Cooking Oil Types

If you want to be a good cook, you must understand the various cooking oil types between which you'll constantly be choosing. It wasn't until I started work on this website (my pride and joy) that I began to appreciate the wide ranging and complex body of knowledge required of a gourmet cook. Cooking oil types is one of many subjects about which you need to learn at least a little.

Cooking oils are made from various seeds, plants and vegetables. When purchasing, you should consider their smoke point, flavor, and cost. The smoke point is the temperature at which a fat begins to break down and smoke.

For example, you should choose fats with higher smoke points for high-temperature cooking such as deep-frying. Fats are made for deep-frying, cake baking, salad dressings and sauteing. Shortening is a white, flavorless, solid fat formulated for baking or deep-frying.

Vegetable

Vegetable oils are extracted from corn, cottonseed, peanuts, grape seeds, sesame seeds, and soybeans. They are then cleaned to remove unwanted colors, odors and flavors. Because they contain no animal products, they are cholesterol-free.

Canola

Canola oil is processed from rapeseeds. It has no flavor and a high smoke point, which makes it useful for frying and general cooking.

Nut

Nut oils are extracted from a variety of nuts. They should have the strong flavor and aroma of the nut from which they were processed. Popular examples are hazelnut and walnut oils. These are mainly used to flavor salad dressings, marinades and other dishes. This cooking oil type is not recommended for frying or baking because heat diminishes their flavor.

Olive

Olive oil is the only cooking oil type that is extracted from fruit rather than seeds, nuts or grain. Like wine, it varies in color and flavor according to the variety of tree, the ripeness of the olives, the type of soil, and the climate. Colors range from dark green to almost clear depending on the ripeness of the olive. Color is not a good indication of flavor.

Extra virgin, virgin, and pure refer to the acidity of the oil. Virgin is used only when it is 100% olive oil, unheated and without any chemical processing. Extra virgin is virgin with not more than 1% free acidity. Virgin may have up to 3%. Pure olive oil is processed from the pulp left after the first pressing, using heat and chemicals.

Chefs use regular olive oil for cooking and extra virgin olive to put directly on edible foods, as in salad dressings, etc.

Flavored

Flavored oils are also known as infused oils. These may be used as a dip for breads or a flavoring accent in marinades, sauces, dressing or other dishes. Flavors may include basil and other herbs, garlic, citrus and spice, and may be mixed with olive or canola.

The above is, of course, just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to a discussion of all the cooking oil types available. I suggest you make it a point to become fairly knowledgeable as to their differences and individual qualities and uses.

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