Cooking Oil Recycling Bin (stops blocked drains)

If you have a small amount of vegetable oil, just wrap it in kitchen roll and bin. But for larger amounts, pouring down sinks can clog drains and cause ‘fatbergs’ (same with cream liqueurs, just use them up).

One idea to use less oil is an air-fryer (below). But if you use a lot of oil, invest in a cooking oil recycling bin to collect it, then empty at an oil recycling bank.

Don’t give leftover fatty foods to garden birds or wildfowl (it smears on feathers, affecting waterproofing & insulation).

Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets (many foods are unsafe near animal friends). Bin allium scraps (onion, leeks, garlic, shallots, chives) and citrus/tomato/rhubarb scraps, as acids could harm compost creatures. It’s okay to put them in food waste bins (made into biogas).

For tinned foods, fully remove lids (put inside) or pop ring-pulls back over holes (and pinch top opening closed) before recycling, to avoid wildlife getting trapped.

Which cooking oils are healthiest?

In England, we like our cooking oils. But which ones are better for health? Rapeseed oil is more local than olive oil (responsible for those fields of bright yellow flowers). But is it the healthiest, and what about coconut oil and sesame oil – or even cooking without oil? Let’s find out!

This vegan chocolate cake (Rainbow Nourishments) is oil-free!

Oils are not really ‘healthy’, as they are refined. Chef Brandi Doming never uses oil in recipes, but she does use fats (olives over olive oil, nuts over nut oils).

If you use oil to cook, the smoke point is what determines if it’s healthy or not (Italians may disagree, but olive oil is best for salads, and the best oil for cooking is local rapeseed oil (makes lovely roast potatoes with no goose fat needed).

Sunflower oil is cheap and popular and okay in moderation, but not too much. Nutritionist Michaella Mazzoni says that deep-frying with this oil damages the fats like a broken vase (‘it has been put together, but isn’t quite right anymore’).

Coconut oil has more saturated fat than butter (so can raise cholesterol) and is flammable (so take care when cooking). Popular in Asian cooking, the odd creamy coconut curry is not going to harm, but don’t eat this oil every day. Life in balance!