Frying: Which Oil

I know that oil is unhealthy when exposed for high temperatures. but what should I use when I must fry something in the oven or in a pan? butter?

I’ve been wondering about this too…

You can use any oil that’s good to eat if it wasn’t heated. It’s a myth that high temperatures make it bad. Well, not a myth. Industrial kitchens can hydrogenate an oil, basically turning it into a trans fat.

They do it by heating the oil to some 400 degrees in the presence of a metal catylyst, usually nickel, for hours on end. Hydrogenation can’t take place in a home kitchen except to the most miniscule degree.

The milk solids in butter would burn.
I’m pretty sure peanut oil is good if you’re going to use very high temperatures.

JS is right that you won’t hydrogenate the oil, but he’s wrong about using just any oil. Oils have different smoke points, use the wrong oil and burn your dinner and set off the smoke alarm.

I’ve read that oil can burn/denature or something.

So, I think JB has recommended this:

Low Heat: Olive

High Heat: Coconut/butter

Very High heat: butter

JB has said that he also fries with olive oil.

Personally I like using flax oil with no heat.

[quote]texass wrote:
JS is right that you won’t hydrogenate the oil, but he’s wrong about using just any oil. Oils have different smoke points, use the wrong oil and burn your dinner and set off the smoke alarm.

Agreed. There are reasons to avoid using some oils at higher temperatures. I was only thinking about the trans fat aspect. I thought that’s what he was getting at.

Coconut and Grapeseed oils are best suited for high temp cooking.

I’d use Canola Oil.

[quote]Oquendog wrote:
I’d use Canola Oil. [/quote]

According to that site, canola oil is the worst.

They said Avacado is the best when cooking with high temperatures? Wouldnt this mean that it is the best for all temperatures of cooking? Why is one better for <250 degrees, while it is the best for >450 for example?

[quote]Contach wrote:
According to that site, canola oil is the worst.[/quote]

You didn’t read the list well enough or understand its purpose. Refined canola oil is fine to use up to 450, so its good for pan-frying (which is what most people mean by deep-frying at home unless they have their own deep fryer).

[quote]They said Avacado is the best when cooking with high temperatures? Wouldnt this mean that it is the best for all temperatures of cooking? Why is one better for <250 degrees, while it is the best for >450 for example?
[/quote]

Its not ranking oil from “best” to “worst”, just its ability to handle heat.

[quote]bushidobadboy wrote:
Are you sure about the butter? It burns easily in my experience. In fact you usually have to add some oil to it to prevent this.[/quote]

Yeah, I noticed this too. I use olive oil for everything.

[quote]rsg wrote:
bushidobadboy wrote:
Are you sure about the butter? It burns easily in my experience. In fact you usually have to add some oil to it to prevent this.

Yeah, I noticed this too. I use olive oil for everything.[/quote]

Maybe he meant clarified butter? No milk solid to burn in there.

[quote]Zen warrior wrote:
rsg wrote:
bushidobadboy wrote:
Are you sure about the butter? It burns easily in my experience. In fact you usually have to add some oil to it to prevent this.

Yeah, I noticed this too. I use olive oil for everything.

Maybe he meant clarified butter? No milk solid to burn in there.[/quote]

could be but also not all butter is created equal. if you learn to control your temps butter is perfectly fine for most anything except stir fry. you do need a good pan though, like cast iron or thick carbon. if you’re burning the oil you’ve probably got the burner too high to make up for the fact that your crap pan doesn’t retain heat and/or you just need to move faster.

I haven’t personally tried butter, I just tried to remember what John Berardi has said elsewhere. So, my memory could be off, and so that list could be wrong.

there’s one brand of canola (i think) oil made by one of the major cooking oil companies that has omega fatty acids in it. i forget the details but i used that in the past as it says on the label it has no trans fats, so i figure it’s at least a little better than using the regular stuff. you can get it at any normal grocery, it’s only a dollar or two more expensive.

also as noted on another thread i just posted on, for those who have not tried it, mixing honey and hot sauce and using it as a dip for fried chicken is the most amazing thing you might ever taste. i saw bobby flay do it on his fried chicken throwdown. they work great together.

Coconut or Palm oil

Flaxseed oil all day every day. Delicious and pernicious.

butter makes everything taste better

last night i had

1/3 lb of shelled prawns, 2 cloves garlic, 2 big mushrooms, 1/2 large onion, half a chillie pepper and dash of mediteranean herbs with mashed sweet potato/carrot/swede

tasted fantastic