Thread: Best oil for heating?

Olive would be my guess, use it slowly to get used to it, and you dont need much to add up calories FAST. If you use tons of it without ramping up you could be tied to the toilet.

I can't really imagine using it for fried foods though, but I dont eat fried foods.

Originally posted by kanun
What would you guys say is the best kind of oil to use in heated foods? I know you shouldn't heat flax seed oil.
My mother recently bought canola oil in spray which is 'designed' for frying; would you say this is a good oil to use, or would something else like olive oil be better? Also, does the same apply to baked foods? What other oils should not be heated (apart from flax oil)?
Cheers.

Is this stuff something like PAM, or Mazola etc?

If so then its fine to use it for nonstick cooking.

Olive oil (monounsaturated fat) is okay for heating.

Butter (saturated fat, the most stable molecule).

Coconut Oil (MCT, i'm told by the low carber guys, its supposed to be stable at high temps).

From some of the info i've read, olive oil turn toxic at high heat (Frying, prolonged baking). Grape seed oil has a much higher smoke temperature than olive oil, and holds its structure at higher temperatures. olive oil is still good for salad and low temp cooking. Check out;

http://grapeseedoilcorp.com/everything.html

http://www.lifestar.com/Pages/GSO1.html

La'
Redsol1

I use virgin Olive oil.

A good way to look at it, the more healthful the oil (more EFA's, polyunsaturated etc) the worse it is for cooking. Basically because at high temps EFA's degrade into various toxic substances, formaldehyde, trans-fats etc.

Saturated fat (butter) is the best for cooking, basically because it is devoid of all EFA's and is very stable at high temperatures, i think it is because of the double bonds or carbons or something.

Olive oil is okay, but it is still monounsaturated, so it is not as stable as say, butter. Hence, its good for low temp.

and so on and so forth.

Originally posted by mochy
Is this stuff something like PAM, or Mazola etc?

Well, I have no idea what those are, but this is what it says on the can:
"Pure & Simple" Canola Oil - Cholesterol Free - Non-stick Cooking Spray.
Then:
Pure & Simple is the convenient cholesterol free way to stop food sticking. Pure & Simple contains canola oil and is free of animal fats, artificial flavours, colours and added salt. Made from a blend of canola oil and lecithin, Pure & Simple is odourless and tasteless and will not affect the taste of food. Use it on all cookware to stop food sticking and to make washing up easier. Canola rapeseed oil is low in erucic acids, low in saturated fats and high in monounsaturates.
Well ok lots of it is 'propoganda' but I put it all down so that you'd know what kind of product it is.

A)What are you cooking with it?

B)How high a temp. and for how long will you be cooking?

C)Define "Good for Cooking." Do u mean taste, health, or something else?

Originally posted by Duncan
A)What are you cooking with it?
B)How high a temp. and for how long will you be cooking?
C)Define "Good for Cooking." Do u mean taste, health, or something else?

Well the main time I use oil for cooking is for a light stir-fry, generally chicken cubes and chopped vegetables. I don't really know how hot it gets, but obviously stir-frying doesn't take that long (maybe 5/7 mins).

Well, by "Good for Cooking" I really mean health-wise. I started wondering after my mother said something like "If I were you I'd use sunflower oil instead of olive oil for cooking, because it's very unhealthy to heat olive oil."
Then Yanick kinda 'confirmed' this by saying:
"A good way to look at it, the more healthful the oil (more EFA's, polyunsaturated etc) the worse it is for cooking. Basically because at high temps EFA's degrade into various toxic substances, formaldehyde, trans-fats etc."
Obviously I'm also calorie and diet conscious about it. I mean if I weren't, I'd just use lard (but then I'd be on the "Fatass Magazine Forums" as opposed to this one )

Thanks to all for you replies!