Ten Oils and How To Use Them

[Tom Kazanski]

What a great thread, thanks MM!

 

[Renaissance]

just wanted to thank you and mike for the links to these two blogs, will be checking them daily. :icon_chee

Hey,

I'm wondering what the recommended oil would be for cooking something like tempura chicken?

On a cost and high temperature basis, it's probably not feasible to use something like extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil.

I want to avoid vegetable oil (soybean) and canola oil for obvious reasons.

Maybe it's a choice between palm oil, sesame oil, or refined high-oleic sunflower oil?

Thank you in advance,

 

[MikeMartial]

Hey,

I'm wondering what the recommended oil would be for cooking something like tempura chicken?

On a cost and high temperature basis, it's probably not feasible to use something like extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil.

I want to avoid vegetable oil (soybean) and canola oil for obvious reasons.

Maybe it's a choice between palm oil, sesame oil, or refined high-oleic sunflower oil?

Thank you in advance,

I'd personally try unrefined palm oil, if you can find it. I've never come across it myself. Coconut oil would be a good bet; I've used it quite a bit with chicken, and the flavor goes well, IMO, and it's not as expensive as people think. Keep the EVOO for adding after-the-fact, not for actual cooking.

 

[Renaissance]

I'd personally try unrefined palm oil, if you can find it. I've never come across it myself. Coconut oil would be a good bet; I've used it quite a bit with chicken, and the flavor goes well, IMO, and it's not as expensive as people think. Keep the EVOO for adding after-the-fact, not for actual cooking.

Just the man I wanted to hear from, I appreciate it.

I am indebted to you for all of the advice/info.

 

[ChrisE.]

Thanks alot guy

 

[turbozed]

Exactly how bad is the lard that you buy from the grocery stores?

The package says it's comprised of lard and hydrogenated lard (obviously the bad part). There are no trans-fats listed in the nutrition data, however.

Is this going to be really bad for me to cook with? Or is it just not going to be as good as leaf lard? Basically, would it be considered a 'good' fat or 'bad' fat?

 

[turbozed]

bump for question above ^

 

[juirtle]

I don't really like the article in some ways. The explanations of why it's good or bad i miss sometimes. I can't find sources in the original article.
Although he discusses a few things that i like, i would have liked an explanation.

 

[juirtle]

I'd personally try unrefined palm oil, if you can find it. I've never come across it myself. Coconut oil would be a good bet; I've used it quite a bit with chicken, and the flavor goes well, IMO, and it's not as expensive as people think. Keep the EVOO for adding after-the-fact, not for actual cooking.

I can imagine.... i came across it, after i worked as an intern for nature dieticans (uhm dunno the english term) in biological stores. dam that stuff is expensive :S

 

[canadapride**]

Where can you buy palm oil?

 

[Mablung]

Where can you buy palm oil?

My local heath food store carried it, but was incredibly expensive. I picked up some for about 1/4 the price on Amazon.

 

[MikeMartial]

Exactly how bad is the lard that you buy from the grocery stores?

The package says it's comprised of lard and hydrogenated lard (obviously the bad part). There are no trans-fats listed in the nutrition data, however.

Is this going to be really bad for me to cook with? Or is it just not going to be as good as leaf lard? Basically, would it be considered a 'good' fat or 'bad' fat?

Obviously, you'd want the purest form possible; if it's hydrogenated, then, IMO, it's garbage, listed trans fats or not.

I've always subscribed to the idea of paying more out-of-pocket for high-quality fats, and if I can't find what I'm after, I don't settle on lower end stuff. Seek out the purest source possible: free range, organically raised pigs. Chances are, that kind of lard wouldn't be in the local Safeway. Check your local health food store or farmer's market. As far as leaf lard vs other kinds, that's just a reference to where the fat on the pig was obtained---you could pay top dollar for leaf lard from pigs that were raised on garbage and injected with hormones and antibiotics, for all you know. In that case, that would be expensive bad fat.

 

[Renaissance]

Where can you buy palm oil?

Sorry to bump the same thread twice,

I just got back from Whole Foods. I bought 17.2 FL OZ (487 G) of All-Natural Red Palm Oil for $8.99. The Organic Coconut oil I buy is $6.99 for price comparison.

Nutrition Facts:
Serving size 1 Tbsp (14g)
servings per Container 34

Amount Per Serving
Calories 130 Calories from fat 130
%Daily Value
Total Fat 14g 22%
Saturated Fat 6g 28%
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g
Monounsaturated Fat 7g
Sodium 0mg
Total Carbohydrate 0g
Protein 0g
Vitamin A 600%
Vitamin E* 15%

Not a significant source of trans fat, cholesterol, dietary fiber, sugars, Vitamin C, calcium or iron.

Ingredients: Red palm oil

*Natural Tocopherol value only. Does not include tocotrienols.

 

[MikeMartial]

Sorry to bump the same thread twice,

I just got back from Whole Foods. I bought 17.2 FL OZ (487 G) of All-Natural Red Palm Oil for $8.99. The Organic Coconut oil I buy is $6.99 for price comparison.

Nutrition Facts:
Serving size 1 Tbsp (14g)
servings per Container 34

Amount Per Serving
Calories 130 Calories from fat 130
%Daily Value
Total Fat 14g 22%
Saturated Fat 6g 28%
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g
Monounsaturated Fat 7g
Sodium 0mg
Total Carbohydrate 0g
Protein 0g
Vitamin A 600%
Vitamin E* 15%

Not a significant source of trans fat, cholesterol, dietary fiber, sugars, Vitamin C, calcium or iron.

Ingredients: Red palm oil

*Natural Tocopherol value only. Does not include tocotrienols.

Looks pretty freakin' good, Ren! Nice find!

 

[Mablung]

I would kill for a Whole Foods.

 

[Urban]

I don't like red palm oil, something about the taste throws me off, maybe I'm just not cooking with it correctly. For my money, ghee is THE cooking fat of choice, unless you have bacon fat on hand.

 

[Renaissance]

I don't like red palm oil, something about the taste throws me off, maybe I'm just not cooking with it correctly. For my money, ghee is THE cooking fat of choice, unless you have bacon fat on hand.

Hi Urban,

Taste is subjective I suppose. I sauted some chicken tempura last night in it using the oil very sparingly (~1 1/2 teaspoons). I used much less oil than my folks do when they fry chicken tempura in vegetable oil and mine was much tastier. I'm very glad Mike told me about it.

I haven't tried ghee, but it sounds like a good suggestion and I'm glad you brought it up as I'll give it a try sometime. I agree about good bacon fat, for sure.

PS: Mablung, Whole Foods headquaters is very close to my apartment (Austin, TX). The store is probably 3x bigger than the one in my hometown and the selection is much wider as well.

 

[shera]

Would like to hear OP's opinion on ghee, which is used by most households in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh to nama a few.

 

[shera]

The fact that they have a higher spoke point, and are resistant to oxidation, and make them great for cooking doesn't counter the fact that these saturated fats will clog the shit out of your arteries and force the lard sandwich eaters to rush to the ER for a coronary bypass, right?

 

[romistrub]

The fact that they have a higher spoke point, and are resistant to oxidation, and make them great for cooking doesn't counter the fact that these saturated fats will clog the shit out of your arteries and force the lard sandwich eaters to rush to the ER for a coronary bypass, right?

Ghee is clarified butter (unless it's vegetable oil ghee, which exists), and consists of almost entirely of saturated fat. It has a very high smoke point and, as such, is an excellent fat for high-temp cooking.

Source: 15 seconds on wikipedia :icon_chee