Today we have many types of vegetable oils and fats that we can use in the kitchen. In any supermarket we find varieties of olive, sunflower, peanut, corn and seed oils, and normal or enriched vegetable margarines, but Which one to choose and why?

I explain the essential ones, the less essential ones and the uses you can give them.

Olive oil

I put it first because it is the basic one in my kitchen, the one that should never be missing.

Of all the oils they sell, the extra virgin olive oil It is the only one that is essential for me. With extra virgin olive oil you can cook anything and season any raw food.

It is just as useful for browning vegetables as it is for toast (yes, I make them with olive oil instead of margarine). It’s expensive, I know, but using it well it lasts a long time, it doesn’t go bad quickly, it can withstand high temperatures and It is the healthiest we can use (at least in Spain).

Make it extra virgin olive oil

• Refined oils are usually cheaperbut the price difference is not worth it at all. Don’t just look at the price, look carefully:
• Let it be “extra virgin olive oil”not “refined oil,” “olive oil,” or “refined oils and virgin oils.” Extra virgin olive oils have more nutritional properties than refined ones. They also tend to be denser and darker in color (regardless of the color of the bottle).
• The grades that are often listed refer to the amount of fatty acids present. An extra virgin olive oil will have around 3º. The rest, much less.
• It is not that refined olive oil is “bad”is that the refinement process eliminates “the bad” but also “the good”. What remains is an oil that does not have much interest either on a culinary or nutritional level.

Take into account its origin

• If you also want to reduce your carbon footprintmake sure your oil is produced as close as possible to where you buy it (and if possible also the olive cultivation).
• Many times it is difficult to find a local olive oil, but you can look in agricultural cooperatives in your province and surrounding areas, surely there are some that produce good oils.

The variety of olives

• In supermarket oils it is often not specified.but if you can choose, choose the oils made with the varieties that you like the most according to the uses you are going to give them.
• For example The oil from the hojiblanca variety is softer, while picual is stronger and more pungent. There are many more varieties, if you take a look at cooperatives you will see that there are many types of olives that give rise to different oils, each with its characteristic aroma and flavor.
• My favorite oils To eat raw (salads, toasts, etc.) are the varieties with stronger flavors (picual, cornicabra and local varieties).

The condition of the oil and the expiration date

• always look that the bottles are not brokenthat there are no foreign bodies inside, etc.
• When it’s very cold You may see some solidification of the oil on the top or bottom, but this is normal (at home it usually happens to me on the coldest days of winter).

Sunflower oil

I put it second because it is the second most common.

One bottle will last you a long time.. Since it is not the preferred oil for cooking, you should only use it for very specific things. A bottle of sunflower oil can last you many months, just store it closed in a cool, dry place away from the sun.

Sunflower oil, in general, is cheaper than olivebut it does not have the same properties, far from it. It should not be our “all-terrain” oil, but it can be useful for some things.

to fry

If we are going to make a few batches of croquettes or fried things like that, we can use normal sunflower oil, high oleic or “special for frying”. It has almost no flavor and is less viscous than olive oil, which is why the battered and breaded They leave us less oily.

Be careful, temperature also influences! If we fry at low temperatures of course the food will absorb a lot of oil.

after use You can let it cool, strain it and reuse it (as long as it doesn’t have any odors or have been burned, of course). When you have used it several times, put it in an empty oil bottle and place it in the cooking oil containers. You can also use it to make homemade soaps.

The fries They should not be the basis of your dietif not something specific, so don’t worry about using sunflower oil instead of olive.

Exotic dishes that require a neutral-flavored oil

To imitate as best as possible recipes from some Southeast Asian countries we can use sunflower oil. The advantage in this case is to stay as faithful as possible to the original flavorhow the food from that region really tastes.

Of course, you can also use olive oil for this, although it provides a more “Mediterranean” flavor.

Vegetable mayonnaise

If you have tried to make a vegetable mayonnaise with olive oil, you will understand this recommendation. In general, extra virgin olive oils They have a very strong flavor for these sauces. Better use a high oleic sunflower oil.

flax oil

It is the oil from flax seeds, rich in omega 3, 6 and 9. In general it is an oil that It has a very mild flavoryou can combine it with sunflower to make vegetable mayonnaise.

This is one of the oils that I buy from time to time because sometimes using flax oil is more convenient than crushing seeds and add them to the dishes. For example in salads and fresh toast.

