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I've always been taught that after olive oil, canola is the best to use for cooking. What am I supposed to use?!
by wapz 10y ago
I've always been taught that after olive oil, canola is the best to use for cooking. What am I supposed to use?!
- abecedarius 10y agoThere's coconut oil and palm fruit oil. (There may be environmental concerns about the latter.) I also use butter/ghee sometimes. (And olive oil, but you already mentioned it.) For non-cooking, I like flaxseed oil.
- ohkaiby 10y agoInteresting. I've been taught the opposite due to the low smoke point of olive oil. I use Avocado oil; it has a high smoke point and seems healthier. Other oils are OK if you don't cook on high heat (use medium heat or lower).
- wapz 10y agoThanks I'll try out Avocado oil. Someone else mentioned it also. When I say "taught" I really mean my mom said "that one's good. Oh that one's good, too."
- clarry 10y agoOlive oil comes in many varieties, and some of them have a smoke point comparable to canola, or even higher. Even the unrefined varieties tend to have a fairly high smoke point. So unless you're searing, olive oil is just fine for cooking. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_point https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_point https://www.oliveoilsource.com/page/heating-olive-oil https://www.oliveoilsource.com/page/heating-olive-oil
- ScottBurson 10y agoThe theory I go by is to avoid highly polyunsaturated oils (which include canola); prefer monounsaturates. Olive oil is indeed the best if you're not going to get it too hot; next is avocado oil. Hi-oleic safflower/sunflower might be a third choice (better, at least, than canola).
- vram22 10y agoIn India safflower and sunflower oil are recommended as being better for the heart, etc. Don't know enough to say if that is right or not. Also, recently I think I read that coconut oil may not be as harmful as thought earlier by some (my guess is people thought it was harmful because it congeals at a higher temperature than other vegetable oils do). But on the other hand, people in coastal states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, etc., must be using it a lot, and I have not read about them having higher cardiac problems. All this is just anecdotal, BTW.
- Broken_Hippo 10y agoDon't worry too much about the low amounts. Develop cooking techniques to use less oil (non-stick pans, measuring out oil, etc), and switch between oils when you cook. I don't figure I'm eating enough fats to worry about it, as I don't eat meat and limit fish/seafood to once every week or two. I use either butter or a butter/canola blend for most stovetop cooking and generally use an olive/canola blend for breadmaking, with the exception of pizza crust which is oil-free.