Cooking Oil 101

Let’s talk about cooking oils!

This topic is so important not only in terms of nutrition but also because the type of oil you use when you cook can affect the quality of your recipe. There’s a lot of controversy surrounding which cooking oil is best for your health/best for cooking, so let’s explore each type to see how cooking oils match up.

Olive Oil

Let’s start with an easy one—olive oil! Out of all of the cooking oils, olive oil is probably the most studied and has been proven the most beneficial to long term health and longevity. Olive oil is high in monounsaturated fats and antioxidants like vitamin E. It also packs some amazing anti-inflammatory benefits. A healthy fat like olive oil can help reduce symptoms and risk of cardiovascular disease.

It’s important to be aware that there are different classifications of olive oil: extra virgin and regular. While nutritionally similar to regular olive oil, extra virgin olive oil is truly responsible for all of those amazing health benefits. This is because extra virgin olive oil is the least processed cooking oil. It is also used mostly cold (meaning not used to cook at high temperatures and in most situations is not recommended to be used to cook at all), meaning that there is no oil breakdown due to cooking like there is with the other cooking oils. Regular olive oil is still a more nutritious choice than some of the other cooking oils, however it definitely can still be classified as a processed oil.

The smoke point—or the point at which the oil breaks down so much that it begins to smoke and then ignite—for olive oil is about 350 degrees. This means you won’t want to use olive oil when cooking foods at higher temperatures than 350, because you’ll lose the nutritional benefits of the oil and your food will likely take on a rancid taste. It’s also important to note that extra virgin olive oil has a very distinct taste, while regular olive oil is slightly more neutral and can be used in a wider range of recipes.

If you’re going to use olive oil for cooking, stick to regular olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil works best drizzled on salads or on food after it’s been cooked.

Vegetable Oil

Vegetable oils come from vegetables but are usually a mix of corn, soy, sun or safflower oil. Canola oil is a common vegetable oil you’ve probably seen on the market.

Despite being called “vegetable oils,” these oils generally aren’t your healthiest. They’re highly processed to strip away any flavor so that they can be used in any cooking situation. They’re usually higher in omega-6 fats, which our bodies need but not in levels that they would throw our omega-3 levels out of balance. The fats in vegetable oils will also oxidize, or break down, more quickly when heated due to the highly processed nature of the oil, and this contributes to inflammation in the body.

The smoke point of vegetable oils is around 400-450 degrees. These oils work best for high temperature cooking and can even be used in baking. However, if there’s a healthier oil alternative you can use, you may want to stick with the healthier option. Consider changing your method of cooking if you need to cook something at a high temperature—maybe you can cook your recipe at a lower temperature for a longer time and use a more nutritious option like olive oil.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil has been used extensively in the media as an alternative to other cooking oils. Influencers and marketers portray coconut oil as the “healthiest” because it comes from a fruit. The facts about coconut oil may leave you feeling a little surprised.

While the research on coconut oil is conflicting, we do know that coconut oil has a very high concentration of saturated fats. In fact, coconut oil is probably the cooking oil with the highest amount of fat. You’ll notice when you buy coconut oil that it’s solid at room temperature, and that’s because it’s mostly saturated fat. As we know, high consumption of saturated fat contributes to inflammation, high cholesterol, and atherosclerosis risk, among other things. There is some research stating that the presence of medium-chain triglycerides in coconut oil have weight loss benefits, but in all the research about the influence of coconut oil on health is still unclear. In general using coconut oil sparingly is probably the best way to start.

Coconut oil has a smoke point of 350 degrees, so like olive oil you won’t want to use it for high temperature cooking. Many recipes for baked goods call for coconut oil because of its slightly fruity aroma. Coconut oil is also best used in Southeast Asian recipes like Thai curries where coconut is a frequently used ingredient.

Avocado Oil

Avocado oil is another cooking oil that’s been heavily marketed as “healthy,” although in this case the research generally points in favor of health.

Like olive oil, avocado oil is high in monounsaturated fats and vitamin E for heart health and an antioxidant boost, and it is unrefined. Think of the nutritional value of an avocado, just transferred into oil form. Avocado oil is not a neutral oil in terms of taste—like olive oil, it possesses its own slight taste, but is neutral enough that for most recipes it shouldn’t matter. Avocado oil also has a very high smoke point of 520 degrees, so is an ideal choice for high temperature cooking.

Peanut Oil & Sesame Oil

These oils are generally used in Asian cooking and provide very unique, nutty flavors. You’ll want to use these oils in recipes that call for them specifically, rather than in just any old recipe. Both oils are very high in monounsaturated fats, with peanut having the highest concentration of monounsaturated fats out of all the oils.

The smoke point for peanut oil is about 450 degrees, while for sesame oil it’s 410, so both cook well under high heat.

So which oil is truly the best one to use? If we’re thinking about overall health, the gold standard is extra virgin olive oil. Drizzle that on your salads, make a veggie dip with plain Greek yogurt and olive oil, drizzle it on a nourish bowl—the possibilities are endless. If we’re thinking about which oils are best to cook with, olive oil or avocado oils are your best bet because they’ve got the highest nutrient content and are the least refined. If weight loss is your goal, you’ll definitely want to keep oil portion size in mind. We often forget that the oils we cook with add an extra source of calories to our meals, and overuse of even the healthiest oils can become detrimental. Measuring your oil or using an oil spray can help you use your oil in more moderate amounts.

Now that we’ve got our cooking oil guide, let’s get cooking!

By Jessica Kaplan