How to choose right cooking oil?

Its difficult for shopper to choose cooking oil because  they come in  long range of prices & variety (like extra virgin oil ,vitamins enriched oil, low smoke oil, rice bran oil  etc.),  confusion becomes more because of  their attractive packaging, price and advertisements.


But we should actually know, which oil is best for baking, frying and sautéing vegetables, and of course for health.

To get started on the selection process, the first thing you should know is the cooking oils smoke point, which is the temperature at which the oil starts to break down and smoke, which ultimately leads to terribly taste of food.

Oils with low temperature smoke points are best for low-temperature food preparation, such as  salad dressing base, and simmering. And oils with high temperature smoke points are best for high-temperature cooking such as deep-frying and grilling.

Of course variety of cooking oils exist in the market, does not mean that you have to carry a large number of different cooking oils in your kitchen. Pick a few that you really enjoy using, both for flavor and for temperature. You can keep soy bean oil, extra virgin olive oil, and sesame oil in your kitchen. The soy oil has the highest smoke point, so it's great for grilling or high-heat frying. The olive oil is tasty, and best for baking and low-and-slow sautéing and also good for your health.

Finally keep your budget in mind. Some are highly refined oils and others that are more natural (have health benefits) are pretty expensive, so do your calculation before buying. There is nothing worse than buying an oil just because it has a high smoke point or someone write in their article that this particular oil good for your health.

Vegetable oils are most commonly used in kitchen. Made from a blend of oils refined from vegetables, seeds, and nuts, vegetable oil is inexpensive and useful for many different types of cooking. This oil has a mild flavor which is ideal for baking and pan-frying. The high smoke point of this oil is also good for deep frying.

Olive oil is less multi-purpose than vegetable oil. This oil can have a different range of flavors and contain varying levels of acidity. Olive oil has a low smoke point and is not recommended for stir-frying. Olive oil is best used for baking sautéing and in salad dressing.

cooking oil with low smoke point: Flaxseed oil, unrefined olive oil.

cooking oil with medium smoke point: coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, corn oil, canola oil.

cooking oil with high smoke point: palm oil, sesame oil, ghee,peanut oil,soy bean oil.