Well oil be damned if I don’t give you guys the next ingredient.
Welcome back to the Foodventure series! This post’s ingredient is something that we all know and love. Whether it be for your seared foods, sautéed veggies, or deep-fried delights, we’ve all used some kind of oil when we’ve cooked. I wanted to focus on this ingredient because I myself have been a bit confused when it came to choosing the right oils to cook with; growing up in a home that used mainly canola oil and extra virgin olive oil, I never really knew about the importance of choosing a good cooking or finishing oil until I made it to my nutrition class this semester. Oil can be an easily overlooked ingredient. In addition to providing additional fruity or nutty flavors to your dish, various oils contain different properties that could be good for your health!
Let’s dive into the (quick) history of cooking oil!
Various vegetable oils began being processed over thousands of years ago, with ancient oil pressers using whatever was available in order to extract oils to cook with, mainly using liquid animal fat to cook with. In the case of vegetable oil, though, it was traditionally collected using heat to warm plant materials until oil would drip from them, which could then be collected and stored. The first recorded oil types were soy, sunflower, peanut, and olive oil, which were respectively collected in 2000 and 3000 BC by ancient civilizations. For a while, there were tedious methods that civilizations began to use in order to extract oil from different things-- for example, roasting and beating sunflower seeds, and then boiling the pulp and skimming off the water-- until finally these civilizations began to use technological strategies to increase oil production. Mortar and pestles, sieves, and lever presses were among some of the many methods that began to sweep other areas of the world, gaining popularity during the Middle Ages. In the 1800s, even more improvements were made as English inventors were able to extract oil using solvents, therefore being able to create a formal vegetable oil using vegetable matter. (Fun Fact! Did you know that vegetable oil is mainly created using soybeans, followed by corn, sunflower, and safflower?)
Now that you know how far back the history of oil goes, let’s talk about the benefits of different oils. (NOTE: I will mainly be focusing on some of the most popular plant-based cooking oils used in the U.S.; for more information, including some of the potential risks that these oils may cause, please click the link attached to the oil to investigate further.)
Rich in monounsaturated fats, which are considered to be the “good” fats for your body
Contains large amounts of antioxidants, which claim to reduce the risk of chronic disease
Holds anti-inflammatory properties, which can reduce the risk of heart disease, metabolic syndrome, and other diseases
Could potentially reduce ailments like heart disease and high cholesterol
Contains fat soluble vitamins E and J
Unfortunately, it is not a good source of nutrients compared to other common cooking oils!
Rich in healthy fatty acids, which can potentially encourage your body to burn fat
Contains lauric acid, which may aid in some antimicrobial uses
Has natural saturated fats that are able to increase HDL (or the good cholesterol in your body) and convert LDL (bad cholesterol) into a less harmful form
Contains a large amount of oleic acid, which is a monounsaturated fatty acid that is healthy for heart functioning
Is a really good source of lutein, which is a natural antioxidant that is beneficial for your eyes
Can enhance the absorption of important nutrients when added to antioxidant-rich foods that are low in fat
Can improve certain inflammatory conditions and promote insulin resistance
Rich in omega-6 fatty acids, and linoleic acid
With high levels of vitamin E, it may lead to a reduction of free radicals in the body, which can in turn prevent heart disease
Now, this wasn’t supposed to be an article that convinced you which oil is the best for cooking, but I thought it would be helpful to go over some of the positives!
With that out of the way, though, I wanted to talk about some really tasty recipes that I like! Aside from simply using this oil to sauté, deep fry, or finish dishes, these are recipes where you actually get to focus on the unique flavor profiles of each oil. While the recipes that I’m listing focus mainly on olive oil, feel free to play around with different oils to find a flavor that you like: