What cooking oil do YOU think is the best, and why?

[Aletheia]

I hope to get a lot of different responses.

DS1 is allergic to dairy, eggs, nuts, peanuts, and shellfish. He is also tiny. I am always trying to get more fat into him.

We have pursued a TF diet in the past, but have recently realized that he is salicylate sensitive. Coconut oil and olive oil are both very high in salicylates, and so I am looking to replace both. (We use olive oil to cook in, and coconut oil in smoothies, baking, and the like.)

Nut oils are out, as are sesame and corn oil (too high in salicylates.)

So... out of these, what do you recommend, and why?

• Completely casein free ghee (I can get this, but it is EXPENSIVE)
• Canola oil
• Safflower Oil
• Sunflower Oil

I don't know that it matters, but he is also slightly anemic and we suspect a zinc deficiency as well.

[lil_earthmomma]

Sunflower and Safflower oil is rich in PUFA, particularly linoleic acid that lowers the levels of both good and bad cholesterol. Hence, this oil cannot be used as your main cooking oil.

Canola oil is bad news. http://www.hbci.com/~wenonah/new/canola.htm

I'm sure ghee would be fine, but if it's expensive maybe use it sparingly?

I would use bacon fat, and other animal lard for cooking with if my child had the problems your ds has.

Also, I would look into Ricebran oil.

''It is a relatively new oil that is extracted from ricebran and is gaining popularity in Asian countries like Japan, Korea, China and India.

It is not very expensive.

Ricebran oil is a unique edible oil with many nutritional benefits, as compared to other edible oils. It is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and has cholesterol-lowering properties due to the presence of a minor component called oryzanol. It contains natural vitamin E, which is an antioxidant. It also contains squalene, which is good for the skin.

It is the ideal cooking oil since has good stability (lthis mean that, like other MUFA oils, it does not decompose at high temperatures to form toxic compounds) and is suitable for deep-frying. Studies have shown that snacks prepared in rice bran oil absorb 12-25 per cent less oil than those prepared in groundnut oil.''

http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2006/feb/21health.htm
(I ignored the stuff about butter being unhealthy )

I would also find other ways to get healthy fats into my kiddo. Avacado is great! If he doesn't like it plain, you can make chocolate pudding with avacado, smoothies, dips... etc.

Fish and meat are also good sources of fat. You could also make rice milk or soy milk kefir, for protein and amino acids, vitamins etc.

Good luck with your search for healthy fats!

[Pinky Tuscadero]

I second lard. Sooo healthy!! Also, what about palm? We love it.

[WC_hapamama]

I bounce between canola oil and rice bran oil. The rice bran oil isn't always easy to find.

[mamadelbosque]

Personally, I like to cook with coconut & olive oil (like many on these boards). But I use canola for deep frying (cause' I'm cheap, and it uses a ton, and I just can't afford to use coconut or some other expensive oil for it. And we don't deep fry very much - maybe once every 2 or 3 months). If you can afford it though, I'd look into finding organic canola oil.

And otherwise, for eggs & such, I'd use a lot of butter. And lard for baking. I do also use sunflower & sesame oil for stir fries on occasion though too.

[Equuskia]

I like sunflower because it is very neutral tasting. Whenever I fry something in sunflower oil, it doesn't really taste greasy.

[deditus]

Originally Posted by Aletheia

So... out of these, what do you recommend, and why?

• Completely casein free ghee (I can get this, but it is EXPENSIVE)
• Canola oil
• Safflower Oil
• Sunflower Oil

I don't use any of those.
I use pastured lard for frying. Bacon grease on stuff like peas and lima beans. You could use palm oil for baking.
I keep the fat on my chicken bone broth so that adds a nice bit of fat when I cook with it - rice, beans, gravy, pasta and stirfry sauces, etc.

[lotus.blossom]

Grapeseed Oil?

[cristeen]

Not taking your particular allergies into account, what I use depends on the purpose, but what I keep on hand are coconut, sunflower (not safflower, they are different), walnut, butter, lard, duck fat, bacon grease. I also like macadamia nut, but it's pricey and best used in places where you can enjoy its flavor, like on salads.

My basic yard-stick for oils are - could I make this myself at home? If I can't answer yes to that question, then it's an automatic "no" (like corn, soy or canola).

With your food sensitivities, I'd probably stick to animal fats. Lard, tallow, schmaltz, etc. I can buy a piece of pig belly or skin with fat attached from the local sausage butcher and render it myself. I can get duck fat in 5 pound bags from the duck farm and render it myself - so those are the ones I keep on hand usually - I just don't have an easy source for tallow or schmaltz. I render it in large quantities, seal it in quart jars and use it until I get down to the last one in the pantry and then go buy some more. Rendered animal fats are fairly neutral in flavors - I can use duck fat to make mayo, and lard to bake, and they don't take on "savory/meat" flavors. I believe beef tallow tends to be more strongly flavored (I don't have a source), and I know sheep/lamb tallow is more strongly flavored - I stopped using it because it was too strong for me.

[PaulaJoAnne]

http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1092031
OP, this is an excellent thread to read.

[wendyland]

I only use coconut oil, butter, ghee, animal fats for cooking. I never use olive oil for cooking. I do use it for salads. I go by the advice of naturalhealingbybee.com. Out of the ones you listed, I would go with the ghee even if it is more expensive. I would try to save money or sell things if I had to.

[crunchy_mama]

I would do the palm for baking and lard for other uses. Or a grapeseed if that is ok.

[katiesk]

avocado oil? if that works with the allergies...it's pretty expensive, but it's great and probably less expensive than buying ghee for everything!