2023-05-27 06:47:10
Posted
Edible oilsCooking with olive oil: good or bad idea?
All oils are not equal: there are those used for cold dishes and others for frying. Find out here what makes them different and what their health benefits are.
- par
- Luise Faupel
Can food be browned in olive oil? We have the answer.
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Some recipes specifically mention the type of oil to use, others do not. Yet it can make a huge difference. Despite the wide variety of oils available on the market, it’s a safe bet that you only use three at most, without even knowing if you are using them correctly. We’ll walk you through how to get the most out of your oil both in terms of taste and health benefits.
Raw or cooked dishes – which oil to choose?
From frying to salad dressing, edible oil is used in a variety of culinary preparations. A little mnemonic to know when to use this or that oil: in general, cold-pressed oils are used for cold dishes, while refined oils are used for hot preparations. However, some cold-pressed oils can also be used for cooking and frying.
Refined, cold pressed and extra virgin oil
Refined oils are ideal for the preparation of dishes that require a neutral oil in taste so as not to alter that of the foods that compose them. They are often translucent, even slightly yellow.
cold pressed oils bring that little extra thanks to their intense aromas. Their color ranges from bright yellow to deep green. Believing that cold-pressed oils are healthier than refined oils, however, is a misconception.
Extra virgin oils are natural oils, cold pressed. They have not undergone any distillation or roasting treatment.
Cooked, pan-fried or baked
For high temperature cooking, frying and frying, it is best to opt for refined oils and special cooking oils. Indeed, these can be heated to temperatures above 200 degrees, which is generally indicated on the bottle. If a (vegetable) oil has a high linoleic acid content, its cold-pressed version can also be heated, which is particularly the case with olive oil.
Please note: above 170 degrees, your food does not cook faster, but the oil breaks down more quickly and in foods rich in starch, such as rösti or fries for example, acrylamide may form , a substance hazardous to health.
For boiling, steaming and stewing, the type of oil used is not very important, since the maximum temperatures reached are around 100 degrees. For baking or baking, you can opt for a tasteless refined oil, such as rapeseed oil, which is resistant to high oven temperatures.
Which oil to use for which dishes? We take stock.
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For salads and raw dishes
The higher the content of unsaturated fatty acids, the less the oil withstands high temperatures. Flaxseed oil is a good example: this vegetable oil usually cold pressed from flax seeds contains a large amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids that are not resistant to high temperatures. Which is a shame, because omega-3 fatty acids are extremely important for the body, which is not able to produce them on its own and depends on them for its metabolism.
The lower an oil’s smoke point, the more it smokes when heated, which is the case with cold-pressed oils. All the more reason to use them in salad dressings rather than for the preparation of hot dishes.
How to store oil
Now that you know how to recognize and buy a quality oil in a delicatessen or in the supermarket, it is now a question of knowing what is the right method of preservation. Because heat, light and oxygen can prematurely alter edible oil.
The oil should be stored in a cool place, away from light and care should be taken to ensure that the bottle is tightly closed. If your apartment is very hot and bathed in light in the summer, you can also place the oil in the refrigerator, but this is not essential.
Many kitchens have special compartments for storing bottles of oil and sauces.
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Cold-pressed oils have a shelf life of regarding one year and two to three months following opening. Refined oils such as sunflower or rapeseed oil keep longer: their shelf life is two years and six months following opening. But even for oils, you have some leeway following the expiration date. Before throwing away an oil that has passed its date, just taste it.
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