What oil to fry in?

Do you often have enough time to think about the little things? For example, the oil on which food is fried is such a trifle, is there really nothing more to think about? The main thing is that the oil should be tasteless, odorless, cholesterol-free and cheaper – I’m sure many people think so. And they buy exactly this oil – refined, deodorized, that is, without any respect extracted (note – I do not write “squeezed out”, because this is not entirely true) oil, which has been purified from impurities by a chemical, and rather impartial, way.

Meanwhile, the choice of oil is the most important thing, both from a culinary and medical point of view. The choice of oil for frying is actually not limited to corn and sunflower oil: let’s figure out which oil is best to fry, based on experience and knowledge of the chemical composition of different oils. So, when we talk about different oils from a culinary point of view, we are concerned about a few specific of things:

• Smoke point, that is, the temperature after which the oil begins to smoke, and its chemical composition changes under the influence of heat. Refined oils have the highest smoke point, while Extra Virgin olive oils have the lowest. At the same time, let’s not forget that usually – apart from deep frying – the product cools the oil to a temperature below the smoking point, so you can also fry on Extra Virgin, you just need to do it wisely, without overheating the oil before placing the products.
• The tastes and aromas that the oil imparts to products. The principle “less is more” does not always work here.
• The ability of oil to form a golden brown crust is not the same for every oil.

From the point of view of health, the following points are critical:

• Saturated fat content. It is saturated fats, which are not completely broken down in the body, that lead to the formation of fatty deposits and cause narrowing of the lumen of the arteries. Saturated fats are certainly not fatal, but controlling their intake is highly desirable.
• Content of impurities. The fat content of vegetable oil is 100% or so, and the amount of impurities is minimal, other types of oil cannot boast of this.
• Smoke point. One of the most important aspects, because after the oil begins to smoke, irreversible chemical processes take place in it, which lead to the formation of carcinogens.

Now let’s look at the different types of oils in relation to how they behave during frying and what effect they have on your body.

Butter

Butter is about 80% fat, with the remainder being contaminants such as milk protein and water. It is rich in vitamin A, but also in saturated fat, which makes up about 50% of the total oil. When butter is heated, those very impurities begin to burn in it rather quickly, and the butter begins to darken and emit a nutty aroma. Frying in butter is very convenient if you want to quickly get a golden brown crust, and if you do not allow butter to overheat, the products fried in it acquire a pleasant taste.

At the same time, let’s not forget that everything said above refers to real butter: alas, some manufacturers add low quality vegetable fats to it, which is immediately visible if you dissolve a piece of such butter in a pan.When to fry in butter:

• when you need to quickly get a golden brown;
• when you need to slowly roast food in oil;
• when you need to give the product a pleasant nutty flavor;
• when the frying temperature is not too high.

Ghee

Ghee, or ghee, is the same butter, only purified from impurities. Such oil can be stored for a long time and is actively used in Indian cuisine and other cuisines of Southeast Asia, as well as in traditional medicine. Like regular butter, ghee contains a lot of saturated fat, but unlike its relative, it has a high smoke point – about 250 degrees, which makes it suitable for deep frying.

In general, keeping a small jar of ghee in the fridge to fry occasionally can be a good idea – like butter, it works great for frying or simmering vegetables, but won’t burn if you accidentally overheat the pan.When to fry in ghee (ghee):

• when you need to quickly get a golden brown;
• when you need to slowly roast food in oil;
• when you need to give the product a pleasant nutty flavor;
• when the roasting temperature can be high.

Refined vegetable oil

The cheapest oil in every store. It has a relatively high smoke point, contains no saturated fats, is virtually devoid of its own flavor and aroma, and is seemingly ideal for frying. But there is one caveat. This is not too advertised, but as one of the stages of the extraction of vegetable oils, which are then subjected to purification, a chemical method is often used – the seeds are treated with chemicals in order to extract the maximum oil from them. Oil purification and deodorization is also not a mechanical, but a chemical process, so there is not so much in common between the oil that is squeezed from the seeds and the one on the supermarket shelf. In general, such oil can be used for any kind of frying, but if there is such an opportunity, I would advise not to get carried away with it.

When to fry in refined vegetable oil:

• when you need to avoid the appearance of foreign tastes;
• when you are deep-fat or high-temperature cooking.

Olive oil

For some reason, we often contrast olive oil with some kind of abstract “vegetable”. I fundamentally disagree with this, but okay, so be it. I’ve included all olive oil in this category except Extra Virgin, which we’ll talk about a little later. This includes olive oil, which has been mechanically refined to remove impurities, which allows it to be used for frying, and pomace oil, that is, oil that is chemically extracted from the cake after the mechanical extraction of Extra Virgin oil has been completed. In our country, such oil is not in great demand, since it costs significantly more than refined corn or sunflower oil, but it surpasses them in terms of taste and is less harmful to health.When to fry in olive oil:

• when you need to slowly roast food in oil;
• when you need to give the product a pleasant aroma of olive oil;
• when the roasting temperature can be high.

When to fry in olive oil:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

It is generally believed that you cannot fry in Extra Virgin oil – it has a low smoke point, a fairly powerful flavor and aroma, and, importantly, a high price. However, I sometimes use Extra Virgin Olive Oil if you don’t need to fry, but rather darken the vegetables with a little heat in order to release the maximum flavor.When to fry in Extra Virgin olive oil:

• when you need to slowly roast food in oil;
• when you need to give the product a pleasant aroma of olive oil;
• when the frying temperature is not high.

Fat

Lard is any fat of animal origin, from lard to that which is melted from the fatty layer of bacon when it is heated. I think it will not be an exaggeration to say that city dwellers practically do not fry in lard anymore. There are many reasons – there is a high content of saturated fats, cholesterol and various impurities, and a low smoke point, and a specific smell, and a rather distinct taste that appears in the taste of the finished dish. Nevertheless, a number of traditional dishes (for example, Hungarian dishes or pilaf) are usually fried in lard, precisely because of its taste and how it extracts aromas from the fried foods.When to fry in lard:

• when you need to give the product a lard flavor;
• when the frying temperature is not high.

A mixture of vegetable and butter

So, welcome: my secret weapon, a mixture of vegetable and butter. To do this, heat a little olive oil in a pan, add a piece of butter of the same volume, let it melt and shake the pan to mix the oil. Thanks to this trick, you kill several birds with one stone.

First, you preserve the flavor and aroma of the butter while cutting the amount of saturated fat in half.

Secondly, it is less likely that such oil will burn: mixing oils does not raise the smoke point (the temperature at which the proteins contained in butter begin to burn does not change from this), but makes heating more delicate and controlled.

This makes the vegetable and butter mixture versatile – for example, you can first grind a mixture of finely chopped vegetables in it and then turn up the heat, or sauté delicate foods like fish when you fry them over medium heat and determine the readiness visually.

When to fry in a mixture of vegetable and butter:

• when you need to get a golden crust;
• when you need to slowly roast food in oil;
• when you need to give the product a pleasant nutty flavor;
• when the roasting time can be delayed;
• when the frying temperature may vary during the process.