45 replies to this topic

[yoyo]

generally 'cooking oil' is a bad idea. i'll use some extra virgin olive oil for low heat sweating though.

[DukeNukem]

Meanwhile, I also consume coconut oil, palm oil, olive oil, and tea seed oil everyday as food, such as in my daily shake.

What are some of your shake recipes?

Generally, about 40 grams of clean, natural whey powder, 5g creatine, 5g BCAAs, 5g Berry Greens (by New Chapter), 3g magnesium liquid, 2g Diamond V horse feed, 2g AOL Essential Mix (a multi powder), and a few other odds-n-ends, like a little DMAE powder and lecithin. I use water as the base. Doesn't taste great, but doesn't taste horrible. Most of the cals come from the four oils I add: MCT, olive, palm and tea seed oils.

[rabagley]

I cook with lard or tallow, sometimes butter, sometimes virgin coconut oil. Yay for saturated fat to raise HDL (and increase HDL particle size) and protect against fatty acid oxidation!

I'll use uncooked olive oil, sesame seed oil, and walnut oil in dressings or sometimes as part of the presentation.

1 kitchen spoonful (about 4 tsp) of Carlson's Finest Fish oil with breakfast for the Omega-3's.

[jwilcox25]

Any recommendations for a healthy oils that have high smoking point? I'd like to use one to pan sear / broil steaks. Currently using regular olive oil. Thought about MCT, but since it's derived from coconut which has a fairly low smoke point, thought it might not be suitable. The kind of steaks (various cuts near the rib) I eat generally have plenty of saturated fat as it is.

[Gerald W. Gaston]

Here's another list from dLife. The low temp favorite Coconut/MCT didn't make their list... and the value listed for Olive is of course not for EVOO (which should be more in the 200-250F range).

http://www.dlife.com...ing_oils.page01

Cooking Oils:
--------------------

1. Walnut Oil: A polyunsaturated fat and good source of omega 3s. With a smoke point of 400 degrees F, this oil is good for baking (try this Blueberry Oat Muffin recipe) and sautéing at low to medium-high heat (as in this Lemon and Garlic Summer Squash Recipe), or try it drizzled on a salad, such ask this Italian Bean and Artichoke Salad.

2. Flaxseed Oil: A polyunsaturated fat and good source of omega 3s. Due to its low smoke point of 225 degrees F, it should not be used for cooking over heat. Try it stirred into dishes after heating or in salad dressings, salsa or smoothies.

3. Canola Oil: A monounsaturated fat with a medium high smoke point of 425 degrees F, use it in baking (try using it in Oatmeal cookies), sautéing, stir-fry (like this Mexican dish), and in dressings.

4. Olive Oil: A monounsaturated fat with a medium smoke point of 325 degrees F, use this flavorful oil for light sautéing (like this dish of Prosciutto and Peas), sauces like pesto and salad dressings like this.

5. Peanut Oil: A monounsaturated fat with a medium smoke point of 350 degrees F, use this flavorful oil for light sautéing (try peanut chicken), sauces (such as curry) and salad dressings (like sesame green beans).

6. Almond Oil: A monounsaturated fat with a high smoke point of 495 degrees F, this is a good oil for high heat cooking, like sautéing or frying. Its great flavor also works well in desserts, like the Light Whipped Cream recipe

7. Avocado Oil: A monounsaturated fat with a high smoke point of 510 degrees F, this is a good oil for high heat cooking, like sautéing or frying, and tasty in salads such as this one.

8. Safflower Oil: A polyunsaturated fat with a low saturated fat level, this oil is a good all-purpose oil. Its high smoke point of 450 degrees F makes it good for high heat cooking, like sautéing and frying. Try it in this Kasha and Brown Rice Rotini Pasta dish or Bite Sized Lemon-Rosemary Chicken.

9. Sunflower Oil: A polyunsaturated fat with a low saturated fat level, this oil has a high smoke point of 460 degrees F making it good for high heat cooking, like sautéing and frying. Use it to sauté the vegetables in this Sweet Potato and Parsnip Soup or Zucchini Soup with Pasta.

10. Grapeseed Oil: A polyunsaturated fat with a low saturated fat level, this oil has a high smoke point of 420 degrees F, making it great for cooking and grilling of all kinds. It also has a very mild, nutty flavor that's versatile enough to use in salads or virtually anything.

[jwilcox25]

Thanks! The monounsaturated oils look promising (peanut, almond, avacado). Do you know how their saturated/polyunsaturated content compares with olive? I know canola has relatively high polyunsaturated, which makes it less preferable. Monounsaturated and medium-chain saturated seem the most healthy to me.

Edited by jwilcox25, 09 January 2010 - 08:45 AM.

[FNC]

Any information regarding the Advanced Glycation End-Products or Lipid Peroxidation End Products when making use of these oils?

[Marios Kyriazis]

Any information regarding the Advanced Glycation End-Products or Lipid Peroxidation End Products when making use of these oils?

Just to be on the safe site, I advise people to use antiglycators such as carnosine when cooking a lot with any oils

[JLL]

Which oils and fats are best for cooking?

So which oils should you use for cooking? For sautéing and cooking at light to medium temperatures, my choice would be the ones on the left of the graph: coconut oil, ghee, butter, palm oil, and lard. If you stay below 170 °C, you're in pretty safe waters in terms of oxidation regardless of which one of them you choose. Virgin olive oil seems like a viable choice, too; just make sure the particular olive oil you're using it doesn't start smoking.

For searing, browning and other methods of cooking requiring higher temperatures, ghee and avocado oil seem like the best choices. When it comes to resistance to oxidation, ghee might take the cake, but avocado oil appears to have the highest smoking point of all oils, even though it does have 13.5% PUFAs. Still, keep in mind that when cooking at very high temperatures, some advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) are bound to be generated.