In general it has a low smoke point and deteriorates rapidly from both exposure to oxygen and heat, so soil buy small bottles (250 ml) and I never use it for cooking, always raw.

So that it retains all its properties, make sure it is preferably a first cold pressed virgin flax oil.

It is more expensive than other oils, around €18 per literbut it is not necessary to use it every day or for all dishes. As I said above, as a dressing and other uses only in raw form, and preferably in small containers so that it does not last too long open and become rancid.

Coconut oil

The peculiarity of this oil is that It is solid at room temperature (normally we call these “fats”) and it has a coconut flavor and aroma. It is an oil that is very fashionable now because it’s healthycontrary to what was believed.

How to cook with coconut oil

• The ones I have used so far have a lower smoke point than olive oilso when I prepare a dish that requires the use of coconut oil (for example because the original recipe from that region has always been made that way) I try to lower the temperature a little.
• It is not an essential oil either.. Anything that requires coconut oil can be made with a mild olive oil. Even so, we may want to use it to make specific dishes or to change flavors from time to time.
• It also works to replace butter in some preparations (generally those that require a solid fat at room temperature).
• I must also point out that although it is a solid fat at room temperature It does not have the creaminess of margarines and its melting point is much lower than other butters such as cocoa butter. Coconut oil begins to melt at 25ºC and becomes almost transparent liquid directly, it is difficult to beat it to the point of «ointment» without it completely melting.
• In cookies it gives a crunchier texture which with olive oil and in bars and chocolates improves solidity.

How to choose it

To choose a coconut oil the first thing you should look at is that is extra virginif possible organic. Refined coconut oils are of no interest.

Coconut oil too It is more expensive than other oils but it is not for daily use, so it is not essential buy it. Once opened, store it in an opaque container to protect it from sunlight.

sesame oil

This is one of those oils that I buy “for pleasure.” I love your toasted aroma and its flavor. A few drops are enough to flavor any dish.

Although it is an oil that can be used for cooking, I recommend using it only raw. to finish oriental dishes (especially Chinese, Japanese and Korean) or to give a touch of flavor to rice and stir-fries.

How to choose it

Now they sell sesame oil in many places, but the difference between some oils and others is usually quite large. Good sesame oil It has to be dark in color (not almost transparent or yellow like sunflower) and be 100% sesame, no mixes. When you open it, it has a very strong and concentrated aroma, and you have to store it in a cool, dry place away from light.

It is also an oil more expensive than olive but it is not essential, you should only use it for specific things. Better choose small bottles to prevent it from going rancid.

Peanut oil

In many Southeast Asian dishes and some Africans use this oil. It is not very viscous, light in color and has a pleasant flavor. It withstands high temperatures well and in some regions it is used for frying and sautéing.

There are lighter and darker peanut oils, depending on the refining process. It is best that it be extra virgin peanut oila little darker than the refined ones, and with a more noticeable aroma.

Apart from making specific dishes, You can use it to dress salads and raw dishesalthough much better if you use olive or flax oil.

It can be stored like other oils in a cool, dry place away from sunlight. It is not necessary to store it in the refrigerator.

Palm oil

No, not refined oilotherwise virgin palm oil, solid at room temperature and red in color. If you’ve never seen it, African food stores usually have it.

For us, it may not be of much interest, but a good part of the dishes from sub-Saharan Africa are cooked with this oil, so if you want to perfectly imitate flavors and textures, you can try buying a bottle or a small jar.

It is a curious oil, quite dense, solid at room temperaturevery mild flavor. It is used in homemade pastries and pastries to replace butter and margarine.

In West African dishes it is a basic, as is olive oil for us.

Since it is not a very common oil (you have to go to specific places), it is not essential in the kitchen either, only to imitate recipes from other regions as closely as possible. Can be substituted with peanut oilhigh oleic sunflower oil or mild-tasting olive oil.

Palm oil is also convenient buy it in small containers and store it in the refrigerator once opened to prevent it from going rancid.

If you only find refined or hydrogenated palm oil, it is better not to buy it, it is nothing like it.

Vegetable margarines

It is not an oil, they are usually a mixtureand solid at room temperature. There are many types, with added olive oil, without hydrogenated fats, with coconut oil, etc. They generally have a lower smoke point and They are not so healthy like olive oil…