Cooking with Oil

Originally published 4/26/2019, revised 9/21/2020

Types of Fats

We need fats in our diet, as they play a very important tole in our health. All oils have a combination of the various fats listed below. Some more (coconut is 92% saturated) and some less (avocado 10% saturated). So in general, and like most things in life, guidelines seem to all say we should use fats in moderation.

• Use: Studies on heart health indicate predominately poly-unsaturated fats (fish, walnuts, + flaxseeds) are healthier to consume. As well, monounsaturated fats (nuts, seeds, avocado, olive, + peanut) are also healthy in moderation.
• Limit: Any fat that is solid (or semi-solid) at room temperature (Coconut, Palm, meat-based fat, butter) is considered a saturated fat, but not all saturated fats are the same. These should be used sparingly.
• Avoid (1): Other fats are labeled partially hydrogenated oils, and are trans fats. I include here margarine. (The Mayo Clinic reports that the USDA allows food with <0.5 grams of trans fat/serving to report 0 trans fat on the nutrition label. These types of hidden trans fat can be anywhere in processed food and can add up quickly.)

My View on Oil

Medicine.Net reports that: “All cooking oils, including olive, canola and peanut oil, contain 14 grams of total fat per tablespoon, and roughly 120 calories.” The idea here is that all oils have similar nutritional counts, and are used similarly, but there are differences in terms of flavor, healthiness, smoke points, and fats, etc.

I do like using butter (European, unsalted) or meat fats (bacon grease especially, that I render myself) which are remnants of European and German cooking. But looking at what oils to buy, I have a list of six things I tend to review.

1. Source (preferring organic, non-pesticide farmers)
2. Process (preferring less processed oils, cold processed, non-blended)
3. Date of harvest (older oils can become rancid)
4. Smokepoint (how high is the heat I can use this oil for)
5. Taste (like sesame or peanut oils are strong, avocado is not, rice-bran is neutral)
6. Flavoring (most often I use sesame oil as a flavoring)

In summary, I limit coconut, meat fats, and dairy fats. I avoid all trans fat for health reasons, and avoid palm oil for environmental reasons.

Oil + Cookware

Since fats and oils are high caloric, and fats/oil are used in almost all cooking, I try to limit additional fat consumption to only what I need. For instance, I use a PFOA-free non-stick pan to help reduce the amount of oil used in sautéing. I have my cast iron skillet and a ceramic skillet, both of which use little oil at this point. Often a recipe calls for several tablespoons of oil, but in the process of cooking, a lot of that oil is left over and not consumed, which is good.

Cooking Technique Oils

There are several cooking techniques and styles of cooking, that each utilize oil differently.

• I can sear (in my cast iron skillet), and sauté or stir-fry food using high temps and high smoking point oil like avocado, peanut, or butter. and other animal fats Avocado is flavor neutral, while peanut definitely has a peanut flavor.
• For wet cooking (steam, braise or poach food), most of the cooking uses water or steam. However, sometimes I sauté certain items before it gets combined with the other food, and usually this will be in olive oil.
• I can outright fry food in oil at very high temperatures (peanut or rice bran oils).
• I can cook confit at very low temperatures (using olive oil or meat fat).
• Or I roast, broil, or grill using oil, but that is not always necessary. Roasting with oil enhances browning, creating a richer toasty flavor for instance, but you can roast food without oil.

All cooking techniques, other than steaming, require some type of oil at some point; even my baked potato may eventually have butter on it.

Final Details

Keep a careful attention on the olive oils you purchase. Many of the “olive oils” in stores are not olive oils, or are mixed oils. Right now I mainly buy the Costco Kirkland Organic brand, and the California Olive Ranch.

Smoke point:

The smoke point is the temperature where the oil stops shimmering and starts to smoke. “To produce an oil with a high smoke point, manufacturers use industrial-level refinement processes like bleaching, filtering, and high-temperature heating to extract and eliminate those extraneous compounds. What you’re left with is a neutral-flavored oil with a longer shelf life and a higher smoke point.” (1) 

For me, once it smokes I do not use that oil as any goodness is now gone, at Kitchen on Fire the Chefs call this “damaged fat.”

Using Oil:

To properly use oil for cooking, heat the pan first,  then add  the oil  and allow it to heat up and shimmer, finally add the food to cook.  The oil should sizzle as you add the food, this indicates the oil and pan are hot enough that the food is steaming and pushing out water. If you add food and the oil does not sizzle, you are allowing the food to just sit in and soak up oil which makes for greasy food.

When cooking is done, remove  the food immediately and place on a rack to drip away any excess oil.  Also never guess, always measure  oil (it has just too many calories).

