Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
A question that has many people confused is: which oil to use for cooking?
Let me first explain a few things.
In order to determine whether a type of oil is suitable for cooking, we have to first know how well it tolerates heat; and then we can choose on that basis.
The oils that tolerate heat the most are saturated fats. These include animal fats (like butter or ghee), and coconut oil. As a result, these oils are the most suitable for cooking.
But wait.
Any food that is deep-fried becomes harmful to health because it is technically burned, even if the oil used tolerates heat well. So use these above-mentioned oils for shallow frying eggs or onions for example. Do not deep-fry anything.
Next comes olive oil. Olive oil tolerates heat as long as the temperature of the heat is not too high. So it’s best to use it with low heat when cooking.
And, of course, there are oils that I do not recommend using, such as corn oil. Extracting oil from corn is a chemical process that requires high heat so I do not recommend it.
And there are healthy oils that are great for health but not suitable for cooking because they are unsaturated and therefore very sensitive. These include sesame oil, sunflower oil and flaxseed oil. These oils are best used cold on salads or hummus, for example.
Think about your oils and use what’s best for you and your family.
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