Cooking & Baking
Related: About this forumWhen a recipe calls for simply "vegetable oil" what do you use?
Avocado oil comes to mind. Or EVOO.
Safflower and sunflower oils are seed oils.
Isn't corn oil actually a grain oil?
And grapeseed oil is a fruit oil.
Would peanut oil be a vegetable oil? Peanuts are legumes.
What other vegetable oils are there?
Generally when the recipe so specifies, it's looking to saute' something, but occasionally it pops up in a baking recipe.
High temp, low temp, they make a difference, too, don't they?
I'd just like to have an "all purpose" vegetable oil on hand for such recipes.
Right now the pantry includes EVOO, peanut, sesame, ghee, and coconut oils.
What else?
curiously,
Bright
DetlefK
(16,423 posts)my "go to" oil is olive oil, but peanit oil is good.
does peanut oil kill the allergic people ?(i guess so, just a passing thought.)
unblock
(52,317 posts)by definition, peanut oil is processed in a facility that processes peanuts, so there's a risk of contamination.
never mind that the normal processing can't remove 100% of the protein.
we would never risk trying it out on mini-unblock, but if he were to accidentally eat something that was prepared with peanut oil, odds are he would be fine.
DinahMoeHum
(21,809 posts)Yeah, it's a seed oil.
dem in texas
(2,674 posts)no taste to it, supposed to be healthier than other vegetable oils. Made from the rapeseed plant. I don't use much oil, a bottle lasts 6 or 7 months. A few tablespoons to brown a cut of meat or brown onions or celery when starting a recipe. For baking, it is a different matter; give me butter! I keep evo on hand for salads.
FakeNoose
(32,748 posts)I prefer margarine made with olive oil also, but it's getting harder to find these days.
eShirl
(18,503 posts)usually just olive oil; we always seem to have tons of it
luvs2sing
(2,220 posts)If its something that will be cooked over high heat, Ill use peanut oil or grape seed oil as both have high smoke points.
If Im making popcorn or baking, Ill use canola oil. Unless the flavor of the oil is a feature of the baked good, you dont want to add flavor with the oil you use.
Sesame oil is really more of a flavor enhancer, IMO, and I use it mixed with peanut oil in stir-fry recipes or stir in a few drops at the end of cooking time.
I mostly use coconut oil as a skin softener. 😂
Anything else, I use olive oil. Just my personal preference.
My pantry has EVOO, canola oil, sesame oil, and coconut oil.
MontanaMama
(23,337 posts)High smoke point, no flavor and it is light. Costco sells a big bottle for cheap and it is organic.
unblock
(52,317 posts)doesn't always work. if it does, it's great and healthier.
WhiteTara
(29,722 posts)Olive oil for strong taste
Rice bran oil for almost everything else - this is the lightest of all the oils with high heat tolerance.
Coconut oil is not healthy for humans or the planet.
packman
(16,296 posts)I use Olive oil (avoid high temp. - it turns bitter tasting IMHO) in general, grape seed oil for high temps, canola oil for frying and such.
tulipsandroses
(5,127 posts)Sometimes Lard or Tallow.
But I have different eating lifestyle than most which includes plenty of good fats and non inflammatory oils
I like Algae oil a lot. Its more expensive than other oils, hopefully more people will use it so the price point will become lower.
I make my own mayonnaise with Algae oil.
Polly Hennessey
(6,804 posts)Huin
(92 posts)I like to use coconut oil instead of lard on the griddle. Once our doctor mentioned it that it is better than lard.
For baking and most other uses calling for oil my favorite is canola oil. I understand that canola oil is another name for rape seed oil.
For Italian cooking we put a little olive oil into the spaghetti to keep them from sticking together.
Dr Hobbitstein
(6,568 posts)EVOO for lower heat.
Everything else is a waste of money, IMHO. Coconut oil is quite unhealthy. More saturated fats than bacon grease (which I also cook with occasionally) or lard.
procon
(15,805 posts)Oils without flavor or aroma work for all recipes.Olive oil is better suited to savory dishes than sweet ones, and so forth. I avoid the 'designer' and specialty cooking oils unless a recipe actually calls for it.
Little Star
(17,055 posts)Little Star
(17,055 posts)Just give me a little bacon gravy like this one and I'll call it a meal: https://selfproclaimedfoodie.com/country-bacon-gravy/?fbclid=IwAR00AOonhPF4z2yaCW9kmAB09GWLbnf1151TZw6KfTqdhz9ctEMDlRKmNfo
Response to Little Star (Reply #19)
Little Star This message was self-deleted by its author.
