What kind of oil do you use?

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beccamh
beccamh Posts: 85 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I can't keep up with the hype. We used to use plain old vegetable oil for everything (mostly baking and sauteeing) and then we switched to oilve oil when that was being praised as "healthier". Lately we have been using canola oil .. but now I'm hearing that is bad for you too. What kind of oil do you all use? And is it the same for everything or do you have specific oils for different purposes?

I know all oil is similar calorically, I am not looking to cut calories but rather for something that is heart healthy.
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Replies

  • BikerGirlElaine
    BikerGirlElaine Posts: 1,631 Member
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    I use olive oil when that is the flavor that I want to impart -- salad dressings, Italian & Greek dishes. I use canola or safflower or butter most other times. If I need shortening I use lard.

    I buy the highest quality oils that I can afford.

    To me 'heart healthy' means avoiding partially hydrogenated oils -- margarine, crisco -- and trying to incorporate avocado, olives, nuts, and meat and eggs from free-ranged animals.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
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    coconut oil on my skin (I will put some in the kitchen next time i buy it, because I want to try my hand at coconut chicken)
    olive oil in the kitchen
    Canola oil for spray pans/specific recipes
    Sesame oil when cooking Asian or Chinese
    Butter more often the oil
    vegetable oil for baking only.. and i probably wont' buy it again once it's gone

    I don't like the taste of most oils, so I swap where I can.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I have a pourer and a little sprayer.

    edit: and good ole butter from time to time.

    We don't do much high heat cooking with oils.
  • Sarahnade42x
    Sarahnade42x Posts: 308 Member
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    The higher the proportion of mono- and poly-unsaturated fats the oil has, the better. I usually use EVOO. Here's a table that you might find useful: http://health.clevelandclinic.org/2012/05/heart-healthy-cooking-oils-101/


    ETA: I know a lot of clean eating recipes use coconut oil for the flavor, but it's not really good for you at all. It's almost entirely saturated fat..more so than just about any other oil. (That said, I still have it in my kitchen and use it in moderation)
  • ClaireyDeexx
    ClaireyDeexx Posts: 34 Member
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    Coconut Oil! Tastes so good and is good for you. :)
  • beckizzle
    beckizzle Posts: 118 Member
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    milder (non virgin) coconut oil for baking,
    Grass fed lard/tallow from the farm for cooking
    flax or pumpkin seed oil for raw/cold salad dressings

    butter too :P
  • twixlepennie
    twixlepennie Posts: 1,074 Member
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    canola oil
  • BikerGirlElaine
    BikerGirlElaine Posts: 1,631 Member
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    ETA: I know a lot of clean eating recipes use coconut oil for the flavor, but it's not really good for you at all. It's almost entirely saturated fat..more so than just about any other oil. (That said, I still have it in my kitchen and use it in moderation)

    I respectfully disagree. Coconut oil is fine to use.
  • ltlemermaid
    ltlemermaid Posts: 637 Member
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    I use a variety depending on what I am cooking:

    Grassfed organic Butter--love to use this when scrambling eggs if not using bacon
    Extra virgin Olive Oil-light sauteed foods
    Coconut oil-for pretty much anything when I remember to grab it out of the pantry
    Sunflower Oil-for most things as well

    I used to use but now avoid vegetable and canola oils-they are not good for you and most likely have GMO's if not organic
  • MysteriousMerlin
    MysteriousMerlin Posts: 2,270 Member
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    I use extra virgin olive oil for any no- or low- heat cooking, and canola oil for any higher heated applications or large quantities (as the olive oil costs more). I use canola oil because it has a great balance of omega 6 & omega 3 fats, though it is highly processed.

    Your best bet is use whatever oil tastes best to you, but be careful when heating it. Heating it to or past it's smoke point breaks down the oil faster and lowers the smoke point (if you reuse the oil later).
  • laurenislost
    laurenislost Posts: 28 Member
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    only coconut oil for cooking, but now I am starting to question my paranoia of cooking with low smoke point oils, the only stuff I have found that says vegetable oils are bad are the paleo gurus:

    http://www.marksdailyapple.com/healthy-oils/#axzz2nMmc3Aod
  • sally_jeffswife
    sally_jeffswife Posts: 766 Member
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    mostly olive oil in the kitchen sometimes sesame oil if cooking salmon or something like that. I add vinegar too to my hamburger if I cook that. Gives it a bit of kick also
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    I cook with coconut oil or ghee if anything.

