Hints & Tips
There is a huge variety of cooking oils available to buy these days ranging from olive to rapeseed. As you would expect each oil is slightly different and used for different cuisines of food, but not many people know which is for which!
Olive Oil
The oil is pressed from the fruit and pits of olives. Although its flavour and quality depend on the olive variety and method, of which it was extracted or pressed. Its smoke point* is 191oC, although this can also vary depending on how the oil is processed.
Uses: Good for salads and topping fish or grilled meats, or on bread.
Health Benefits: It is considered one of the healthiest of cooking oils because of its high monounsaturated content.
Best uses: Lighter versions are good for low-heat frying; lower-priced extra virgin oils are better for sautéing and flavour; more expensive extra virgin oils are best for finishing fish, meat or vegetables. Though it is low, smoke point makes olive oil a poor choice high- heat frying.
Sunflower Oil
Pale yellow, delicately flavoured oil extracted from sunflower seeds, it is one of the less common cooking oils. Its smoke point* is 232oC.
Health Benefits: It is higher in Vitamin E than any other vegetable oil.
Best uses: The light taste can make it useful for some salad dressings or sautéing. In addition, the oil’s high smoke point makes it a good choice for high-heat cooking. Good for Indian cooking!
Rapeseed Oil
A good, inexpensive all-around cooking oil that has become a popular alternative to soybean, corn and other vegetable oils. Its smoke point* is very similar to sunflowers at about 242oC.
Good for Indian cooking.
Health Benefits: Favoured as the healthiest balance of poly- and monounsaturated oils with a good ratio of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids.
Best uses: A good choice for all-around kitchen oil. The preferred version is cold or expeller-pressed, but any type of this shelf-stable, processed oil is good for sautéing and stir-frying due to its high smoke point.
Technical jargon!!!
*The smoke point is the temperature at which a cooking fat or oil begins to break down. The substance smokes or burns, and gives food an unpleasant taste, which is why oils for high-heat cooking should have high smoke points.
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