What's your favourite cooking oil?

There’s been proliferation of different cooking oils that are readily available in supermarkets these days. From macadamia to avocado, each type of oil has a unique nutritional profile, flavour and price point.

So, what’s your go to oil? You can choose more than one in the poll below, and we also welcome you to elaborate below.

  • Olive oil
  • Avocado oil
  • Butter
  • Canola oil
  • Coconut oil
  • Grapeseed oil
  • Hazelnut oil
  • Sesame oil
  • Sunflower
  • Soybean oil
  • Walnut oil
  • Other

0 voters

Here’s a breakdown of fat content in cooking oils from Consumer Reports:

https://www.consumerreports.org/health/cooking-oils/find-a-healthy-cooking-oil-a9705187914/

4 Likes

My go to oil?
Depends on the temperature.

High heat, then peanut oil in a wok.

Medium, then canola or olive oil.

Low heat saute, then butter or butter mix with medium heat oils.

7 Likes

General use for frying and cooking - extra virgin olive oil - as a healthy fat/oil. I sometimes use macadamia nut oil but find the temperature for frying does not suit most of our foods. Both are grown locally and sold by our craft shop on commission. So fresh & local 100% Australian.

6 Likes

For high heat we use either Rice Bran oil or we use Extra Light Olive Oil, not Virgin nor the press of oil just after Virgin (often called Classic). Light has a very high smoke point of around 242, whereas peanut is around 232. Avo oil has perhaps the highest smoke point of around 270.

Others are used as appropriate for our cooking needs, often peanut for Asian cuisines. We use Ghee when using oils for Indian type dishes, it also has a very high smoke point of around 250 as does Rice Bran oil.

8 Likes

Rice bran oil for us.

8 Likes

Other = blended vegetable oil
It’s one of the higher volume and lower cost options on the supermarket shelf. Surprised it is not in the options list. We also use a Rice Bran oil for its higher smoke point and neutral flavour.

Knowing the smoke point for frying remains a challenge, with so many TV chefs continually reaching for EVO. Many products say they are suitable for frying. Few provide clear advice on their true suitability.

P.S.
Olive oil is produced from different varieties of olive trees. This affects flavour and the oil properties vary between variety.

4 Likes

For high temperature cooking, peanut. For everything else, olive.

3 Likes

I like macadamia oil because it does not go rancid / has a long shelf life. As I only use oil in our non-stick pan, it takes months to get through a bottle. Occasionally olive oil goes into a rice dish or bread making. Low use is the reason I don’t use other oils. So I may not know what I am missing!

5 Likes

It might only be a local fad, but Mr Z has been coming home with bottles of oil and health advice from doubtful sources, usually along the lines of “take 2 tablespoons before bed, and build up to a litre a week”. This is “for good health” and “to lubricate the joints to cure/avoid arthritis”. A litre of Olive Oil is about 35,000kj, 5,000kj per day - the adult recommended daily is 8,700kj - which doesn’t leave much for nutritious food! However he has been told “there are no calories in cold pressed oil” which these relatives and friends have paid huge prices for. So we do have different oils - palm, fish, “medicinal” EVOO etc which we don’t use.

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:joy:
There was/is a fad that promoted using petroleum based spray lubricants WD40, RP7, CRC56 etc onto your skin and rubbing it in to relieve joint pain, and similar ailments. Logic that relies on disregarding established medical knowledge.

At a more elemental level the sacrifice of living things to Mother Earth was also considered useful to encourage better harvests or cause drought breaking rain. The goddess/gods require regular attention.

Doubtful sources, but no doubts about the logic.
It’s not uncommon for men in particular to set about solving problems based on individual understanding. The knowledge set seems to contract for some of us the older we become, despite age supposedly providing great wisdom.

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And avoiding dermatitis.

Age may have the benefit of avoiding old mistakes but inflexibility and fixity doesn’t avoid new ones very well.

3 Likes

For stir fries or other higher heat cooking, I use either rice bran oil or coconut oil. Both have high smoke point temp. For some things, I’ll use ghee (clarified butter). Coconut oil is a saturated fat, but it’s actually good for you - contrary to the bad press about “saturated fat = bad”.

For medium heat, I tend to use olive oil. For low heat I use butter, just because it tastes good.

In general, I pour (extra virgin Australian) olive oil over a lot of food once it’s cooked, because olive oil is just good for you. I’ll use olive oil, walnut oil, macadamia oil or grapeseed oil in salad dressings or cold oil preparations (tahini, hummus etc).

If in doubt, when cooking, use rice bran oil. It’s good value, has a high smoke point, and won’t taint the flavour of whatever you’re cooking.

4 Likes

For high heat:
–lard or other animal fat
–ghee
–coconut oil (expeller-pressed)

Medium heat and where flavour combines well (and also for salads, including mayo):
–olive oil
–macadamia oil
–avocado oil

1 Like

I mostly use butter or Moro light olive oil. I used to use coconut oil too, need a new supply, its very economical, don’t need as much to do the same job as wit the others. However, I’ve been recently just using nonstick pans and no oils at all… and it works beatifully. I do miss the taste of chicken thighs cooked in butter tho.,

1 Like

in addition to what other people have said … what the recipe calls for.

Ghee should probably have been one of the voting options.

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I have been lead to believe that if the oil is made from a fruit, such as olive oil, then it’s a good thing. Look at the Italians. They drink the stuff and don’t have health problems. However oil made from a seed is not a good thing and possibly a lot of our health problems stem from this.

Is this a common misconception?
Just one example that says it is.

Dietary fat: Know which to choose - Mayo Clinic

We could list the sources of all the common oils used in cooking and their relative health benefits or risks. Rather it may be simpler to note the benefits of a Mediterranean diet arise from much more than the oils commonly used in their customary cuisine. Many of these are derived from seeds or kernels.

Some chef like advice on the options.
3 Best and Worst Oils For Your Health | Bon Appétit

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Hello mark_m
Thanks for your reply. It sounds like I have been given bad information. Although that imfo was about 10 years old. One thing I have wanted to know is, can you deep fry in Olive Oil?

This seems an over-generalisation to me. What reason do you have for saying so?

I don’t think the reasons for the Mediterranean diet being beneficial are that clear and it may well depend on other factors than eating olive oil.

1 Like

See my reply to mark_m.