Oil spill
Posted by Chewy on Tuesday, May 29th, 2007
I am beginning to wonder why most Food Network cooks tell you to use olive oil for everything.
You see, I just bought a new drum of extra virgin olive oil (organical Fairway brand) and that shit is flavorful. So flavorful that it can overwhelm your food and palate.
Plus, olive oil has a relatively low smoke point, which doesn’t make it ideal for high heat cooking (I’m staring at a recipe right now that is telling me to coat beef in olive oil before searing it).
At The Restaurant, we use an oil blend (I think it’s mostly veg and some soy) for 99% of things. I asked Chef why they use both the olive oil and the blend for dressing salads and he said it’s because he doesn’t want just the taste of olive oil to come through. Makes sense.
Neutral-flavored oils are: Corn, peanut, canola, grapeseed, sunflower, safflower and light olive oil (”light” referring to the taste, not the fat or calorie content).
Here’s a handy little guide for your cooking needs. Fuck what the recipes say and go with science. From whatscookingamerica.net:
|
Fat |
Smoke Point °F |
Smoke Point °C |
|
Unrefined canola oil |
225°F |
107 °C |
|
Unrefined flaxseed oil |
225°F |
107 °C |
|
Unrefined safflower oil |
225°F |
107 °C |
|
Unrefined sunflower oil |
225°F |
107 °C |
|
Unrefined corn oil |
320°F |
160 °C |
|
Unrefined high-oleic sunflower oil |
320°F |
160 °C |
|
Extra virgin olive oil |
320° |
160 °C |
|
Unrefined peanut oil |
320°F |
160 °C |
|
Semi-refined safflower oil |
320°F |
160 °C |
|
Unrefined soy oil |
320°F |
160 °C |
|
Unrefined walnut oil |
320°F |
160 °C |
|
Hemp seed oil |
330°F |
165 °C |
|
Butter |
350° |
177 °C |
|
Semi-refined canola oil |
350°F |
177 °C |
|
Coconut oil |
350°F |
177 °C |
|
Unrefined sesame oil |
350°F |
177 °C |
|
Semi-refined soy oil |
350°F |
177 °C |
|
Vegetable shortening |
360°F |
182 °C |
|
Lard |
370°F |
182 °C |
|
Macadamia nut oil |
390°F |
199 °C |
|
Refined canola oil |
400°F |
204 °C |
|
Semi-refined walnut oil |
400°F |
204 °C |
|
High quality (low acidity) extra virgin olive oil |
405°F |
207 °C |
|
Sesame oil |
410°F |
210 °C |
|
Cottonseed oil |
420°F |
216 °C |
|
Grapeseed oil |
420°F |
216 °C |
|
Virgin olive oil |
420°F |
216 °C |
|
Almond oil |
420°F |
216 °C |
|
Hazelnut oil |
430°F |
221 °C |
|
Peanut oil |
440°F |
227 °C |
|
Sunflower oil |
440°F |
227 °C |
|
Refined corn oil |
450°F |
232 °C |
|
Refined high-oleic sunflower oil |
450°F |
232 °C |
|
Refined peanut oil |
450°F |
232 °C |
|
Refined Safflower oil |
450°F |
232 °C |
|
Semi-refined sesame oil |
450°F |
232 °C |
|
Refined soy oil |
450°F |
232 °C |
|
Semi-refined sunflower oil |
450°F |
232 °C |
|
Olive pomace oil |
460°F |
238 °C |
|
Extra light olive oil |
468°F |
242 °C |
|
Soybean oil |
495°F |
257 °C |
|
Safflower oil |
510°F |
266 °C |
|
Avocado oil |
520°F |
271 °C |
Scienticians say too much evoo can cause
automatonitis and corporate shillitis
Categories: 
Discussion: 
Not only does avocado oil have the highest smoke point, but it’s also the best for your heart!
Comment written by foodette on 4:35 pm on the 30th of May, 2007
bravo.
olive oil should only be used for flavor. all hail the rapeseed, ehem, canola…
Comment written by stephTM on 9:51 pm on the 30th of May, 2007