Cooking oil questions

[jennyema]

Don't most unrefined oils have a low smoke point? I know that some of them should not be used for cooking, as they burn at 225 or so. I have some unrefined oil at home that my sister gave me (forgot what kind, sorry, one of thsoe fancy bottles) and it says not to heat it.

Also, any partially hydrogenated oil would, by definition, be rather obvious wouldn't it? Since hydrogenation turns liquid oil into solid fat, partially hydrogenated oil would have to be thicker than "regular" vegetable oils, no?
I don't think I have seen these available for retail purchase, though I do know that they are used commercially because they don't break down as fast (that should probably scare us).

When I worked at KFC only their original recipe was pressure cooked. They had massive deep fryers like McDonalds that cooked the other types of chicken (and enabled the workers to bread their balled up fists and fry them -- no joke, unfortunately). Later I also worked at McD's. Both places then used large boxes of solid fat in the fryers. I beleive McD's was actually tallow back then.

 

[thymeless]

Also, any partially hydrogenated oil would, by definition, be rather obvious wouldn't it? Since hydrogenation turns liquid oil into solid fat, partially hydrogenated oil would have to be thicker than "regular" vegetable oils, no?

No, they wouldn't necessarily be obvious. It depends how many of hydrogentated there are compared to the rest of the oil. They could also be "homogenized". When milk is homogenized the fats are literally smashed apart to make them blend in better. The're still saturated fats, they just can't easily recombine and form the cream at the top of the milk.

thymeless

 

[jennyema]

No, they wouldn't necessarily be obvious. It depends how many of hydrogentated there are compared to the rest of the oil. They could also be "homogenized". When milk is homogenized the fats are literally smashed apart to make them blend in better. The're still saturated fats, they just can't easily recombine and form the cream at the top of the milk.

thymeless

I'm not confusing saturated with hydrogenated fats.

"How many" what?

How would one homogenize partially hydrogenated oil? What is to combine?

My point is that hydrogenation turns liquid into solid. A partially hydrogenated vegetable oil would have to be much thicker than regular vegetable oil.

I googled this and answered my own question -- yes. Duh -- margerine is an example.

 

[thymeless]

Many vegetable oils are mixed from various different oils. So you wouldn't have a wholly hydrogenated oil. Such an oil might be mixed specifically for purposes such as KFC in either a liquid or solid form.

Margarine can and is made without hydrogenation as well. Brands such as Smart Choice and I think "I Can't Believe it's Not Butter" is as well.

thymeless

 

[Snoop Puss]

I never have any idea what to do about solid fats. I've taken to using butter sparingly and trying not to use anything else. Crisco is another hydrogenated oil product. As I understand it, it contains palm oil.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisco

 

[jennyema]

But I think you are missing my original question -- now answered.

Hydrogenation physically changes the properties of an oil to change it from liquid to solid, thus changing its consistency. Partially hydrogenated oils are partially solid and thicker in consistency than nonhydrogented oils. Fully hydrogenated oils are solid.

 

[thymeless]

One job I had with a consulting firm was to interview prospective hires. The recruiters would get paid a commission for every recruit of theirs hired. There was this one recruiter, a good one, and very professional I just couldn't communicate with.

We would have a conversation and have to hash out every tiny thing because it was a constant misunderstanding of words between us. We got along just fine because we both knew this about our discussions.

I'm beginning to think a similar situation exists between jennyemma and me. That's fine. But everyone else will probably see some nitpicky exchanges between us as we try to figure out what the other is saying.

Forgive us in advance.

thymeless.

 

[jennyema]

Whatever ....

 

[DynArb]

Do you mean "unrefined" sunflower oil, maybe?

O yes, thanks. Unrefined. The spell-checking program has offered me this variant and I was too tired to understand that it was wrong.

 

[Barb L.]

What is yout favorite EVOO ?

I have tried a few differant evoo's, last one was "Lucini" which I like very much - bought a new one today I have never heard of --"Colavita" has anyone ever tried this one? Curious which ones all these awesome cooks (Chefs) use ! Thanks all !!

 

[haminiham]

Useful info about cooking oils.

 

[Nicholas Mosher]

In the northeast, I've found peanut oil to cost a lot more than canola oil. Canola oil also seems to have a little higher viscosity to me, as it seems to pour thicker, and make a better dressing that clings to ingredients. I've also found peanut oil to have trace flavors that become apparent when it's heated and used to cook dishes that have higher salt contents.

So I usually buy a big jug of Canola to use as my "Workhorse" oil.