Storage:

You want to use unspoiled oil. Keep oil tightly lidded, away from light and heat, preferably in a dark bottle.

Do not store near the stove where heat will affect it. This is why I do not buy any oil in clear bottles. I have no idea if it has been overly exposed to light during its journey. So darker is best.

If oil smells or tastes rancid, toss. As an aside, I made some cupcakes the other week and they tasted funny, Turns out the silicon cupcake holders I had been using had remnants of now rancid oil on them and it leeched into my baking. So any container that oily food is cooked with needs to be very well cleaned.

• A special note about Sesame Oil: Chef Lev tells me that once open, put Sesame Oil in the fridge.

Cooking Styles Dictate Oils:

• When pan-frying, stir-frying, or sautéing. I pay attention to the taste of the oil, and its viscosity and reactivity. I want the food to move freely in the pan, not get stuck and burn, and the oil should have a higher smoke point since this is a higher temp way to cook.
• Although I rarely deep fry, when I do this at Kitchen on Fire we use a nonreactive, neutral flavor, high smoke point oil. Rice Bran Oil would be an example with a 490F smoke point.
• For oils that I use in the process of creating soups, stews, and baked goods, the main concern I have is flavor and use as little as possible.
• If I am creating something that is emulsified, like a salad dressing or mayo, I want to use an oil that will not break into layers and will add a nice taste to the overall dish, like a very good olive oil or avocado oil.
• Sometimes I will mix oil and fats together to get what I need, such as regular cooking olive oil and unsalted butter.

Oil Disposal:

Oils generally last ~1 year after opening, I just smell the oil before I use it to make sure it has not turned rancid. Also note that to dispose of oil, do not pour it down your kitchen sink or toilet, for it can congeal and block pipes. What to do? First run your zip code by Earth911 to see if there are collection points near you. Pour the (cool) oil into a non-glass container and recycle. Many Whole Foods will accept recycled cooking oil as well as county hazardous waste collection sites.

The few times I cook bacon, I freeze the left over fat to use in other recipes. I save chicken fat to add to stocks by cooling the fat and just pouring it into the freezer bag that contains the bones. Same for any meat. Also my dog likes the occasional drizzle of meat fat over his food. Again, Chef Lev explained to me that all meat-based fats should be stored in the freezer for long life.

My Top Personal Oils

My most frequent daily oil has always been olive, probably from growing up in Europe, it was either olive oil, animal fat, or butter. This is my everyday go-to oil, good for baking and oven roasting has a smoke point of 465F. A recent study (June 2018) indicates Olive Oil is one of the best oils to use and produces the least amount of harmful substances.

I have a general, everyday olive oil and EVOO for special occasions when I want the oil to shine through. Generally as a topping or dip.

Avocado is a newish oil for me that is great on salads. It has a higher smoke point, so I fry and sauté with it — great stuff and neutral in its flavor (unlike peanut oil). I have also used this oil for everyday cooking when I run out of Olive and need something quick.

Walnut oil is best used uncooked (it can get bitter when cooked). This oil has a rich, nutty flavor that is perfect for salad dressings, to add a touch of flavor to fish and steak, to toss with pasta, and to jazz up certain desserts. Get a little bit and play with it to see what you can come up with.

Sesame oil is my go-to seasoning oil. I add it to stir-fry and noodle dishes. It tastes great and adds a depth to the dish I cannot get any other way. I do not use a lot, nor do I use it often, so smaller bottles work for me.

Yes I know the oil is in a clear bottle, it was a gift. It will be replaced with a darker bottled sesame oil once this is done.

—Patty

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NEWS 2/19/2019 Fish and seafood are good for brain and heart health, but 80 to 90 percent of Americans don’t meet the recommended intake of two to three servings (8-12 total ounces) of fish and shellfish each week.(2) What we do eat appears to be too many of too few fish. We need to expand what we eat to include other fish, not the usual 3 or 4 we always eat, and we need to eat sustainably. One overlooked source is that we consider eating bait, or smaller fish, like anchovies, sardines, and small Spanish mackerel. These fish are more sustainable, more plentiful, more resilient, and healthier for you than the larger predators. (3)

Recipes: Turkey meatballs and toppings and a veggie Ratatouille dish. Given the topic of oil, I also added a bunch of variations of red and green pestos.

Articles: There is lots of positive news about Trader Joe’s new sauce called Zhoug. I have reviewed sites and recipes, and have added a version that works well for me. This sauce is like a pesto, but the key is to make it spicy and to use middle eastern spices. Thanks to a Trader Joe’s assembler (“do not call me a cook”) Jill for introducing me to this sauce before it was TJ famous.