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The three oils/fat I have been taught to use in my Indian kitchen are: sesame seed oil, ghee and coconut oil. Sesame seed oil because it has a high smoke point.

The three oils/fat I have been taught to use in my Indian kitchen are: sesame seed oil, ghee and coconut oil. Sesame seed oil because it has a high smoke point. Ditto with ghee. The choice of oils always has to do with smoke point and hence what we use it for in the kitchen. [..] Sesame oil is full of antioxidants. Along with vitamin E and phytosterols, it contains lignans, sesamol, and sesaminol. These compounds help fight free radicals in your body, which may reduce your risk of developing chronic diseases. Sesame oil has a balanced ratio of omega-3, omega-6, and omega-9 fatty acids.[..] And I am from the south of india which is very hot. In the northern climes where it gets colder, sesame seed oil is substituted with mustard seed oil. I don’t use olive oil for anything that requires heat. Mostly for salad dressings or drizzling etc. good olive oil..esp unrefined olive oil has very low smoke point. It’s actually harmful to use it for frying etc. Regionally where olive oil is more abundant, grape seed oil is used for high smoke point cooking. I am also fond of avacado oil these day. I still stick to the trinity of coconut/sesame/ghee…but I also need to test other oils for diff gigs.

2Gkashmiri 5y ago
we have decided to go with having mustard seeds pressed for oil while being physically present for the process. the result is a much much better oil than the one that comes packaged. they say its "plain unprocessed oil" but there is a significant difference between what we get in our press and what comes in a bottle.
znpy 5y ago
> It’s actually harmful to use it for frying etc. Claims like this are BS. South italian here. People from south italy have traditionally produced and used olive oil pretty much exclusively and for pretty much everything. Frying stuff is a huge part of the tradition. No relevant problem ever found regarding that. On the contrary: the mediterranean diet is a well known healthy diet.
- james-redwood 5y ago
  Tradition doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good. I agree though, olive oil may not be the best oil to fry with but I don’t think it’s harmful. If you’re cooking Indian cuisine it’s probably a bit of a waste though.
donatj 5y ago
The olive oil bit is a myth - see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_aFHrzSBrM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_aFHrzSBrM Olive oil is actually one of the chemically safest oils to heat.
cityofdelusion 5y ago
Olive oil is not harmful when heated! Please link to scientific research showing this. Here is one of many studies showing the opposite: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278691510004941 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S02786...
jelliclesfarm 5y ago
Wow. Read one article from the web and everything else is ‘BS’. I mentioned that this is for an Indian kitchen. Specifically. Our cooking involves tadka(tempering) and sautéing..we use more pulses/lentils and one pot vegetable preparations than meat..meat requires high heat for Maillard reactions. High smoke point is not to just guide for deep frying in Indian kitchens. We don’t use oil just for deep frying. Everything I learnt is by sound rather than sight with high heat. With the spices we use, aroma and flavour is an integral part of the cuisine. When we temper mustard seeds, we have to ‘listen’ to the sputtering. With ghee, we have to ‘listen’ to the sound of milk solids caramelising. Higher heat will destroy the food. Good quality olive oil at any heating point is wasted. Refined olive oil at high smoking point is more trouble than food. Considering I have an actual degree in cooking..of international standard for many kinds of cuisines ..…plus multi generational/multi regional Indian cuisine by experience, I think that I can safely ignore any calls for BS about my food and cooking on Hacker News. Stick to your lane.
- krrrh 5y ago
  To back up and... refine... your point. EVOO does contain non-oil elements that will burn when heated and that's obviously not something anyone wants. However, pure olive oil (the yellow stuff) has a higher smoke point and is suitable for frying. In Germany they actually sell refined olive oil specified as Bratolivenöl, "literally frying olive oil", and it will state on the label that it is safe to heat up to 210 C.
  - jelliclesfarm 5y ago
    The best olive oil is cold pressed which most people have probably never tasted..anyone who has tasted a fresh ripe olive will spit it out..it’s literally inedible. Olive oil at its best is bitter and sharp and super astringent. That no one would ever recognize even in its most commonly used form..emulsions like mayo. It’s is a viscous opaque yellow liquid gold. Altho there are also varieties that can be green gold at first pressing. I contracted via my farm to harvest olives from old city trees that were planted by some heiress and they were ancient no name varieties which had a more yellow gold tinge. Lovely bitterness at first pressing. Most olive oils we can buy is refined and processed and blended. When blended with grapeseed oil, they have longer shelf life and doesn’t become rancid as fast. More recently there has been efforts to mechanize and automate olive harvests but it has resulted in entire olive groves being razed so new dwarf varieties and cultivars suitable for automated harvest are being planted in Europe and Morocco..with table olives from canopied trees being planted in Tunisia and other places where labor is cheaper.
pilingual 5y ago
"Sesame oil has a balanced ratio of omega-3, omega-6" This is not true.

