Cooking oil

[KatjaW]

My boyfriend and i love olive oil but know that cooking with it at higher temps changes the composition of the oil and makes it not nearly as healthy. I would love opinions of the best cooking oils to cook with  at high heat.. stir fry, frying eggs etc.., and which oils are the best for you. thanks for the help:)

[Nicole]

Here are a few oils that maintain their healthful integrity at high temperatures: 

Avocado Oil - Monounsaturated fat. Vibrant green in color with a has a soft nutty taste and a mild avocado aroma. This is a very healthy oil with a profile similar to olive oil. This oil can be used for very high temperature applications.
Use: Stir frying, searing. Smoking point: 520°F

Sunflower Oil - Polyunsaturated fat. A light odorless and nearly flavorless oil pressed from sunflower seeds. Pale yellow. Use: Cooking. Smoking point: 450°F

Butter (Ghee), clarified - Saturated fat. Ghee has a higher smoke point than butter since clarification eliminates the milk solids (which burn at lower temps).
Use: Frying, sauteing. Smoking point: 375-485°F (depending on purity)

[BillyH]

I am a huge proponent of coconut oil for cooking. It is stable at high temperatures (350-400 degrees) and is easily digestable becuase of its medium chain fatty acid content. It also provides a lot of antimicrobrial properties. Plus it adds a hint of coconut flavor!
Great for baking as well.

[BrookeK]

Also...Grapeseed oil has a pretty high smoke point at 420-485 degrees F.   And it is good for cooking and salad dressings because it has the consistency of olive oil but has a neutral flavor.

[MistyH]

Coconut, Rice Bran and Ghee are what I use. 

[ClaireW]

Does anyone know if canola oil is good for cooking at high heat? The cafeteria manager at work told me that they use the Arrezzio brand of oil that is a blend of extra virgin olive oil and canola oil for cooking (not deep frying) foods at the cafeteria. See the link. 

http://www.sysco.com/products/productpage.asp?prodID=255&ctID=50&ptID=1

I eat lunch there almost every day since they prepare warm/cooked dishes to your order and the ingredients are mostly natural/local to the extent possible. I stopped using microwave since this summer, so bringing my own cooked meals and eat it cold for lunch does not sound so enticing. I love using coconut oil to cook and thought about communicating with the manager about changing their cooking oil but they are part of a bigger corporate catering group (http://www.guckenheimer.com/) so not sure how flexible they are with respect to things like this. There are still many who think coconut oil is a saturated fat and is bad for you. I can eat salads from the salad bar some days but not every day.

How does everyone deal with lunch every day? Any tips will be appreciated.

Claire

[satatma]

I would argue that cooking with Sunflower, a polyunsaturate, isn't very good due to the fact that polyunsaturates aren't as stable.  Canola I would avoid at all possible cost because it is very highly processed and often bleached!  I read recently that most "vegetable cooking oils" such as Safflower, Sunflower, Soy, Canola etc... are often rancid by the time they hit the shelves.  Their extreme processing keeps us from being able to notice what would normally be indicated by off-odor.  I don't know if this is true of more reputable brands like Spectrum, but nonetheless, it is something to consider.  Reference Mary Enig's book, Know Your Fats.
 
Coconut Oil, Ghee, and even Butter are better choices due to their saturated stability.  Depending on the flavor I want in the dish, I usually cook with coconut and finish with Olive Oil.  Yum.

Also of note, my friend Carl (http://www.urbanorganicgardens.com) has been rendering his own organic Grassfed Lard from fat they are selling him at Whole Foods pretty cheaply.  According to Enig, this would be a good fat.  I've been vegetarian for 10 years so this isn't my favorite option but I still think it is cool for those who are so inclined.

[AmyB]

Coconut, but make sure it's unrefined.

[NatashaLL]

I like coconut and grapeseed oil. I still use olive oil to saute, but that is not for that many minutes and because I put a lot of value on the flavor and flavor layering, I keep this as an option for myself. But I mix it up with the coconut, grapeseed oil and butter.

[ClaireW]

I am curious about Satatma's comments on "avoiding canola oil at all costs". I noticed even at Whole Foods they use canola oil for many of their prepared food products. And as I mentioned the cafeteria at work also use canola oil to cook. There are probably also many restaurants that use either this or some other kinds of polyunsaturated oils to cook. Does that mean you never eat out? Do you always bring your own lunch to work? Just want to figure out a way to make this work practically.

Thanks.

[satatma]

You are right Claire, there is definitely an element of impracticality to trying to avoid all canola oil.  I do still eat out sometimes.  But I try to avoid eating things that have a lot of unidentified vegetable oils in them.  For example, I have cut back on my Pad Ki Mao consumption when dining out at a Thai restaurant and often pick a coconut soup instead  

I do my best to avoid regularly eating things that aren't good for me.  That doesn't mean it doesn't happen. But I think that 1 or 2 out of 21 meals in a week is pretty good! And the more that I cook at home, the less interested I am in eating other food because it just doesn't give me the same energy or often taste as good.

In this regard, a thermos can really be a lifesaver.  A  good properly sealing thermos with a wide mouth can actually cook food for you.  I have made really tasty Indian Kitchadi recipes this way, soaking the lentils and rice overnight, draining, and then sauteeing in the morning for a few minutes with some vegetables and spices before sealing it in the thermos with boiling water.  In 5 hours you can have a nice slow-cooked meal. 

