Cooking oil for medium heat and occasional frying

January 25, 2018 3:20 PM

What cooking oil do you like to use for medium heat cooking and also frying? I know olive oil is standard, but I'm thinking of branching out and am overwhelmed with all the options. What oil do you like to use and why? I am particularly interested in oils that may be healthier than olive.
posted by madonna of the unloved to Home & Garden (18 answers total)

Avocado oil is expensive but tolerates heat better than a lot of other oils do.
Coconut oil is somewhat controversial, but works pretty well with heat.

If you have access to Trader Joe's, their oils are generally not too expensive, so you could pick up a few and try them.
posted by k8t at 3:27 PM on January 25, 2018

grapeseed oil has a very neutral flavor, which is nice if you want the flavor of what you're cooking to stand out. It also has a high smoke point, though that's not important for medium heat cooking. It's kind of expensive, so I wouldn't use it for actually deep frying.

Peanut oil has a stronger flavor, tastes good in stir fries.

Clarified butter is expensive, but tastes great and has a high smoke point. Regular butter is also awesome for more general purposes. It has a strong flavor, but most people really like it.
posted by skewed at 3:33 PM on January 25, 2018 [4 favorites]

Canola and safflower oil are neutral tasting and have a higher smoking point than most olive oils. You should use only the lightest olive oil for cooking; it's generally better in salads or for drizzling over an already cooked dish.
posted by Gnella at 3:37 PM on January 25, 2018 [8 favorites]

I'm fond of grapeseed oil for my "I want to saute something and I don't want much background flavor" needs.
posted by Making You Bored For Science at 3:46 PM on January 25, 2018 [1 favorite]

The gold standard for deep frying is duck fat, particular for fries or frites, but lard works fine, any neutrally flavored oil (and use a cheap one since you need a lot of it for deep frying).

If you see rapeseed oil, know that it's the same stuff as Canola oil, though your standard cheap canola is probably more refined and flavorless than anything marketed as rapeseed.
posted by Sunburnt at 3:46 PM on January 25, 2018 [1 favorite]

I like the flavor of corn oil for frying. It's mild and pleasant.
posted by theora55 at 3:59 PM on January 25, 2018 [1 favorite]

I use sunflower oil for this.
posted by Bistyfrass at 4:30 PM on January 25, 2018 [2 favorites]

I use canola and olive oils. Sometimes in recipies that casually call for olive oil, I use half and half in hope of raising the smoking point of the olive oil.
posted by SemiSalt at 4:40 PM on January 25, 2018 [2 favorites]

Bon Appetite has you covered.

But LifeHacker has a chart.
posted by bunderful at 5:07 PM on January 25, 2018

Olive oil is not standard for frying. Too low a smoke point. Canola. (Though, sure, if you have duck fat just lying around...)
posted by praemunire at 5:47 PM on January 25, 2018 [3 favorites]

Virgin olive oil is by far the healthiest of all vegetable oils. Butter and and Animal fats (lard, tallow, duck fat, suet, etc) are also very healthy, incredibly nutritious, and taste delicious.
posted by Lucky Bobo at 5:59 PM on January 25, 2018 [1 favorite]

For medium heat cooking, I use olive oil. For deep frying, it's peanut oil.

I usually save my rendered duck fat for roasting my potatoes in because I never have enough to justify using it to deep fry with.
posted by astapasta24 at 6:33 PM on January 25, 2018 [1 favorite]

The idea that you're not supposed to fry things in olive oil at a high heat is more or less a myth. I high-heat (around 350degrees) deep fry in olive oil, and also get it super hot in the pan when searing meat or cooking eggs. It definitely smokes, but hey, I turn the fire alarm off for this. But, it does impart a unique (and I think pleasant) flavor. And quality extra-virgin olive oil is expensive. For more extended deep frying, and to get that classic fried flavor, it's canola oil for deep frying, grapeseed for high-heat searing.
posted by dis_integration at 8:18 PM on January 25, 2018 [1 favorite]

Here's an interesting and relevant article from 2012 in The Guardian: The Rise of Rapeseed Oil. For example, I never knew that Canola was essentially a Canadian invention.
posted by michswiss at 9:49 PM on January 25, 2018

For high heat, I use grapeseed or canola - but they can be used for medium, too, and they are pretty flavorless, so if olive oil doesn't match the flavor I'm going for, I might use the canola. I also sometimes use sesame oil at medium heat if it's right for the dish, but it's very flavorful and rich so I use it very rarely and sparingly.
posted by pazazygeek at 10:22 PM on January 25, 2018

I like rice bran oil for frying and for a general not quite neutral oil - it's just slightly nutty.
posted by hawthorne at 4:44 AM on January 26, 2018

Note that grapeseed oil and rapeseed oil (canola) are two different things. Also note that while rumors about fake olive oil on the internet have been overstated, it's still not always worth what you pay for it.
posted by rikschell at 8:31 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]

People have already mentioned most of my faves, but I'm a big fan of mixing a couple oils in the same dish; sautee the onions in butter and finish with olive, a mix of grapeseed and avocado or a teaspoonful of sesame oil in the peanut oil.
posted by aspersioncast at 3:32 PM on January 26, 2018