Understanding Different Types of Cooking Oils: From a Chef's Diary

There are so many different types of cooking oils to choose from in the market. Knowing which cooking oil to use for a meal or specific cooking technique can become quite daunting and a bit confusing. For sake of ease in your culinary education use this guide as a resource while planning your next meal.
Which oil can be used to make food more delicious? How different types of oil are suitable for some types of dishes.
Which kind of oil is more suitable for home cooking? What is the difference between different types of edible oil?

Olive oil

Why olive oil is healthy? In fact, talk about the proportion of fatty acids from olive oil. 74% of olive oil is derived from oleic acid (⍵-9), a monounsaturated fatty acid. Because oleic acid has only one double bond, olive oil is more stable than other vegetable oils during cooking and less susceptible to oxidation!

Oxidized oils not only degrade the flavor, but more importantly, eating them will exacerbate the inflammatory response in our bodies, from the circulatory system to the kidneys and organs. Scientists have suggested that long-term consumption of oxidized oil will have a long-term chronic negative effect on our body.

In addition, the ratio of linoleic acid (a ⍵-6) in olive oil is only 13%. As mentioned above, ⍵-6 may increase the risk of some inflammation. Nowadays, most people's diet is higher than the proportion of ⍵-6 (mainly from soybean oil sunflower oil, etc.), so olive oil as a ⍵-6 oil, more beneficial to health too!

Rapeseed oil

Rapeseed oil is pressed from the seeds of rapeseed, and the higher erucic acid gives it a uniquely irritating odor. Some animal experiments show that erucic acid can cause myocardial fat deposition. Although there is some controversy at the moment, it is still not advisable to think about coronary heart disease, and people with hypertension eat rapeseed oil.

So, people in the world eat Canola oil, again what is it? In fact, Canola is not the name of the plant, but "Canadian oil, low acid" combination. The essence of Canola oil is actually a reduction of erucic acid rapeseed oil, except that the rapeseed variety used to make Canola oil is different from China - with no more than 2% erucic acid so it has almost no taste. In 1979, the Canadian oilseed rapeseed industry officially adopted the name Canola to distinguish it from normal rapeseed oil. (Canadians finally invented something they could not wait to write on their faces ...).

Canola oil to a certain extent, the proportion of fatty acids and olive oil closer. Canola oil contains up to 65% oleic acid (⍵-9) and up to 8% alpha-linolenic acid (⍵-3). At the same time, less saturated fat (palmitic acid) in rapeseed oil than olive oil and up to 99% absorptivity make Canola oil the healthiest of all edible oils in terms of composition!

However, like many other crops, Canola oil also faces the negative effects of GMOs. Ninety percent of Canada's Canola oil is now derived from herbicide-tolerant GMOs. Ask genetically modified foods in the end unsafe, a thousand people have a thousand answers. Smells that it is impossible to completely avoid GMO foods, and there is no evidence that GMO foods are unsafe. An important question is "who get benefits?"

Soybean oil

Soybean oil is the most common and widely used cooking oil.

Soybean oil α-linolenic acid (⍵-3) only 8%, while the proportion of linoleic acid (⍵-6) accounted for 50%. As mentioned earlier, this high ⍵ -6, low ⍵ -3 ratio may increase the risk of inflammation and some diseases. Moreover, a large number of polyunsaturated fatty acids in soybean oil, in the sunlight exposure is very easy to be oxidized. But no way Well, after all, the price of soya oil and olive oil to be close to many people.

Although there is no perfect ratio of fatty acids as olive oil, it is still relatively healthy edible oil. Nowadays, some agricultural companies in the United States have developed a new type of "high oleic acid soy bean oil" that has a very high percentage of oleic acid, less oleic acid and less linoleic acid, Therefore, the proportion of fatty acids closer to the olive oil, but also more stable.

Palm oil

Palm oil is a more widely used edible vegetable oil.

The main reason for its popularity is actually speaking only two points. First, because of its low cost price, its vegetation is widely grown in all continents in Asia, Africa and the United States, and is more suitable for the general public's consumption level.

The second is because it contains about 46% of the proportion of 16: 0 saturated fatty acid (commonly known as palmitic acid), so more stable and not easily oxidized, used in the need to high-temperature processing food industry is no longer appropriate. Therefore, it is precisely because of the high saturated fatty acid content of palm oil, it can not be considered a more healthy edible oil yet. Therefore, it is advisable to replace palm oil with other healthier vegetable oils as economic conditions permit.

Peanut oil

Peanut oil - Peanut oil Peanut oil is no stranger to everyone, but it is the classic oil of Asian cuisine it!