    I have EVOO, macadamia oil and avocado oil but only use them cold, never to cook with. I wouldn't touch "vegetable" oils (canola, sunflower, blends etc) with a ten foot pole, just like I wouldn't go near margarine. Spray oils aren't good either! I'd rather use a lined tray or tin for baking.
  • maffff
    maffff Posts: 72 Member
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    One cal where I can.

    Then vegetable/sunflower/olive as needs must.
  • Sarahnade42x
    Sarahnade42x Posts: 308 Member
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    ETA: I know a lot of clean eating recipes use coconut oil for the flavor, but it's not really good for you at all. It's almost entirely saturated fat..more so than just about any other oil. (That said, I still have it in my kitchen and use it in moderation)

    I respectfully disagree. Coconut oil is fine to use.

    I didn't say it wasn't fine to use at all.. I use it too, *in moderation*.

    From WebMD:
    "The evidence that coconut oil is super-healthful is not convincing and these claims appear to be more testimonials than clinical evidence."
    "Pure virgin coconut oil, containing no hydrogenation (the process of adding hydrogen to make a liquid fat hard), contains 92% saturated fat -- the highest amount of saturated fat of any fat."
    "But even though coconut oil is cholesterol-free, it is still a saturated fat that needs to be limited in the diet and if you are looking for real health benefits, switch from saturated fats to unsaturated fats by using vegetable oils like soybean, canola, corn, or olive oil," says Kris-Etherton, a member of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines advisory committee and Institute of Medicine's panel on dietary reference intakes for macronutrients (which include fats)."
    http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/coconut-oil-and-health
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    I personally like extra virgin olive oil or regular olive oil.
    Tried grapeseed recently...not too jazzed about it.
  • NatalieSkywalker
    NatalieSkywalker Posts: 231 Member
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    Coconut Oil.

    And if I can't get it, Olive Oil.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    I use olive and canola and sometimes flax. I ignore the sensationalism.
  • poedunk65
    poedunk65 Posts: 1,336 Member
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    Quaker State 10W40,, HAHA.

    But seriously. depends on what i am eating. Peanut, but am going to try coconut for frying and olive oil
    for salads, etc.
  • BikerGirlElaine
    BikerGirlElaine Posts: 1,631 Member
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    ETA: I know a lot of clean eating recipes use coconut oil for the flavor, but it's not really good for you at all . It's almost entirely saturated fat..more so than just about any other oil. (That said, I still have it in my kitchen and use it in moderation)

    I respectfully disagree. Coconut oil is fine to use.

    I didn't say it wasn't fine to use at all.. I use it too, *in moderation*.

    From WebMD:
    "The evidence that coconut oil is super-healthful is not convincing and these claims appear to be more testimonials than clinical evidence."
    "Pure virgin coconut oil, containing no hydrogenation (the process of adding hydrogen to make a liquid fat hard), contains 92% saturated fat -- the highest amount of saturated fat of any fat."
    "But even though coconut oil is cholesterol-free, it is still a saturated fat that needs to be limited in the diet and if you are looking for real health benefits, switch from saturated fats to unsaturated fats by using vegetable oils like soybean, canola, corn, or olive oil," says Kris-Etherton, a member of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines advisory committee and Institute of Medicine's panel on dietary reference intakes for macronutrients (which include fats)."
    http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/coconut-oil-and-health

    Well, but wait there's this too (from Wikipedia because this person writes better than I do):

    Coconut oil contains a large proportion of lauric acid—a saturated fat that raises blood cholesterol levels by increasing the amount of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Most of the increase is HDL cholesterol, hence the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol is decreased.[30] A decreased ratio indicates reduced risk for heart disease.[31]

    So the jury is still out on whether coconut oil is good for you or bad for you from a heart perspective. You wrote that it isn't good for you -- and I am respectfully disagreeing with your statement.

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