Cooking Oil
Choosing proper cooking oil is one of the important decisions to be made to maintain good health. One of the aspects to check is that the oil should not get damaged due to the high temperatures attained at the time of cooking. For example coconut oil is a choice for many. It gets less damaged on high temperature as it contains almost completely saturated fat. However using liquid oils instead of solid fats such as butter, margarine or lard is one of the good ways to reduce the quantity of saturated fat consumed by us. All oils meant for cooking contain saturated fat. Butter, margarine and olive oil have low smoking points so they get damaged during deep-frying and high heated cooking.
In addition to smoking point, the other aspects that need to be considered before choosing the cooking oil are related to health and flavor. People are becoming more and more health conscious day by day. When there is a need to use healthier cooking oil you have many options like Canola Oil, Macadamia Nut Oil, Extra Virgin Olive oil or Sesame oil and for cold use you may go with Walnut Oil or Sesame Oil. But one has to be careful because oil said to be low in cholesterol and saturated fats still contain pure fat that can be unhealthy.
One of the most popular uses of cooking oil in almost all the house holds is frying – either pan frying or deep frying. You should use oil that has higher smoking point while cooking food that needs higher frying temperatures. Smoke generated at the time of cooking can disturb the flavor of the food and if it continues it can spread the smell of burnt oil in the entire house and spoil the whole environment. Conola Oil, Corn Oil and Coconut oil have high smoking points so they are recommended for use at high temperatures above 350 degrees. Although there is no harm in using these oils at low temperatures, other cooking oils available for cooking at low temperatures are Olive oil, Grape seed Oil, Peanut Oil, Sunflower oil etc. It may however be noted that Coconut oil should be discarded after each use.
Specific types of cooking oils are available for preparing cold dishes like salads and dressings. One of the best choices for such cold dishes is Flax Seed Oil. On the basis of flavors one can select from the list of variety available. For Italian and Mediterranean dishes Olive oil is said to be a good choice. People go for Safflower oil or Sunflower oil for salads and sauces. For marinades Sesame oil is said to be excellent. To make the spreads flavorful Walnut oil is a good option.
Depending on the combination of dishes you plan to prepare so should you do to select cooking oil. Selection of proper cooking oil can be so important as to make a best dish you have ever made or one of the worst that you would never want to remember. A combined thought of health benefits, flavor and smoking point should be taken into consideration while finalizing on cooking oil.