It comes with its own aroma of peanuts makes the dishes cooked with it all mouth-watering. However, the fatty acid composition of peanut oil itself is not outstanding. Although it has a high oleic content of 46%, it also contains up to 31% linoleic acid (⍵-6), while α-linolenic acid (⍵-3) is only 1.5%. So from the ⍵-6 / ⍵-3 ratio, peanut oil is not a good choice.

Blend oil

Blend oil is usually formulated by blending two or more oils together. Commonly used are soybean oil, peanut oil, rapeseed oil, sunflower oil and linseed oil and so on. In the United States, blending oil is rare, more pure oil.

Until now, the dietary guidelines still only suggest that you reduce your saturated fat intake by replacing the excess saturated fat with unsaturated fat. As for the golden ratio, the scientific community is arguing endlessly without an accurate answer. So those who claim to have the golden ratio of blending oil, more likely just to reduce costs.

Coconut oil

Coconut oil In recent years, coconut oil like the cult became popular in the United States. American aunt who a can of staff, from the kitchen to the dresser, where ultimately, coconut oil

There are many "health" magazine claims coconut oil to prevent heart disease, weight loss and other effects. These health effects coupled with the good taste of coconut oil itself, it really makes American aunt hard to resist too! In fact, as long as you do a little homework, you will find that coconut oil has a proportion of crisp fat, of which 92% are all saturated fatty acids!

Simply butter, pig oil, palm oil is higher! Such a high saturated fatty acids, with a little health is not detached it! What makes coconut oil advocates firmly believe in the health benefits of coconut oil? In fact, coconut oil is mainly lauric acid saturated fatty acids, lauric acid can increase HDL (good cholesterol), so many people think that coconut oil in the lauric acid can prevent cardiovascular disease.

However, lauric acid increases LDL (bad cholesterol) while increasing HDL. In 2013, a paper published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published in a study of 60 groups of clinical trials that the current lauric acid can prevent cardiovascular disease is not yet established. In addition, the US Food and Drug Administration forbids coconut oil products from promoting their health benefits because of the excessively high levels of saturated fatty acids in coconut oil.

However, as a solid fat, coconut oil is very convenient to store and not easily oxidized. It can be used as a good substitute for other solid fats such as butter and lard. Occasionally eating saturated fats does not have any negative effect on the body . However, we still do not blindly believe that the rumors of coconut oil health, after all, oil and oil, a lot of good health! Why take your own body as a trial field?

Grapeseed oil

Grapeseed Grapeseed was originally a waste of wine after the wine, but in recent years reeling attack, because of its health benefits have been put on the sky! Does grape seed oil have the same health benefits as grape seed?

The answer is: No ! Grape seed oil and grape seed are two completely different things, although the grape seed contains a lot of flavonoids antioxidant activity, but because flavonoids are water-soluble, most of them are pressed during the process of grape seed oil Retained in the filter cake, the active substance in the oil is minimal. In addition, grapeseed oil not only does not have the so-called health effects, its fatty acid composition is also stunned.

Grape seed oil contains 72% linoleic acid (⍵-6), which is very unfavorable for the ratio of ⍵-6 and ⍵-3 in our diet! In short, grape seed oil, though it is shrouded in the aura of grapefruit "godfather", is fundamentally an outstanding cooking oil in all aspects.

The final conclusion:

1. To ensure intake of ⍵-6 and ⍵-3 balance: lower ⍵-6, ⍵-3.
2. Canola oil has the highest proportion of all fatty acids in cooking oil, upto 90%.
3. In Olive oil fatty acid ratio is also very good, and there is no risk of genetic modification.
4. Coconut oil for the protection of the heart function has not been confirmed, and the high proportion of saturated fatty acids, it is not recommended for long-term consumption.
5. Grape seed oil is also deceptive (also selling spicy expensive)!
6. The overall performance of soybean oil and peanut oil in general, easy to be oxidized, and ⍵-6 / ⍵-3 ratio is not satisfactory.
7. Palm oil is a healthy killer, many convenience foods are added to reduce the cost of palm oil Oh!
8. Remember not to re-use the oil has been heated at high temperatures!

This is all is illustrations about cooking oil!. Repeatedly heated oils can over-oxidize and produce excessive free radicals, which are devastating to our body.

There are some other oils like rice bran oil, tea oil, sunflower oil, and corn oil, with their own peculiar properties, are used in some parts of the world.

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References for Text and Images:

• https://www.readyseteat.com/inspiration-and-tips/understanding-different-types-cooking-oils
• http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2010/nov/09/oil-alternatives-healthy-options-place-canola/
• https://www.curejoy.com/content/different-types-of-olive-oil-for-cooking/
• http://www.bluetreehealthtx.com/cooking-with-oil/
• http://wirally.com/different-types-of-oils-that-we-use-for-cooking/

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