Cooking oil questions

[vilasman]

What is the difference between using canola, peanut,corn and vegetable oils for everday garden variety make the pan slick so nothing sticks, type cooking?

Also, i got a gallon of vege oil, and I want to transfer some of it to one of those cute olive oil bottles with a spout. I figure that it will take a month to 1.5 months to use it all up. Would it be safe to leave this bottle with the spout, on the counter for easy access? It will not be in direct sunlight.

 

[Gretchen]

It is fine to use the bottle on the counter.
The major difference in the oils is their smoke point with peanut oil being the best for high heat. I use them pretty interchangeably.

 

[vilasman]

so there will only be a slight difference i taste?

 

[Gretchen]

I have never tasted them side by side. There is a particular peanut oil that is cold pressed and reputed to have a nice nutty flavor. I use vegetable oils because they are very neutral in taste. I use olive oils and nut oils for more distinctive flavor additions to dishes.

 

[Andy M.]

Asian peanut oils are really peanutty while American processed peanut oils are milder. Some olive oils have a pronounced olive oil flavor while others don't. Most of the other oils aer mild flaovred and won't have much of an impact on the final dish.

Peanut, canola and corn oils have pretty high smoke points. EV olive oil does not.

 

[karadekoolaid]

What is the difference between using canola, peanut,corn and vegetable oils for everday garden variety make the pan slick so nothing sticks, type cooking?

On a taste basis; Canola oil is almost tasteless, to me. I use it a lot for making Indian Pickles, because it imparts no flavour to the spices.
I can't find "American" peanut oil here, but I can get Chinese peanut oil. I've got one here called " Orchid - Grade One Pressed Peanut Oil" which is distinctly nutty. I sometimes use it as a finishing touch to a meal.
Corn oil or sunflower seed oil are my standard cooking oils, for frying, deep-frying, etc. Slight flavour, perhaps, but generally pretty safe and unassuming!
Mixed vegetable oil - I tend to avoid it. The few times I've used it, it's seemed a little harsh. Maybe they put a large amount of very cheap vegetable oil into the mix.

 

[Hades]

As far as taste is concerned, most of the general purpose vegetable oils (sunflower, corn, peanut,...) are pretty neutral tasting so they can in theory be used interchangably. Soke point determines the upper limit (in terms of heat) a certain type of oil can take. If you're using oil for high heat grilling or stir frying, then you're best off with peanut oil as it can take quite a lot of abuse. Corn oil is excellent for making mayo because it has a slightly sweet taste so you get the best of both worlds (sweetened mayo without having to add sugar --- my sincere appologies to those who are into sweet mayo with their fries). Specialty oils (like cold-pressed peanut oil, sesame oil, cold pressed sunflower oil,...) have a far more pronounced flavour and are better not used for cooking but rather used cold to add their flavour to your dish. Olive oils come in all kinds from almost neutral tasting (usually the lighter versions) to very flavourful (the (usually green) EVOO's, to even almost black oil from black olives). Keep this in mind when using those for cooking.
If you're concerned about storing oil in clear glass (or plastic) bottles, then you can always wrap the bottle in a sheet of tinfoil. You can simply unwrap it when you use it and re-wrap when you put it back. On larger plastic bottles (which come here in clear PVC bottles with a paper label), duct tape works pretty well. You can black-out the light and still leave the label visible.

 

[Michael in FtW]

I never buy more oil than I can use in 6 months. Nothing worse than grabbing some oil (or a can of Crisco) to make a batch of brownies that has gone rancid! Trust me ... or my sons ....

If you're just looking for oil to "lube" you pot/pan - for something like sauteeing onions, etc. - it really doesn't matter (corn oil, canola, veg oil ...). For something like greasing a bread pan - I just use Crisco.

To ME - peanut oils have a very distinct flavor - I use them for Asian "Stir Frys".

 

[marigeorge]

Grapeseed oil has a high smoking point, 420 degrees, so you can use it for frying. It can be used in place of other vegetable oils but I would not use it in place of olive oil in dressings or splashing over pasta, etc. where you want the flavor to shine.

Grapeseed oil has practically no flavor, and so when you fry with it, it will not add unwanted flavors. The only oil better is avocado oil, but that's quite a bit more expensive, and it also has very little flavor.

 

[Claire]

I, too, use peanut oil for high temp frying. If I'm cooking for people I don't know, though, I skip it ... a lot of folk are alergic to it. Of course, I hate deep frying (makes such a mess) so am unlikely to be frying for people I don't know!!!

 

[Mel!]

Oil

Hello

I think the difference, in the oils, is in taste, and health properties.
ie olive oil is healthy, while vegetable oil is toxic, to the body.

I think sun light wont harm the oil. But if u leave the oil with an open spout on the counter, u may risk insects going into the spout, especially in Summer.

Mel

 

[kitchenelf]

while vegetable oil is toxic

That's not quite true. A liquid vegetable oil is a "good" fat. If an ingredient in something says vegetable oil you don't know what kind of vegetable oil it is - then it may very well be hydrogenated, and a bad fat.

 

[Snoop Puss]

I buy olive oil in large quantities by most people's standards (enough to last a year from one harvest to the next) and store it in the dark. People here in Spain who know more than me about olive oil claim that it deteriorates if exposed to light.

 

[jennyema]

Hello

I think the difference, in the oils, is in taste, and health properties.
ie olive oil is healthy, while vegetable oil is toxic, to the body.


Mel

Olive oil is vegetable oil.

What evidence to you have of "toxicity?"

 

[DynArb]

I use sunflower unratified oil. It has the aroma which can't be compared with any other aromas. So natural and appetite! Yum!

 

[jennyema]

I use sunflower unratified oil. It has the aroma which can't be compared with any other aromas. So natural and appetite! Yum!

Do you mean "unrefined" sunflower oil, maybe?

 

[Gretchen]

I think Mel may be referring to the very unfounded stuff about canola oil. It is off the wall, in my opinion.
And I have heard about the unrefined oils--peanut, sunflower, etc. Surely wish I could find them. They sound very delicious.
And some vegetable oils apparently do have partially hydrogenated fats in them. KFC has done an extensive study on getting an oil with no trans fats to cook their chicken without compromising the taste and have finally accomplished it, apparently. In the news this week.

 

[college_cook]

I like to buy peanut oil b/c it can stand high heat, although the brand I purchase is essentially flavorless. If I want to impart flavor with my oil then I use some good extra virgin.

 

[thymeless]

And some vegetable oils apparently do have partially hydrogenated fats in them.

Trans fats occur naturally in milk and ruminiant animal fats (for food purposes, cows and sheep)

Hydrogenation is an artificial process, usually resulting in a or some trans fat. Don't confuse it with saturated and unsaturated oils even though they are a related topic. Hydrogenation is a way to artificially increase the saturation of oils.

Many vegetable oils contain some saturated fats among their plentiful unsaturated fats. Those saturated fats are not trans-fats (aka hydrogenated fats).

KFCs problem is that they pressure fry the chicken. That is it is deep fried in a pressure cooker. (every home pressure cooker I've seen explicitly says to not use them to deep fry.)This requires a high smoke point oil and a non foaming oil. That's a difficult combination to achieve without tampering with the oil chemically. Well, more accurately, it costs more to achieve naturally than to do so through hydrogenation.

thymeless

 

[miniman]

For those who are environmentally aware, try to avoid palm oil, a prime constituent of some vegetable oils as most is from plantations planted on areas cleared from tropical jungle in Borneo destroying the habitat of orangutangs.

miniman