CHOOSING THE BEST COOKING OILS
There is a lot of general misleading and contradictory information about fats and oils. Before I became familiar with some nutritional concepts I was completely lost on the topic and never knew what to trust. Here, I am going to give you my perspective on choosing the best cooking oils based on trustworthy sources and my own experience.
1. Ghee or clarified butter is a saturated fat that can be used for cooking at high heat. It can also be used as a replacement for butter in any recipe or enjoyed alone. It is lactose-free and can be made easily at home. Check how here. It can be stored in a dark, cool place for up to 3 months or in the fridge for up to a year.
2. Coconut oil is another saturated fat that can also be used for high-heating cooking. It has multiple benefits as is high in healthy fatty acids with anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal properties, improves brain health, and might promote weight loss regulating hunger levels and increasing satiety. I love the coconut flavor it gives to food but probably for certain recipes, it doesn't fit. It is also very used in healthy baking, replacing butter or other oils.
3. Olive oil, especially the extra-virgin one is a great mono-saturated fat that no one will debate against. It is perfect for dressings, salads, dips and sauces. For cooking, it can be used only for sautéing from low to medium heat temperatures. Nothing bad will happen if you extra heat it, but it will certainly lose some of its amazing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. There are also some varieties of olive oil in the market that can be heated at higher temperatures. However, these are normally not virgin or extra-virgin and are more processed.
4. Avocado oil is equally nutritious and healthy as Olive oil. But it has the advantage that it can be cooked at higher temperatures as well as can be used in dressings or sauces, making it more diverse. Now it is common to find it in supermarkets and it became more affordable as well.
5. Sesame oil was my most recent discovery since I was trying out new Asian recipes. When investigating its properties, I was positively surprised to find out that is also a mono-saturated fat (like Olive oil) and it is suitable for stir-fry and sautéing in low to medium temperatures, as well to be used in dressings.
There are other healthy oils such as Hemp, Walnut, Chia, and Flax oils but they should never be heated. They are only suitable to be consumed drizzled over foods and kept in the freezer.
And there are some commonly used cooking oils that are not healthy at all and should be minimised or even better avoided completely. These are:
Soybean oil
Corn oil
Cottonseed oil
Canola oil
Rapeseed oil
Sunflower oil
Grapeseed oil
Safflower oil
Margarine
These oils and fats are generally highly processed and full of Omega 7s which promote inflammation in our body. And we don't want it since chronic inflammation leads to numerous diseases.
Some final tips on choosing the best cooking oils:
Buy smaller bottles to keep them fresher over time
Buy organic if possible
Prefer cold-pressed and unrefined oils (virgin or extra-virgin)
Buy always bottled oils, never in plastic
Store oils in a cool and dark place
I hope you found this useful for your daily life!
