Think garlic, tomatoes, herbs, pasta and hearty bread and try olive oil or the milder walnut oil. Flavour strength will be inversely proprotional to processing, so the less processed you oil, the more flavour you will enjoy: First-pressed, cold-pressed oils will result in the greatest flavour, extra virgin olive oil is always from the first pressing and is also the least acidic of the olive oils. Fine virgin and semi-virgin oils are a bit milder and still unrefined, havine been processed using a cold-press technique.
Dishes in the oriental style, cry out for toasted sesame oil or peanut oil mixed with a little soy sauce and ginger. Baking is often best with buttery corn oil, as are sauteed vegetables. Subtly nutty oils like walnut, hazelnut and grapeseed allow the flavour of delicate herbs to sizzle. But highly-flavoured foods like Indian, Thai and Carribean are probably best prepared with a less-competing oil, like canola.
And what about frying?. Well all oils are definately not created equal in this department either. Different molecular properties of oils mean that they each react differently to heat. Toasted sesame and flax seed oil should never be used for baking or frying. These are essentailly flavouring oils and will smoke and decompose at fairly low temperatures. Refined sesame, cold-pressed walnut and olive oils are all great for low temperature sauteeing. For higher temperatures, canola, corn and some olive oils are fine. Your best choices for deep-frying and high temperature stir frying are refined safflower and sunflower oils. Refined almond, avocado and cottonseed oil are also great if you can find and afford them, and canola oil is usually not a problem either.
As a general rule, I like to keep a few different
oils in my pantry. Safflower and canola for frying; corn oil for
baking; and walnut, olive, toasted sesame and flax for flavouring.
Flax oil should always be stored in the fridge. Happy cooking!
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Disclaimer: This newsletter and the Amanda's Kitchen web site are not prepared by a registered dietician, nurse, doctor or other medically-qualified individual. Any health and nutrition information provided by Amanda's Kitchen is designed to support, not replace, information provided by a registered dietician or healthcare provider. Where appropriate, Amanda's Kitchen has endeavoured to support information contained on the site and newsletter by providing references to source data and, where possible, specific HTML links.
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