Fats and AGEs: PUFAs Are Even Worse than Fructose

[DukeNukem]

With so much discussion on the positives of negatives of various cooking oils, I thought it'd be helpful to take a look at what the membership uses for cooking oils. What are people's Top 5 and why?

I'll start it off with my top three:

1) Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Numerous documented health benefits. Downside, it has a low smoke point.
2) Grapeseed Oil (cold-pressed): My info on the health benefits of it are sketchy, though I imagine it shares some of the same benefits of grapeseed extract. It also has a higher smoke point than olive oil.
3) Extra Virgin Coconut Oil: A number of health benefits attributed to it. Downside, it isn't the most liquid of oils and it has a low smoke point.

That's it for me for now. Any other ideas, thoughts and recommendations? And yes, I know there are less than 5 on this list--I didn't actually have 5 I use. But maybe others do!

Grapeseed is a horrible choice. Basically, ANY oil with greater that ten percent polyunsaturated fatty acids should be avoided. Here are the ONLY vegetable oils I consume:

Olive oil (not a good cooking oil, except very low heat)
coconut oil
palm oil
macadamia nut oil
avocado oil
tea oil (the Chinese version of olive oil--very healthy, in use over 1000 years)

That's it!

Other cooking oils:

butter (or ghee)
animal fats, like lard

[jwilcox25]

With so much discussion on the positives of negatives of various cooking oils, I thought it'd be helpful to take a look at what the membership uses for cooking oils. What are people's Top 5 and why?

I'll start it off with my top three:

1) Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Numerous documented health benefits. Downside, it has a low smoke point.
2) Grapeseed Oil (cold-pressed): My info on the health benefits of it are sketchy, though I imagine it shares some of the same benefits of grapeseed extract. It also has a higher smoke point than olive oil.
3) Extra Virgin Coconut Oil: A number of health benefits attributed to it. Downside, it isn't the most liquid of oils and it has a low smoke point.

That's it for me for now. Any other ideas, thoughts and recommendations? And yes, I know there are less than 5 on this list--I didn't actually have 5 I use. But maybe others do!

Grapeseed is a horrible choice. Basically, ANY oil with greater that ten percent polyunsaturated fatty acids should be avoided. Here are the ONLY vegetable oils I consume:

Olive oil (not a good cooking oil, except very low heat)
coconut oil
palm oil
macadamia nut oil
avocado oil
tea oil (the Chinese version of olive oil--very healthy, in use over 1000 years)

That's it!

Other cooking oils:

butter (or ghee)
animal fats, like lard

what would you use for browning/searing steaks?

[Gerald W. Gaston]

Thanks! The monounsaturated oils look promising (peanut, almond, avacado). Do you know how their saturated/polyunsaturated content compares with olive? I know canola has relatively high polyunsaturated, which makes it less preferable. Monounsaturated and medium-chain saturated seem the most healthy to me.

I've seen Olive listed from 5-12% PUFA. Almond oil 16-20% PUFA, and Peanut oil 32-38% PUFAs. Lots of people use Peanut Oil for deep frying Turkey, chicken, French Fries, etc. but that doesn't exactly make it a healthy choice.

My favorite is coconut (*92% SFA, 6% MUFA, 2% PUFA) for lower temp and it stores good without spoilage so I always have it on hand. Avocado (20% SFA, 70% MUFA, 10% PUFA) and palm (50% SFA, 40% MUFA, 10% PUFA) are the other two favorites. I use olive oil (14% SFA, 75% MUFA, 11% PUFA) only cold in things like salad dressing, not for cooking. Mom uses lard (41% SFA, 47% MUFA, 11% PUFA), tallow (52% SFA, 44% MUFA, 4% PUFA), and butter (63% SFA, 26% MUFA, 4% PUFA) mostly, with more lard use than anything else.

* number are from one or more of the links below and are approximate as they vary with brand/refinement/etc. And of course linking to them dosn't mean I agree with all their views. I think JLL and Duke both have good views on fats and cooking oils and obviously know more about this stuff than I do.

http://hubpages.com/hub/cooking-oils
http://www.rd411.com.....Right One.doc
http://www.cseindia.org/oil/butter.htm

[DukeNukem]

what would you use for browning/searing steaks?

Butter.

[Gerald W. Gaston]

what would you use for browning/searing steaks?

Butter.

I've seen lard, butter, and EVOO used. Sometimes a mix of these (like butter and EVOO). EVOO doesn't seem like a good choice but if someone is messing up meat by browning, charring, or searing then I guess health-wise it matters less to them and they are going more for a certain flavor.

[jwilcox25]

what would you use for browning/searing steaks?

Butter.

I've seen lard, butter, and EVOO used. Sometimes a mix of these (like butter and EVOO). EVOO doesn't seem like a good choice but if someone is messing up meat by browning, charring, or searing then I guess health-wise it matters less to them and they are going more for a certain flavor.

can't really imagine a taste-minded person enjoying a steak without some good searing, unless it's marinated (eg korean style)

health-wise, i suppose it's risky due to the caramelization process which can indirectly lead to AGEs? I make sure not to produce any char due to the risk of producing carcinogens

[edit] I'd prefer a high smoke point monounsaturated oil, as there is plenty of saturated fat in my steaks as it is. Rather use my saturated oils like MCT oil when cooking veggies / other foods. I'm thinking avacado or palm, if they have lower polyunsaturated than olive

Edited by jwilcox25, 10 January 2010 - 02:36 AM.

[stephen_b]

I'd rather sear a steak with ghee to avoid butter browning. After searing, I feel free to top the steak with butter though.

Edited by stephen_b, 11 January 2010 - 05:24 PM.