Admit it, almost every meal we have each day involves either shallow or deep frying of ingredients. Not just that, we also love to eat fried foods from the places in the streets and outside. Hence it is clear that the cooking oil that we are using every day should be healthy and suitable for both shallow and deep-frying. In other words, the best cooking oil is the one that has a high smoking point and offers nutrition. Now before we begin, let’s take a look at what types of cooking oil we will be talking about in general:-
Unhealthy Oils – Comes at a cheap price, easily available, offers no nutrition, should be thrown out of the kitchen window! Yes, you heard it right.
Healthy Oils – Slightly pricey, requires extra searching in the supermarket, and full of nutrition. Also, not every oil is suitable for every cooking method. You should have some knowledge about that.
All right let’s face the reality.
Now stop and think for a moment, would you still want to feed your family that?
Besides refined and hydrogenated (partially or fully) oils, remove the following oils from your kitchen slab too:-
1) Soyabean oil
2) Vegetable oil
3) Canola oil
4) Safflower oil
5) Packed butter
Start using cold-pressed, wood-pressed, Kacchi Ghaani oils. Here’s why?
As the name suggests, the oil is extracted by pressing instead of heating. This way the oil gets to keep all its vital minerals and vitamins. You can actually smell the real aroma and see the natural foam of the oil extracted from this process.
The following are the healthiest cooking oils for you in 2021.
Olive oil
Western countries use olive in their cooking, mostly for salad dressing and low-medium flame cooking. It should not be used in South Asian style fry-cooking. Olive oil has a really low smoking-point and is not at all suitable for high-flame Indian style cooking/frying. You can use it to dress your salads or cook something that requires low heat to get ready to eat. It is full of antioxidants and allows you to get the following benefits.
Benefits:
1)Helps in reducing joint pain.
2)Maintains good heart health.
3)Lessens the risk for memory loss.
Types of Olive Oils
Extra Virgin
It is the costliest and is also of high quality. It doesn’t come from a refined process and hence has the lowest levels of acidity as compared to other kinds of olive oil. It is a rich source of antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins. It has a really low smoking point so better use it only for dressing salads and some cold dishes.
Virgin
The difference between virgin and extra-virgin olive oil is that virgin oil has a higher acidic level. You can use it in cooking but not for deep frying. You can use it for baking. Virgin oil is not refined which means heating and chemicals in the process of extraction haven’t been used.
Refined
As described earlier in the article, NO to any kind of refined oil.
Pure
It is a blend of extra virgin and refined Olive oil. So definitely it is not pure and with the blend of refined oil in its making, this oil doesn’t make any sense.
Pomace
The term “pomace” might be new for many people. So let’s get introduced to it. When extraction of olive oil is complete from the olive fruit, pomace oil is extracted from the leftover portions of that fruit (containing minimal real olive oil). This is done with the use of very high-temperature and chemicals, the same process used for making Canola, safflower, and vegetable oils. Technically its definition as an olive oil vanishes there itself as the International Olive Council that lays down standards for quality of olive oil says that oil only extracted from the fruit is considered as any real olive oil and not from what’s made of the fruit’s leftover. Thus, whenever you find “Pomace Oil” in the supermarket, avoid buying it.
Coconut oil
It is not only good for hair and skin, but also for cooking, especially Indian cooking! Surprised? Well, you should be, since in southern India coconut oil is used primarily as cooking oil. It has a high smoking point thus it is best for Indian cooking. You can fry or cook your food at high-flame without worrying about any harmful effects. That is because coconut oil is full of saturated fats which makes it heat-resistant. Also, its shelf life is pretty long as compared to other oils. Take a look at what it offers to your health:
Benefits:
1)Antiviral and antifungal in nature.
2)Helps in improving brain function.
3)Increases good cholesterol in the body.
Mustard Oil
Mustard oil keeps skin problems and numerous germs and viruses at bay as it is antibacterial in nature. With the correct omega 3-to-6, ratio, it is also one of the best oils for heart health. The list doesn’t stop here.
Benefits:
1)Helps prevent, at times even cure cough and cold.
2)Helps in weight reduction.
3)Regulates blood circulation, and prevents digestive infections.
This oil is extensively used in Indian cuisine for deep-frying or high-flame cooking. In the market, look out for Kacchi Ghani mustard oil as it is prepared by a cold-pressed process which does not involve any chemicals dangerous to your health.
Sesame Oil
Extracted from sesame seeds, this oil has medicinal properties. It is rich in omega-6 fatty acids and contains over 80% unsaturated fats. Apart from using it for fry-cooking, you can use it for dressing your salads as well. Below is how it graces your kitchen and health.
Benefits:
1)Strongly anti-inflammatory in nature.
2)Best for people suffering from diabetes.
3)Helps in blood circulation.
4)Considered good for heart health.
Groundnut Oil
Perfect for all kinds of cooking, groundnut oil is rich in unsaturated fats and antioxidants. It is also rich in Vitamin E and is a pretty beneficial antioxidant for the skin. The following are other advantages of using groundnut oil.
Benefits:
1)Reduces the risk of heart-related diseases.
2)Brings down bad cholesterol levels.
3)Diminishes high-blood pressure.
4)Reduces inflammations and lowers the risk of memory-related disorder in old age.
Ghee
Ages-old, very popular, and India’s very own, Ghee is an ingredient that you can reconsider for all cooking methods. There are a few things that you must know about buying Ghee from the market. First, check that the Ghee packet in your hands isn’t made of partially hydrogenated oil and hasn’t come from Jersey cows. Ghee produced from the said methods isn’t actually Ghee, it’s a fake. Most food companies manufacture ghee using foreign cows, which are cross-bred excessively so as to produce more and more milk. The same companies either use toxic A1 milk or cream to manufacture Ghee on a large scale. Thus, you have to be extremely cautious while buying Ghee online or offline. Flip to the backside of the package and check the method of how this Ghee was produced.
The best part about ghee is that unlike any other cooking oil, it can be reused after one cooking session. But since pure Ghee and Olive oil are somewhere equally expensive, you can use either of the four oils mentioned in the article(Part – 1 and 2) for healthy, Indian cooking.
Benefits:
1)Rich in amino acids that mobilizes concentrated fat. Those who are weight conscious must consume ghee.
2)Reduces exposure to carcinogens.
3)With its inflammatory properties, it is said to be good for the heart.
4)Ghee helps in increasing good cholesterol and reducing bad cholesterol.
5)Rich in vitamins as well, ghee improves immunity, prevents seasonal health issues, and leads to better digestion.
TL;DR – Long Story Short
Start using oils that are extracted by pressing instead of heating. This way the oil gets to keep all its vital minerals and vitamins.
Meanwhile, we are also developing a Free Health Toolkit, give it a look.
For more reading, check out our other blog series.
2 Comments
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