Have you ever gone to the grocery store and been in the aisle with all the cooking and baking oils, not sure what the differences are and how to pick? Selecting the right type of oil for cooking and baking is extremely important as it will affect the end result of your recipe. With a variety of smoke points and flavor profiles, not all oils are multipurpose. Essentially, oils are fats that are liquid at room temperature. These fats are key ingredients in a variety of cooking methods and recipes, helping distribute heat evenly while cooking, browning meats and vegetables, and also providing flavor.
Avocado Oil
Starting our list out strong with the newly popularized avocado oil. This oil has a high smoke point like canola and vegetable oils which makes it your best substitute for deep frying, searing, or recipes that require high-heat cooking. Refined avocado oil has a neutral flavor and smoke point of between 500-520 degrees Fahrenheit, so use it to sauté, grill, and roast! It's great to use as a base for a vinaigrette for salads or even as a substitute for canola oil or vegetable oil when making homemade mayonnaise. If you're stumped on a replacement for vegetable oil in your boxed brownies, cakes, or other baking recipes, this is a great substitute.
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is one of the most versatile fruits. Coconut milk, flour, manna, water, and oil are just a few forms you may have heard of. You'll find two different kinds of coconut oil in the grocery store; refined and unrefined (virgin). Virgin coconut oil has only been pressed from coconut meat without any further processing and tends to have a stronger coconut flavor. This oil is a healthy saturated fat and is delicious when used in baking. Unrefined coconut oil has a smoke point of about 350 degrees Fahrenheit, while refined coconut oil has a more natural flavor with a smoke point of 400 degrees. Coconut oil is fantastic when used to make fudge, as it has a low melting point and solidifies when at room temperature or refrigerated, or try using it in cookies in the place of butter. *
*Pro Tip: When swapping ingredients like oil in a baking recipe, be sure to keep in mind the flavor profile of the oil and how it will affect the overall recipe. When using coconut oil, you can replace the amount of fat for your recipe with a 1:1 ratio.
Olive Oil
Popularized by the Mediterranean Diet, olive oil has been used for thousands of years and has become a pantry staple in many kitchens. The highest quality olive oil you can buy is extra virgin olive oil, olive oil that has been cold pressed without any heat in the production process. Its lower smoke point makes it suitable for cooking at lower or medium heat. Olive oil is a delicious healthy fat and is high in omega-3 fatty acids, which have been attributed to help protect and support the brain and nervous system. It's one of the more versatile oils and can be used for salad dressings, desserts, dipping bread, and as a drizzle finishing oil.
Pro Tip: Use finishing oils to add depth to your dishes. Finishing oils are oils that are used to flavor your dish at the end, not for cooking. However, not all oils are made to be finishing oils. These oils are usually made of the highest quality and a little bit goes a long way. Common types of finishing oils include extra virgin olive oil, toasted sesame oil, and walnut oil.
Ghee
You may not have heard of ghee, but maybe you have heard of clarified butter! Ghee is a fantastic naturally lactose-free swap for butter. It's slightly different than just using melted butter, as it is made by boiling butter to where the milk solids (and therefore lactose) float to the top of the pot and are then removed, leaving a clear, liquidy butter that solidifies at room temperature. Ghee-clarified butter can almost be described in flavor as a more buttery butter, with a slightly nutty aroma and flavor, and an extremely smooth and creamy texture. Ghee is a great alternative to use in cooking in place of butter as it has a higher smoke point than butter and has all of the flavor. You can use plain ghee in your cooking of sweet or savory dishes or baked goods, or even opt for vanilla bean ghee (try blending a spoonful into your coffee to add a creaminess and boost of healthy fats).
*Pro Tip: While it might be considered a tedious task, making ghee at home is a straightforward process. If you are an ambitious cook, or even just love an adventure in the kitchen, try making your ghee at home! You can even customize it with ingredients like vanilla or garlic for a more robust flavor.
Tallow
Beef tallow is the new (old) coconut oil when it comes to versatility. It's a rendered fat (non-dairy) that is just slightly more solid than butter at room temperature and tastes savory and rich in flavor. Beef tallow has been used since the beginning of time, but is only more recently becoming more mainstream in the world of cooking, health, and wellness. Turns out, beef tallow is one of the healthiest fats that you can cook with and one of the least processed. Its numerous health benefits include being high in vitamins as well as having an anti-inflammatory effect. It has a high smoke point of 420 degrees, making it fantastic for frying or using high heat. Due to the previously stated anti-inflammatory effect, you can also use it as a moisturizer on your skin!
Other forms of animal fat you may have heard of are lard (rendered pork fat), duck fat, and schmaltz (chicken fat commonly used in Jewish cooking). All of these add a spectacular depth of flavor and certain richness when cooking, and duck fat in its liquid state can even be used as a 1:1 ratio as a vegetable oil substitute.
There are many oils that are available on the market! We recommend trying them out, testing different types, and seeing which flavors you like!
