Forget expensive coffee or wine snobbery — nowadays it’s your choice of cooking oil that announces your social status.
Last week it was reported that sales of rapeseed oil are soaring, with many consumers opting for this home-grown product as an alternative to olive oil. But others advocate coconut oil and then there’s sunflower, avocado and more.
Grape seed oil: This pale yellow oil has recently been touted a heart-healthy cooking oil. Taste: A relatively neutral flavour. Benefits: If you’re trying to lose weight, grapeseed oil might be useful. It creates a film more easily than other oils, so you can spread it thinly over a salad, meaning you use less oil. It’s less volatile than many others, with a moderately high smoke point of around 216c, so can also be used for frying. It’s also quite high in vitamin E. Best for: Try adding herbs — such as rosemary — to your bottle for flavour and using it as a drizzle on salad.
Pumpkin seed oil: A distinctive dark-green oil whose colour gives it its nickname, ‘green gold’. Taste: It has an intense nutty flavour. Benefits: High in omega-3 and 6, it also contains useful levels of zinc, essential for a healthy immune and reproductive system. Best for: Works well as a drizzle or dressing thanks to the strong colour and flavour.
Olive oil: You probably already have this on your kitchen shelf, but it wasn’t until writer Elizabeth David popularised the Mediterranean diet in the 1960s that it became a UK staple. Taste: Varies hugely, from strong grassy, green extra-virgin versions to yellower, more processed, less pungent ones. Benefits: Packed with monounsaturated fatty acids, it protects against heart disease, helping to keep ‘bad’ (LDL) cholesterol levels in check and raising good (HDL) ones. Also high in vitamin E, and extra-virgin oils contain lots of polyphenols — antioxidants that may help prevent cardiovascular disease. Best for: Salad dressings.
Coconut oil: It is enjoying its moment in the sun, with a legion of health food bloggers and chefs singing its praises. Taste: Coconutty! It’s delicious once you dispel all thoughts of Hawaiian Tropic suncream lotion. Benefits: Slow to oxidise, so keeps fresh for as long as two years without spoiling. Myriad health benefits include it being rich in lauric acid, a fatty acid that improves metabolism and is said to reduce cholesterol. It also has a high ‘smoke point’, making it good for frying. Best for: Alternative for frying, especially if re-using the oil. Or as a beauty product.
Rapeseed oil: Nigella’s a fan and increasing numbers of people are opting for this cheap, versatile oil — Waitrose and Tesco report a 30 per cent increase in sales in the past year. Taste: A delicate nutty flavour. Benefits: High in omega 3, 6 and 9, which are forms of fat that the body needs to maintain good skin and brain health. Lower in saturated fat than other edible oils at 6 per cent. More vitamin E than olive oil and a higher smoking point, so that goodness isn’t lost as easily during cooking. Best for: Baking and frying.
Sunflower oil: Cheap as chips, sunflower oil is what most of us used for frying before the market for cooking oils became so diverse. Taste: It is known for having a clean taste that allows the flavour of the food to shine through. Benefits: You can heat sunflower oil to 246c before it starts smoking, which makes it ideal for frying. It’s also a good source of vitamin E. Best for: Reserve sunflower oil for frying — but be aware that the higher the temperature the food is cooked at and the longer the food stays on the heat, the more nutrients you lose.
Flaxseed oil: The flax plant has two main uses. Its fibre can be turned into linen yarn and fabric, while its seed (linseed) can be turned into oil. Taste: Distinctive nutty taste considered a delicacy in parts of Europe. Benefits: Good source of the omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid, which can help prevent heart attacks and stroke. Also a very good source of omega-6 fatty acids. Best for: Keep in the fridge and use as salad dressing, not in cooking.
Avocado oil: This versatile oil is popular with dermatologists and nutritionists, and is used for everything from make-up removal to hair conditioner. Taste: Clean and mild with a hint of nuttiness. Benefits: Has a higher smoke point than olive oil, so in theory good for cooking. High in useful monounsaturated fats and vitamin E. It enhances the absorption of carotenoids and other nutrients. Best for: Originally extracted for cosmetic use because of its moisturising qualities. The oil for application in skin care products is usually refined, bleached and deodorised, resulting in an odourless yellow oil.
Peanut oil: Also called groundnut oil, it’s often used in Chinese cooking. Taste: Mild-tasting and neutral unless you go for the roasted variety with a strong peanut flavour. Benefits: Has a high smoke point so is commonly used for frying food. Also contains saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in healthy proportions. Best for: Frying food at higher temperatures. You wouldn’t want to drizzle this on anything.
