Oil - Selecting & Cooking With

Topic: Tips

Selecting & Cooking With Oils
Cooking with olive oil is like cooking with wine. Never use a wine or olive oil that does not taste good to you. An inferior one will leave an aftertaste. If you do the taste test and compare the "pure" to the "extra-virgin" and the you'll understand the difference.

Here are some helpful tips in selecting the best accompaniment to your meal, as well as temperature references of when the "smoke point" occurs. The smoke point refers to the temperature at which a cooking fat or oil begins to break down. The substance smokes or burns, and gives food an unpleasant taste.

Butter
Cooking, baking, condiment, sauces and flavoring. Smoke Point 302ºF

Clarified Butter
Deep frying, cooking, sauteeing, condiment and flavouring. Smoke Point 374ºF

Canola Oil
Frying, baking and salad dressings. Smoke Point 460ºF.

Coconut Oil
Commercial baked goods, candy and sweets, whipped toppings, nondairy coffee creamers and shortening. Smoke Point 350ºF.

Corn Oil
Frying, baking, salad dressings, margarine and shortening. Smoke Point 457ºF

Cottonseed Oil
Margarine, shortening, salad dressings and commercially fried products. Smoke Point 420ºF.

Grape Seed Oil
Cooking, salad dressings and margarine. Smoke Point 400ºF.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Cooking, salad oils and margarine. Smoke Point 406ºF.

Virgin Olive Oil
Cooking, salad oils and margarine. Smoke Point 420ºF.

Olive Oil, Refined
Sautee, stir frying, cooking, salad oils and margarine. Smoke Point 438ºF.

Palm Oil
Cooking, flavouring, vegetable oil and shortening. Smoke Point 468ºF.

Peanut Oil
Frying, cooking, salad oils and margarine. Smoke Point 448ºF.

Safflower Oil
Cooking, salad dressings and margarine. Smoke Point 509ºF.

There is a general lack of consensus on the smoke points of many popular oils, as well as a lack of standardization for qualifiers such as "refined". Empirical tests are heavily dependent on the qualities of the particular samples (brand, composition, process) available, but appear to be the major source of available data. In the field, experience trumps references, and there is no source that seems truly authoritative. A crude guide is that lighter, more refined oils have higher smoke points.

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