The Healthiest Cooking Oils (and proper disposal)
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!
Experts say that for a tiny amount of oil (say if you were just shallow-frying something in a pan), just pour the leftover oil in some kitchen roll, and bin. Otherwise, use a cooking oil recycling bin.
Read our post on food safety for people and pets. It’s best to just bin allium (onion family) and tomato/citrus/rhubarb scraps, as acids could harm compost creatures. For tinned foods, always remove lids fully or pull ring-pulls back over holes, to avoid wildlife getting trapped.
Don’t give leftover fatty foods to garden birds or wildfowl (it smears on feathers, affecting waterproofing & insulation).
What Makes a Cooking Oil Healthy?
Oils are not really ‘healthy’, as they are refined. Brandi (who wrote the cookbook The Vegan 8) never uses oil in her recipes, but she does use fats (olives over olive oil, nuts over nut oils etc).
But most people do like a little fat on their food, and we can’t have a nation of chip shops, without using some kind of oil! So let’s look at the main players: what they are, how they are used, and their healthy status – or not!
What’s important with oils is the smoke point, to determine cooking methods. For instance, most experts say (and Italians may disagree!) that olive oil is best reserved for salad dressings, and rapeseed oil is better for cooking (it makes for wonderful roast potatoes, you don’t need goose fat).
Ignore information on whether the oils are high in omega fats, because once you cook them, they get destroyed anyway (a reason why ‘oily fish’ does not really offer omega 3s, unlike nuts and seeds).
The smoke point is the temperature when oil starts to burn, smoke and lose flavour. Overheating oil can also make your kitchen smoky, and create compounds that can have health risks.
When cooking, avoid floaty sleeves and tie long hair back, and keep a small kitchen fire extinguisher nearby.
Palm oil should be avoided (Greenpeace says The Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil is just self-policed, meanwhile orangutans have forest homes torn down, to provide cheap saturated fat (imported from thousands of miles away) to put in junk food and bar soaps.
Which Oil is Best for What?
- Rapeseed oil is good as the ‘local oil’ which also supports our farmers, though brands are not yet organic. Low in saturated fat, its neutral taste makes it good for general cooking. And it’s a good alternative to palm oil (used by most chip shops).
- Extra virgin olive oil is best for salad dressings, finishing dishes and healthy dips, due to its smoke point (not the best for high-heat cooking). For baking, choose a light version, to avoid a strong taste.
- Sunflower oil is cheap and popular, but use in moderation, as it’s high in omega 6 (too much of this is not good). 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!
