Which oil/fat for What

[anomaly13]

I think I read that olive oil is not best for sauteing, which is all we use it for. So I am wondering what oils/fat you all use and for what.


extra virgin olive oil:
all sauteing and light frying, like eggs
dh uses it for popcorn
salad dressing
marinades

butter:
some sauteing, those that are the base of a cream sauce
biscuits

canola oil:
deep frying, very rare
i use it for popcorn
some baking

vegetable shortening (palm):
tamales!

coconut oil:
some baking
I need to start using this more, like to replace canola oil, but haven't found a brand with a neutral falvor to use in all dishes, kwim?

that's all i can think of right now...

[snowbunny]

I use the following oils, the following ways:

Uncooked:
Olive Oil, Sesame Oil, Butter

Sauteeing:
Butter (Occasionally), Ghee (Mostly), Bacon Fat

Baking:
Coconut Oil (Mostly), Butter (Occasionally), Lard

Frying (Rare in our house):
Tallow, Lard, Palm, Coconut (Rarely)

I don't use canola, soybean, corn or vegetable oil and I don't use margarine or vegetable shortening.

[cristeen]

We don't use olive just because I don't tolerate it. But yes, it should not be heated to a high temperature, and using extra virgin for cooking is pointless... the entire point of extra virgin is the flavor profile, which is destroyed by heat. Buy a regular olive oil for cooking and save yourself some money.

For cooking anything in a frying pan... coconut oil, butter or bacon grease (or a combo)
Stir fry - coconut oil
Deep frying - coconut oil and/or lard
Biscuits or pie crust - lard is first choice, sometimes bacon grease, or a blend of CO/butter if I'm all out of lard
Baking - CO or butter
Mayo - sunflower oil
Salad dressings - walnut oil

[anomaly13]

Lard has always grossed my out, probably because I grew up in a low fat household. Is there beef lard? We don't eat any pork products so bacon grease is out, turkey bacon doesn't make much fat I usually have to add fat to cook it and we don't eat it much.

Also which coconut oil do you use? The last 2 I tried were very coconutty, which is fine for some things but others not so much. I actually really love coconut flavor but not with my eggs!

I want to make the switch but as we don't do pork and I have yet to find a co I like, I have been using more butter, the yellow stuff from grassfed cows and regular organic in baking. I also bought some Spectrum organic vegetable shortening which is just palm oil for tamales and pie crusts.

[cristeen]

Lard is pig fat. If it comes from a cow, I believe it's called tallow.

As for CO - there's 2 types... virgin which has all the flavor of the coconut, and refined, which has no flavor. I keep both on hand, although I use virgin for most purposes, I can't taste it in most applications - eggs, biscuits, stir fry - they all overpower the mild coconut flavor. But the refined I use for deep frying.

[Equuskia]

I like using sunflower oil for frying.

[velochic]

I use a neutral oil for deep frying, which happens about once every year in our house. Canola, usually.

I use olive oil for sauteing almost everything and roasting in the oven.

Extra virgin olive oil for anything cold (we eat a lot of cold Turkish mezes).

Lard for pan-fried potatoes and biscuits and gravy.

Butter for finishing and sauces.

[samy23]

Doesn't olive oil /ectra virgin olive oil go rancid when it is heated? That's what I read somewhere. And it seems true because it tastes bad when you heat it.

[velochic]

Originally Posted by samy23

Doesn't olive oil /ectra virgin olive oil go rancid when it is heated? That's what I read somewhere. And it seems true because it tastes bad when you heat it.

I think what you are thinking of is its "smoke point". Different oils begin to smoke (and burn) at different temperatures. And of course, burnt oil doesn't impart a nice flavor.

Here's a link to different smoke points for different oils:

http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/Colle...mokePoints.htm

Mario Batalli has said on the Food Network that he even does his deep fat frying in olive oil.

Oils will go rancid (spoil) as they age if they are not properly stored.

[ursusarctos]

I wish I could find pastured lard somewhere! I could get normal lard without additives but I've read in several places that the goodness of lard is very dependent on the goodness of the pig's diet and lifestyle.

For sauteeing/frying (we never deep fry): butter or ghee (I prefer ghee because it has a higher smoke point and delicious sweet flavor)

For baking: butter or olive oil. I like my veggies roasted with olive oil. I figure it's ok because we don't roast at high temps and it never tastes burned.

Other oils that we occasionally have around or use: tallow (from when I make bone broth; for frying), canola oil (when I need to grease my hands to deal with something sticky, or when I need some oil for baking and don't want the olive flavor), coconut oil (for greasing my cast iron, in my oatmeal, for frying), red palm oil (only for one bean dish that I make rarely).