When it comes to choosing your cooking oils, important considerations include smoke point, flavor profile and shelf life. Because each type of oil brings a different combination of these traits, they all serve different purposes in the kitchen.
Let’s take a look at which cooking oils are best suited for our most common cooking methods: sautéing, frying, dressing and baking.
Sautéing
Great options for sautéing include vegetable oil, canola oil, olive oil, coconut oil and palm oil. Vegetable oil, canola oil and refined coconut oil are all neutral in flavor. Extra virgin olive oil has a slightly lower smoke point than regular olive oil. While olive oil brings rich flavor at room temperature, much of that flavor is neutralized when sautéing over heat. Looking for an oil that imparts a strong coconut flavor? Virgin coconut oil is your best bet!
Frying
When frying veggies, choose oils that have a high smoke point. Vegetable oil, corn oil and peanut oil are all great choices here. Because these oils have a high smoke point, they are also great choices when you roast veggies in the oven at high temperature.
Roasting
Not all oils can handle roasting veggies at high temperatures. Once again, choose oils that have a high smoke point. Peanut oil, vegetable oil, and avocado oil are all great choices here. Vegetable oil and avocado oil are more flavor neutral. Oftentimes, we choose avocado oil for high heat roasting.
Dressing
Drizzle & dress your vegetables with delicate, flavorful oils. Extra virgin olive oil offers a rich flavor ranging from grassy to fruity. Often used in Asian dishes, toasted sesame oil adds a wonderful nutty flavor. Other aromatic nut oils include walnut, hazelnut, macadamia, pistachio and pine. If you’re looking for a dressing oil that does not impart a lot of flavor, consider safflower or grapseseed oil.
Baking
Let’s wrap this up by looking at the best cooking oils for baking up some delicious desserts! If you’re looking for a butter substitute, choose refined coconut oil. Canola oil also works quite well when baking thanks to it’s relatively neutral flavor profile. If you’re looking for an oil that imparts a strong coconut flavor, just as with sautéing—virgin coconut oil is your best bet.
Cooking Oils In the Kitchen
Every type of oil is different, and they all hold a very unique place in your pantry. Of course, all oils are high in fat and calories. If you’re going to make room in your diet for any of these oils, you might as well use the best one for the job!
