We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about why extra-virgin oil (especially the fancier, fresher kind) isn’t the best choice for roasting your spuds.
We’ve even covered the worst place to store your olive oil, and yes, unfortunately it is also the most common.
But those of us who worry about getting the most nutritional bang for our buck might be glad to hear the news nutrition and cardiovascular-focused Dr. Sarah Berry had for gut health company ZOE’s co-founder Jonathan Wolf.
Speaking on ZOE’s podcast, the doctor said what those of us who grew up with those massive, crinkle-thin plastic bottles of sunflower oil knew already; fancier is not, in fact, always necessarily better.
What’s the best oil to cook with?
In the UK, the most commonly used oil is vegetable oil, Dr. Berry said.
This may be rapeseed oil or “a blend of vegetable oil such as sunflowers, soybeans, and other oils.”
Canola oil and sunflower oil (usually cheaper options) have a lot of “healthy unsaturated fats,” she says; while coconut and palm oil have a more or less one-on-one balance between unsaturated and saturated fats which, depending on their type, “tend to be less healthy.”
Vegetable oils tend to have a high smoke point, meaning their taste and nutrient profile are altered at a higher temperature to oils like extra-virgin olive oil.
However, Dr. Berry says you’re probably fine to cook with low smoke point fats (like butter and olive oil) at home so long as you don’t reuse the oil in something like a deep-fat fryer.
Ideally, you shouldn’t heat these above 170 degrees centigrade either.
Basically, a “good” cooking oil is dependent on your needs; vegetable oils can have a higher smoke point but might not have the nutritional profile of oils like polyphenol-rich extra-virgin olive oil.
“It’s a real balancing act,” she says.
The doctor only called one oil “a ripoff”
Though Dr. Berry saw most oil use as a “balance” between different needs, she thinks avocado oil is “a ripoff” and “a load of nonsense.”
“It came, only about a couple of years ago to be, sold commercially,” she said, adding, “It’s sold as having, these wonderful properties ’cause it’s high in unsaturated fats.”
But, “Actually, in my opinion, it’s almost no different to rapeseed oil. The only difference is you’ll pay about 50 times more per litre for it.”
Preaching to the converted (or perhaps the financially unqualified) here, Dr. Berry...