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The problem is the fats in those oils are very susceptible to oxidation and have low smoke points, they are never safe as cooking oils for this reason. For coo
by lambdaba 6y ago
The problem is the fats in those oils are very susceptible to oxidation and have low smoke points, they are never safe as cooking oils for this reason.
For cooking the best options outside of animal fats are olive oil and coconut oil, but of course olive oil is most versatile and better tasting imo.
- shin_lao 6y agoAvocado oil is much better than olive oil, which has a low boiling point.
- lambdaba 6y agoIt's probably equivalent but the taste doesn't go with most foods, also it goes bad much easier which again suggests less stability.
- microcolonel 6y agoIf you're concerned about the taste of Avocado oil you may have just had poor quality oil. I've had some bad experiences, but the one from Chosen Foods (we have it at Costco in Ontario) is a very neutral oil with a high smoke point.
- Jolter 6y agoI don’t know where you’re getting this from. I use canola oil when pan-frying food and it stands heat better then most olive oils. The cold-pressed variety tastes like shit though (well, actually it tastes like canola which has a kale-like flavor that I find unappealing). The refined canola oil is perfect for frying.
- lambdaba 6y agoQuoting this study https://actascientific.com/ASNH/pdf/ASNH-02-0083.pdf https://actascientific.com/ASNH/pdf/ASNH-02-0083.pdf (note: I get an error opening the PDF) > Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) yielded low levels of polar compounds and oxidative by-products, in contrast to the high levels of by-products generated for oils such as canola oil. But I formed my position from many other points, the degradation in public health in the USA has tracked perfectly with the switch from animal fats to seed oils for cooking (and other uses but frying is the worse offender)
- luckman212 6y agoAny idea where I can find that study? The link above is dead. I have been using Canola oil for frying because I thought it was a neutral tasting oil that didn't produce as many toxic compounds when exposed to high heat—vs olive oil which purportedly did produce them. Seems I've been misinformed.
- lambdaba 6y agoUnfortunately no, the title is " Evaluation of chemical and physical changes in different commercial oils during heating", hopefully you can find it.
- lambdaba 6y agoHere's an article that makes the same point with a great overview of the underlying mechanisms: https://breaknutrition.com/omega-6-fatty-acids-alternative-hypothesis-diseases-civilization/ https://breaknutrition.com/omega-6-fatty-acids-alternative-h...
- maxerickson 6y agoIt also tracks perfectly with increased calorie consumption. So one potential explanation is that people are eating more, and then another potential explanation is that there is some as yet mysterious biological process whereby processing calories through some long extant metabolic pathways triggers changes in health.
- Reason077 6y agoRight, I think what he's saying is that you shouldn't use cold-pressed oils for cooking/frying. Cheaper refined oils are better for this purpose. Keep the fancy cold-pressed oils for salads, dipping, drizzling, etc. Refined olive oil does have a slightly higher smoke point than refined canola/rapeseed oil, but for most home cooking purposes it's probably within the margin of error. Something like refined sunflower oil or refined avocado oil has a higher smoke point still.
- lambdaba 6y agoIt might be good from a culinary perspective, perhaps smoke point is irrelevant, I was thinking of what causes degradation of the fats when subjected to heat.
- throwaway_pdp09 6y agoFrom memory the good stuff in olive oil is destroyed by heat (if you swallow olive oil and it's good quality, you get a distinct 'burn' at the back of your throat). Also IME olive oil loses its interesting taste rapidly when cooked with, but others may not find that.
- cworth 6y agoThe smoke point of olive oil varies significantly from extra light to extra virgin. Extra virgin actually has a much lower smoke point than canola oil.
- bitexploder 6y agoGive avocado oil a shot. Great smoke point, no real flavor. I am allergic to avacado somehow and the oil doesn’t bother me.
- evgen 6y agoMost allergies are to a protein in the thing you are allergic to, and refined oils that have a high smoke point usually have all of that removed (or it would cause the oil to smoke.) I have a peanut allergy but can eat anything fried by a cheap restaurant in Sysco peanut oil while I have had a reaction to something done by a three star restaurant because they used unrefined oil (looking at you Manressa...)
- bitexploder 6y agoMakes sense. Good to know, thanks.