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)or some maybe worse hydrogenated fat.
She gives directions for rendering lard, but then you still have to find the hog fat. Bacon fat won't work so well.
tulipsandroses
(5,127 posts)I order online - I have pure lard, leaf lard, beef tallow, lamb tallow and chicken fat. I use them in different applications.
I have occasionally found quality lard at local farmers' markets. You might want to check a local Farmer's Market.
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)I haven't tried all the specialty butchers in Polish Town. And there are a couple of other great butchers a few miles down the road.
Leaf lard is the one I want, but it's not always around.
Wawannabe
(5,678 posts)Is my go to. Made from rapeseed.
Tastes better than veg oil.
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)It should all be on the label. Carry a small magnifying glass with you-- I didn't know there was smaller than 1 point type for ingredient labels..
Some pure food cranks are claiming all seed oils are poison because of processing. I have no idea if they have a point or not, but seriously doubt it. Anyway, with them it's avocado, olive, and coconut oil or nothing-- must be pressed from the fruit, not processed from the seed.
But, coconut oil seems to have a lot of "bad" fats. And, isn't a coconut just a big ol' seed?
Anyway, I ignore most of that and break it down to just 3-- peanut, olive, and canola. And I tend to buy largely on price. I do not need Super, Ultra, Blessed by the Pope EVOO; Just something better than the last pressing crud for most cooking. Maybe a small bottle of the good stuff for drizzling on salads. I see avocado oil all over the place and might try some, but I don't use all that much oil and what I have in stock sometimes goes rancid.
Peanut oil I get for "free". Smuckers, Polaner, and a few others sell the un-homogenized PB with the oil sitting on top. No added sugar or other stuff is a plus, too. So, I just pour off the top oil, and there's still enough oil left in the jar to stop the PB from turning rock hard. I have this small jar of peanut oil on the shelf for high heat cooking and flavoring.
TygrBright
(20,763 posts)Absolutely no reason not to.
heh...
I used to keep nearly a dozen bottles of different oils, but ran into the same problem you're talking about- I don't use enough, often enough, and they go rancid.
I do keep a bottle of walnut oil in the refrigerator for salads.
thanks!
interestedly,
Bright
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)Saviolo
(3,283 posts)If we want a flavour, we add an oil with flavour, such as peanut or olive. We typically "nacre" our rice in coconut oil, because it has benefits to do so. If we need a good neutral high smoke point oil, it's typically grapeseed. Our standard go-to vegetable oil is this locally produced cold-pressed canola oil that's really lovely. Lard, shortening, and or butter in cookies, and butter in biscuits. We have just plain olive oil for cooking and really nice flavourful olive oil for salad dressings and other applications where you'd really want the flavour to come through.
Pachamama
(16,887 posts)Yes, its a flower and a seed - but its one of the best cooking oils. High heating point, no funky taste and its rich in Vitamin E, Omega-3 and antioxidants.....
I buy a great Non-GMO one off Amazon.....love it....
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)EVOO and light olive oil. EVOO is for salads and low temperature cooking (below 300F). Anything above 300F and when I want an oil that provides a neutral taste.
Generally speaking refined oils like light olive oil and many other vegetable oils will handle higher cooking temperatures as the impurities that tend to burn have been removed. Unrefined oils like EVOO have more flavor, but will burn much more easily.
Response to TygrBright (Original post)
Kajun Gal This message was self-deleted by its author.
Vinca
(50,303 posts)I rarely fry anything, but if I do I use part olive oil and part unsalted butter. I add a little sesame oil when I'm doing Chinese.
spinbaby
(15,090 posts)I generally use refined coconut oil for hot applications because its very neutral, does well on high heat, and is theoretically good for you, although that sort of thing seems to change all the time. For potato pancakes I only use peanut oil because it seems to taste best in that application. For cold applications, I use olive oil.
MissMillie
(38,578 posts)We do keep both canola oil and olive oil on hand
Retrograde
(10,156 posts)Animal-based fats are generally solids (chemistry geek aside: chemically, fats are oils that are solids at room temperature, defined as 25C). I'm not sure about ghee, since I don't use it, but it starts out as butter.
I use olive oil - bought in bulk at Costco - for most cooking. I currently have peanut oil and canola oil for when I want to fry at a higher temperature, or don't want a noticeable taste. I sometimes use them for baking as well. I have some sesame oil, but that's more of a flavoring than something to fry with.
Then there's the good olive oil - grown and pressed in California and sold at the local farmers' market by the producer - that I use in salad dressings and whenever I want the grassy taste to come through.