Earlier edible oil was nothing but an ingredient to cook food and add taste to the meal it was cooked with. Generally, people around the globe used different types of cooking oil in their meal according to their culture and availability. Did you ever hear of blended oils? Now, we can find various types of cooking oil in the racks of malls and supermarkets that claim them to be the best oil for cooking.
It was super amazing to me when I found packets of blended oil at Basketor, the online grocery store, some photos on the oil bottles show peanuts and sunflower oil too. It’s all utterly confusing and with newer oil packets slipping onto grocery shops, how can we decide what to pick up? Even in different parts of India, since time immemorial, the types of cooking oil people would use in their kitchen were largely dependent on their region and culture.
It was coconut oil in Kerala, it was sesame oil in Andhra and Rajasthan, in the east and north people used mustard oil and in central part of India and Gujarat, they used groundnut oil. Different types of cooking oil suits different cultures beautifully into the food landscape of that region.
But the changes that took place, at the global level in the 80’s, were with the scare of cholesterol and heart ailments.
In olden days athletes and strenuous labouring people chose ghee as the best source of energy, but ghee got defamation overnight and we were suggested to avoid trans-fats just then and there sunflower oil became popular and omnipresent here on earth. That was in the 90’s. But presently, we have different types of cooking oil spilling across the grocery shelves all over the world and each new packet label claims it the best oil for cooking and a new health hope.
How can you shop for healthy and best oil for cooking?
It is mandatory to keep in mind that when heated, cooking oil changes its texture, colour, and taste together with its nutritional properties. At reaching to its smoking point, the cooking oil loses a lot of the nutrients and it can sometimes potentially form some harmful compounds. Different kinds of edible oil have varying amounts of fats as we call – Polyunsaturated, Monounsaturated and Saturated fats.
On being asked by NDTV India as how much oil should we consume, Dr. Shikha Sharma, a leading nutritionist responded that the total quantity of oil consumption should not cross 2 teaspoons per person per day. She told only the quantity of edible oil, but the qualities of different types of cooking oil is a matter of curiosity since vegetable oil is not equal to olive oil.
Mustard Oil
Mustard oil is staple vegetable oil to northern regions of India. Here, it is popular as the best oil for cooking. It has a near ideal fat composition but not so well owing to its high amounts of erucic acid or glycerides ranging from 35% to 48%. It is frequently recommended not to use mustard oil as the sole cooking medium of food. Due to its high smoking point, it’s very good for deep frying edibles.
Sunflower Oil
The sunflower seeds are impelled to extract sunflower oil. It is rich in vitamin E, a necessary supplement for skin that’s why it excellent for being used in cosmetic products too. Sunflower oil is a blend of monounsaturated (MUFA) and polyunsaturated (PUFA) fatty acids. This vegetable oil has high smoking point that makes sunflower oil hold onto its nutritional contents at higher temperatures; therefore it is widely used in deep frying items as chips, vegetables and samosas.
Sunflower oil is harmful to the people with diabetes as it may lead to the possibility of increasing blood sugar levels.
Groundnut Oil
Groundnut or peanut oil has a well balanced combination of fats, and has the good monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats as well as is low in bad saturated fats. It’s counted as all-purpose oil for cooking and I think it works particularly well for Asian foods that are prepared in stir-frying utensil. This is the edible oil very common in south India.
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil has abundance of saturated fat. So many studies and reports of nutritionists suggest that diets high in coconut oil do raise total blood cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. This edible oil also seems to raise HDL (good) cholesterol and it has the advantage that it behaves very well at high temperatures. This oil is not used frequently in the deep frying edible items.
Canola Oil
You might have heard it earlier but it is newly launched cooking oil into the Indian grocery market. Canola is flying off the shelves for the people are aware of its health benefits. Canola oil is extracted from the crushed seeds of the canola plant. This has become popular for the healthiest cooking oil amongst the edible oils. It has the lowest saturated fat content of any edible oil. It’s recommended as a healthy alternative as it has rich monounsaturated fats and has good amount of Omega 3. This vegetable oil has a medium smoking point and is the oil that works well for fries, baking, sautéing etc. People in India use it liberally in their food, which it getting very demanded day by day.
Olive Oil
This is the best oil for cooking if you want to lower the risk of heart disease and breast cancer. When one consumes monounsaturated fats that it helps one lower the risk of, and it is possibly because of its high monounsaturated fat content which lowers cholesterol. You may find olive oil most suitable for any Mediterranean dish, pastas and risottos, as well as it’s the top pick for breakfasts to those who like eggs, pancakes made of it.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Extra virgin olive oil is a hot favorite and extracted from the first impelling of olives and is full of antioxidants as well as polyphenyls; both of these are considered good for heart health. It is darker in color and has less acidity than common olive oil. People largely use this oil in salads, cold dishes and pasta.
Rice Bran Oil
Dieticians and health experts claim that it’s the healthiest oil on the planet and recommend it as the best oil for cooking your food. Rice bran oil is fairly a new among the types of cooking oil and a fast rising favourite as the best oil for cooking. This oil is extracted from the bran of the grain of rice. It suits well with cookies and cakes.
It has a reasonable amount of a chemical called oryzanol which is good for cholesterol. It is rich in monounsaturated fats and has a fairly good amount of polyunsaturated fats, both are known as the good type of fats. It is good for deep frying food for its high smoking point.
Grapeseed Oil
Grapeseed oil is extracted from grape seeds left over from wine making process. The vegetable oil is said to have very little amount saturated fat, is full of good fat and has a very mild taste. It is considered good for cooking and frying. Grapeseed oil is not popular in Indian kitchens.
Avocado Oil
Avocado oil has a mildly nutty, is very rich in monounsaturated fats and is a good source to get Vitamin E in our diets. It glides on well in a dressing like in mayonnaise, vinaigrette and I find it adds tremendous ornamental tuft to a simple grilled fish. The dark side of this oil is its high price as well as availability in India. We need to store it carefully, as it spoils easily.
Sesame Oil
This vegetable oil contains magnesium, copper, calcium, iron and vitamin B6. Sesame oil comes in two different colors and variety. One is lighter that is used in India and the Middle East. The lighter one is pressed from untoasted seeds. It has a mild flavour and a high smoking point. The darker one has an apparent nutty aroma and taste and suits well in Asian food as a marinade or in wok. Both the varieties of sesame oils are high in polyunsaturated fat but they should never be heated for too long to lose its nutritional content.
To stay fit and healthy, human body needs a just combination of mono-unsaturates, poly unsaturates and saturated fatty acids that cannot gained from any one of the best oil for cooking. When we are strict to any only kind of oil, we cannot get all the fatty acids required in our body to maintain health. As experts suggest, a human body need 20% saturated 30% poly unsaturated and 50% mono unsaturated fatty acids from nuts and oil as the sources of natural oils.
If you are curious to know the optimal consumption of oils, you must follow the suggestions of experts who emphasize olive oil for breakfast, pastas and salads, sunflower oil for deep frying, sesame oil for Asian.
Find the best cooking oils your food, after you understand the nutrition value and your need as per your health condition and favourite food you want to cook.