Salads are also easy to chop and put into plastic bags.  When I am hungry I empty the bag into a bowl and add some apple cider vinegar and olive oil, maybe some realsalt, pepper or nutritional yeast...  A sprinkle of walnuts or pumpkin seeds are also delicious and good for adding protein.  Sometimes if I'm feeling decadent I add goat cheese, chopped artichoke hearts, or olives.

Egg Salad sandwiches are currently my husband's favorite and they take me just 5 minutes to whip up in the morning (cooking the eggs ahead of time, and making sure not to overcook the yolks).  He has been working on eating more home-prepared meals because he also notices how different he feels.

In retrospect, let me revise my previous statement.  I don't know if I avoid canola at ALL costs, but I do avoid it's regular presence in my diet.  And I really feel much better when I eat food that I have prepared myself, knowing what oils are present and where the food comes from.  Food is my life.  I have come to love the time the I spend picking the freshest produce at the market and preparing food for myself; it is actually part of my spiritual practice of connecting to the earth and being fully present.   For me it is a labor of love and the extra time it takes is well worth it. 

[ClaireW]

Satama - Thanks for sharing your experiences and "tricks" of preparing your own food. It is always good to learn a few tricks to prepare healthy and quick meals since I think a lot of people have a busy schedule with work, school or/and family responsibility. I would also consider the thermo that you use to keep your cooked food warm. Where did you get yours?

Claire

[MistyH]

Hi Claire!! 
Check out the Great Con-ola for more clarification but I believe Satatma to be right on with her assesment of balancing those polyunsaturates! 

I don't consume them at home and try to be very careful while eating out.  Mary Enig states that coconut oil consumption can be helpful in counter acting the harmful effects of polyunsaturates. 

[blujay]

I find many grounds for agreeing with Satama. As a Therapeutic Chef, I can never recommend heating oils much beyond their melting point if you are cheifly concerned about one of the foundational building blocks for you or your clients health (Fats and Protiens)

Consider it this way, would you cook with Flax oil? why?

Almost all oils have a portion of their lipid profile that contain the delicate mono- and polyunsaturated oils (even coconut and palm oils contain small amounts of these). And we know that these are susceptible to oxidative damage by heat, light and time.

When oil is removed from its protective cell in the plant (or animal) it becomes unstable and begins to breakdown, further refining removes most of the remaining components that prevent this oxidative process. Then the long shelf life and storage in plastic containers (which leaches petrochemicals into the oil) and high heat prolonged cooking(deep frying, stir-frying and general cooking) finalize the lipid peroxidization and becomes one of the most toxic and oxidatively stressful substances that we consume. It requires alot of our stores of vitamin-E and vitamin C to counteract this process, and when our stores are inadequate and our consumption of these products are continual, it leads directly to the pro-inflammatory responses that lead to atherosclerotic damage. (ie heart disease)

Check out this report (this study was done with out heating the oil)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T12-3XWS15M-2D&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=8fedabe244f9160f1952e80be81d6018

Additionally, the role of lipids are vital to each cell wall in our body, and when these damaged and toxic oils are a part of our diets our cell membranes become increasingly weaker and more permeable to toxins and pathogenic substances.

Some of the worst offenders are the commodity oils used in all restaurant (even the olive oil/canola blend is mostly canola oil) and commercially prepared foods(even when found in "healthy" snack foods and are "organic") Soy, Canola, Safflower, Sunflower, peanut even olive oil. In addition to the reasons described above, these oils are some of the most GMO and pesticide/herbicide crops.

Another source of these lipid peroxidases that most people overlook is pasteurized milk one of the most health offensive products, (even organic) but that is another subject. To learn more search this forum for pasturized milk vs. raw milk, or for a classic report on its effects read this report:
http://www.ppnf.org/catalog/ppnf/Articles/PottsCats.htm

This is why I've recently became an advocate of mainly "whole Fats" (and raw as possible) in my and my clients diet, that is consuming the whole food from which we derive our oils. So things like whole flax seeds are even better for you than flax oil (and they are cheaper).  Some of the best sources include nuts, seeds, fresh coconuts, and avocados. And I've developed a technique for cooking without using oil. (From my perspective on professional cooking, using oil/fat in the cooking process is mostly a crutch)

Of the "refined" oils that I'm still an advocate of (without cooking with them), these few are my recomendations:

-Fresh Pressed Extra-virgin Olive oil (in moderation, the absolute best is from "living tree communities"http://www.livingtreecommunity.com/store2/product.asp?id=8&catid=30) it contains some of the most potent antioxidants and plant sterols.

-Home-made clarified butter oil (ghee): easy to make and one of the most healthy, it still retains many fat soluble nutrients and assists in further digestion and absorbtion of other fat soluble nutrient (eat it with your greens) and minerals.

-Coconut oil: another source of healthy saturated oils with many health benifits

-Cod liver oil: best source of preformed Omega-3 oils, which are greatly lacking in our diets.


If this isn't enough motivation to be highly judicious on the quality and form of oils you consume, then nothing will...

[satatma]

Wow, great information and discussion blujay...  I would like to add this to the discussion as well... Dr. Mercola is now advising people NOT to take supplemental Cod Liver Oil unless they are somehow deficient in Vitamin A (mostly developing world).  He is currently an advisory member of the Weston A. Price Foundation (who has thus far been strongly in favor of cod liver oil), so this seems like a pretty significant conclusion. It is based on the ratios of Vitamin A to Vitamin D that many studies are now proving to be toxic.  Please go read the article!

"As it stands, it is my strong belief that you’re simply not getting the appropriate balance of vitamin A to vitamin D from cod liver oil, which is why I believe it is best to avoid it." -Dr Mercola

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/12/23/important-cod-liver-oil-update.aspx