It doesn’t matter what we’re cooking, oil is going to be on the ingredient list. We are taught that oil is fat, and fat, is unhealthy, but, it appears that is not the case with all oils. Fat is a major part of cooking, it adds flavor, and makes pastry flaky. Fat is also an important part of our diet. It helps with digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, amongst other things. I always say we’re a product of what we eat, and, I try to maintain a healthy intake. So, where does oil and fat fit into that philosophy. Well, in this post I’m going to discuss the different types of oils and fats, why we need oil, the good fat and the bad fat. And which oil or fat to chose for health and different cooking methods. So read on to learn more about cooking oils and fats
Why?
The first question is why? Why do we need oil to cook. Well, there’s lots of reasons. When cooking in a pan there is heat transfer. The oil forms a layer between the heat source (the bottom of the pan) and what is being cooked. It gets into all the nooks and crannies of whatever you’re cooking, not just what is contacting the bottom of the pan. So the heat gets transferred to an uneven surface in a more even way. Also, that same layer of oil helping with heat transfer also keeps the two separated so they don’t stick. Fat and oils add flavor to a dish. And, if you’re making any type of pastry, there’s no replacement for butter.
Cooking oils and fats break down into two groups. Solid and liquid. Examples of solid fat is lard, vegetable shortening and butter. Lard is animal fat, specifically rendered pork fat. Think the fat left in the pan after cooking bacon. It is very high in saturated fat. Vegetable shortening is made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil was a process used in the industry to extend the shelf life of vegetable oils. Unfortunately the process produced Trans fats, that studies have shown to be unhealthy. Butter, obviously a milk product is high in saturated fat. The liquid portion is made up of oils derived from plants. Such as olives, corn, coconuts, palm and many more. The fat content is different depending on the plant. therefore some are healthier than others.
Healthy?
Now to move on to the differences between the oils from a health standpoint. All this information is available on the nutritional label on the product container. A good place to start is with total fat. That is divided into two components; saturated and unsaturated fats. I’m not going into the science, but the simple rule of thumb is saturated fat is bad and unsaturated fat is good. And speaking of good and bad, trans fat is bad. The unsaturated fats are broken down into two groups; monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, of which polyunsaturated is better. This is starting to get confusing, lots of big words, that will impact your health. Well, as I had mentioned, this information is on the nutritional label. You’re at the store, looking at oils, and trying to understand it. Let’s look at an example.
Here I’m using a label from extra virgin olive oil. The numbers will change with different oils, but the layout will be the same. You can see that it lists the Total Fat at 14g, which is 18% of your acceptable daily intake. That is the total amount of fat in each serving. Underneath that is the breakdown of the fat; Saturated 2g, Trans 0g, Polyunsaturated 1.5g, Monounsaturated 10g. You’ll also notice that on the same line as the Saturated fat is 10%. that’s because Saturated fat is bad for you and the 2g is 10% of your acceptable daily intake.
I had mentioned that unsaturated fats are broken down into two groups, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated, of which the polyunsaturated is slightly the better of the two. You can see from the label that the majority of the fat in this oil is monounsaturated. This is a healthy oil to use. That helps, I use olive oil in everything. So from a health standpoint, look for oils with fats made up of mostly unsaturated fat, not saturated fat.
Smokey
The next thing to consider is the smoke point. What is smoke point? you ask. Well, it’s exactly what it says, it’s the temperature when the oil starts to smoke. It’s when the various compounds react to the oxygen in the air and burn. The food being cooked will have a burnt flavor, the smoke detector probably just went off. Now is probably a good time to call the local restaurant for take out or eat in. Some oils can handle heat and others can’t.
It’s good to remember that animal fats have a lower smoke than vegetable oils. Butter, has a very low smoke point. Refined oils have a higher smoke point because they’re a purer oil. Olive oil is a good example. First press is flavorful and a wonderful oil, but has a lower smoke temperature than more refined olive oil. So, when cooking over medium heat, olive oil is fine, but not for searing. For that a refined vegetable oil will be needed. Corn oil works well, it has a high smoke point.
So which one?
Of the cooking oils, the only ones I’ve mentioned are olive and corn. There are however so many options. Some add flavor to the dish, and some are neutral. Those decisions are more personal, and come from trial and error. However, when choosing cooking oils and fats, it is important to look at the nutrition label to know what’s in it. Liquid is healthier than solid. Animal fat has a lower smoke point than vegetable oil, and of the oils, the more refined the oils, the higher the smoke point. I hope the information is helpful to you. The idea is to make the decision process easier, not to decide for you.