2Gkashmiri 5y ago

we have decided to go with having mustard seeds pressed for oil while being physically present for the process. the result is a much much better oil than the one that comes packaged. they say its "plain unprocessed oil" but there is a significant difference between what we get in our press and what comes in a bottle.

znpy 5y ago

> It’s actually harmful to use it for frying etc. Claims like this are BS. South italian here. People from south italy have traditionally produced and used olive oil pretty much exclusively and for pretty much everything. Frying stuff is a huge part of the tradition. No relevant problem ever found regarding that. On the contrary: the mediterranean diet is a well known healthy diet.

james-redwood 5y ago
Tradition doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good. I agree though, olive oil may not be the best oil to fry with but I don’t think it’s harmful. If you’re cooking Indian cuisine it’s probably a bit of a waste though.

donatj 5y ago

The olive oil bit is a myth - see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_aFHrzSBrM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_aFHrzSBrM Olive oil is actually one of the chemically safest oils to heat.

cityofdelusion 5y ago

Olive oil is not harmful when heated! Please link to scientific research showing this. Here is one of many studies showing the opposite: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278691510004941 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S02786...

jelliclesfarm 5y ago

Wow. Read one article from the web and everything else is ‘BS’. I mentioned that this is for an Indian kitchen. Specifically. Our cooking involves tadka(tempering) and sautéing..we use more pulses/lentils and one pot vegetable preparations than meat..meat requires high heat for Maillard reactions. High smoke point is not to just guide for deep frying in Indian kitchens. We don’t use oil just for deep frying. Everything I learnt is by sound rather than sight with high heat. With the spices we use, aroma and flavour is an integral part of the cuisine. When we temper mustard seeds, we have to ‘listen’ to the sputtering. With ghee, we have to ‘listen’ to the sound of milk solids caramelising. Higher heat will destroy the food. Good quality olive oil at any heating point is wasted. Refined olive oil at high smoking point is more trouble than food. Considering I have an actual degree in cooking..of international standard for many kinds of cuisines ..…plus multi generational/multi regional Indian cuisine by experience, I think that I can safely ignore any calls for BS about my food and cooking on Hacker News. Stick to your lane.

krrrh 5y ago
To back up and... refine... your point. EVOO does contain non-oil elements that will burn when heated and that's obviously not something anyone wants. However, pure olive oil (the yellow stuff) has a higher smoke point and is suitable for frying. In Germany they actually sell refined olive oil specified as Bratolivenöl, "literally frying olive oil", and it will state on the label that it is safe to heat up to 210 C.
- jelliclesfarm 5y ago
  The best olive oil is cold pressed which most people have probably never tasted..anyone who has tasted a fresh ripe olive will spit it out..it’s literally inedible. Olive oil at its best is bitter and sharp and super astringent. That no one would ever recognize even in its most commonly used form..emulsions like mayo. It’s is a viscous opaque yellow liquid gold. Altho there are also varieties that can be green gold at first pressing. I contracted via my farm to harvest olives from old city trees that were planted by some heiress and they were ancient no name varieties which had a more yellow gold tinge. Lovely bitterness at first pressing. Most olive oils we can buy is refined and processed and blended. When blended with grapeseed oil, they have longer shelf life and doesn’t become rancid as fast. More recently there has been efforts to mechanize and automate olive harvests but it has resulted in entire olive groves being razed so new dwarf varieties and cultivars suitable for automated harvest are being planted in Europe and Morocco..with table olives from canopied trees being planted in Tunisia and other places where labor is cheaper.

pilingual 5y ago

"Sesame oil has a balanced ratio of omega-3, omega-6" This is not true.