You're spending too much on cooking oil.
Most oils are too expensive and some are bad for you. Which ones should you buy?
When you’ve got a recipe that asks you to toss your veggies in “2 tablespoons of oil”, choosing the right oil can be tedious, expensive, and potentially dangerous. This week’s newsletter is about which oils you should use and why.
It is theoretically possible that the perfect diet exists.
We could imagine a diet that is low in fat, organic, GMO-free, unprocessed, and featuring precisely the right amounts of food to fill in the pyramid. But you can’t afford that diet because you aren’t Jeff Bezos. And Jeff Bezos doesn’t need that diet because he is fed through osmosis in a tank of nutrient-rich fluid.
Instead, let’s talk about harm reduction.
We would all live longer and be healthier if we never ate cake again. And there is at least one gormless maniac that eats cake every day. But the true 500 IQ perspective is that it’s okay to have a little cake, every once in a while, as a treat.
See? Harm reduction.
So, when I mention the health benefits of a particular oil, included in that statement is the understanding that it would probably be healthier to not consume any oil at all. But I don’t care because crispy sweet potato fries are delicious.
You want to experience the rich tapestry of delight that food can offer, but not at the expense of your health or your wallet (which is the whole point of this newsletter). So, after three rewrites, I’m going to organize this newsletter by talking about some of the most common oils. You’ll learn which oils are the least bad for your health, which oils are most affordable, and how to use them effectively.
Olive oil is like TikTok
It’s steadily gaining popularity in the west, cops love it, and its spying on your kids. Also, like TikTok, it offers a great deal of variety. Take a look at the cooking oil section of your grocery store. You’re likely to see one or two brands of vegetable oil, a very expensive mason jar of coconut oil, and roughly six hundred bottles of olive oil, each one a different shape and color. Considering the Covid-19 induced run on groceries right now, it might be the only aisle that’s still full of anything.
Olive oil is a product that can range anywhere from a $6 bottle of Bertolli to the boutique, cold-pressed, straight from Italy stuff that can double or triple the price tag.
Olive oil is also considered to be relatively healthy. It has moderate amounts of monounsaturated fats (those are one of the good fats), antioxidants, and some studies that suggest olive oil has anti-inflammatory properties. However, these studies examine the nutrient value of extra virgin olive oil, not light or extra light olive oil.
Extra virgin vs. extra light
Shopping for olive oil can be a bit like shopping for whiskey. There’s virgin, extra virgin, light, cold-pressed, blended, unfiltered, single malt, and cinnamon-flavored among others. But the two most common are extra virgin and light. Let’s break these down.
Extra virgin olive oil (or EVOO) is the least processed version. It confers the most health benefits, it will be darker in color and feature a fruity, bitter taste and smell. EVOO has a smoke point between 350 and 410 degrees Fahrenheit. The reason that such a temperature range exists is that the smoke point of EVOO changes with its quality.
The smoke point of the expensive, stone-pressed oil is going to be higher than the stuff that comes in a plastic bottle. So, unless you’re buying top-quality olive oil, avoid using it for stir-frying or deep frying and unless you have a perfectly calibrated oven, I would avoid baking with it too. There is some disagreement among researchers about the dangers of exceeding the smoke point of a particular oil. But whether or not an oil that has exceeded its smoke point produces cancer-causing free radicals, you still don’t want burnt food or a smoke-filled kitchen.
Extra light olive oil (or light tasting olive oil) gets its name from the significant degree of processing it undergoes, which gives it a lighter hue and milder aroma. It lacks the nutrient value of its extra virgin counterpart but generally has a much higher smoke point and a less pronounced flavor.
Final verdict: Despite its ubiquity, olive oil is an expensive product that gets utilized far too often. Extra light olive oil is nearly three times the price of other cooking oils with similar nutrient profiles. Nonetheless, you should keep a bottle of extra virgin olive oil on hand. While I don’t recommend EVOO for sauteing or baking, it’s an excellent choice for pasta salad, sauces, and dressings. When used in these limited applications, that expensive bottle will last you a good long while.
Coconut oil is mostly a scam
The coconut oil lobby has been in fine form for the last few years. You can’t swing a palm frond without hitting a wild, unsubstantiated claim about the life-extending properties of coconut oil.
Does it prevent Alzheimer’s disease? Can it cure acne? Youtube health vloggers certainly seem to think so. But the actual peer-reviewed research for these claims is virtually nonexistent.
Coconut oil also happens to be mostly saturated fat which is terrible for your body, specifically your previously unclogged arteries. To be clear, coconut oil has more saturated fat than lard. Also, it’s really expensive.
Like every other expensive superfood craze before, scientists disagree with the lobbyists and promoters. Coconut oil probably isn’t dangerous in small amounts but the lack of research on its benefits and absurd price tag makes it a poor choice for the budget-conscious cook.
Final verdict: If you’re making curry, don’t fret about the fat in a can of coconut milk. But you can safely pass on the overpriced jugs of coconut oil.
If you don’t believe me, here’s a more detailed resource from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Canola oil, the king in the north
When I started doing all this research a few years ago, I was looking for an inexpensive oil with a neutral flavor that wouldn’t kill me. Reader, meet canola oil. It has half the saturated fat of olive oil, its got good fats like monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, it has a neutral flavor, and you can buy a gallon of it for less than the price of a 16oz bottle of olive oil.
Canola oil has a high smoke point of 400 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s a terrific choice for deep frying, stir-frying, sauteing, and baking. It’s a solid source of polyunsaturated omega-3 fat. Canola oil even beats out the closest competitor, vegetable oil, by containing less saturated fat! However, like many foods, it is highly processed and there are drawbacks associated with any processed food.
There are plenty of other expensive or niche cooking oils (avocado, safflower, etc…) that I’m not going into detail about, largely because of their cost. If you’re concerned about your budget (like I am) then you shouldn’t be regularly cooking with them.
There are exceptions, of course. I like to keep sesame oil on hand because a small amount of it adds amazing flavor to a dish. Similar to extra virgin olive oil, you can get your money’s worth from a small bottle of sesame oil when used sparingly.
Final verdict: look for an oil that meets your budget, reasonably minimizes risk, and will be useful in the majority of dishes you cook. For me, that’s canola.
Thanks, Canada.
Next week is the first subscriber-only issue of Food Bank!
That means you’ll only have access to it if you’re one of the kind readers who send me $5 a month (or $30 a year).
Next week will be the first newsletter to include an actual recipe! Despite what I’ve said about recipes in the past, this is one of the good ones. I’m gonna show you my favorite way to prepare green veggies (even frozen ones) that the pickiest eater won’t be able to resist.
Currently, I offer 3 free newsletters each month and 1 subscriber-only issue. I will continue to expand both the free offerings and subscriber benefits as my audience grows.
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First time, long time
What are you spending the most on at the grocery store? Do you have a favorite dish that you can’t afford to make? Leave a comment below or send me an email at foodbankmailbag@gmail.com and I’ll use your responses for an upcoming newsletter!
Wow this was very informative, I am one of the people who use olive oil for everything, I will be changing my ways.