We generally try to reach for monounsaturated fats when pan-frying. These healthy fats are liquid at room temperature (as compared to saturated fat like lard, butter and coconut oil that are solid at room temp). Our favorite healthy fats for pan-frying are avocado oil, canola oil and olive oil.
Grapeseed oil is light green in color and prized by restaurant chefs for its high smoke point (420°)—but also for its clean, plays-well-with-others taste. It's often used in vinaigrettes because it's less expensive than EVOO and allows other ingredients (like specialty oils or herbs) to shine through.
Once in our kitchens, we cook them in our canola-blend oil so you can have them crispy and hot—just the way you like them. Want to hear more about our fry ingredients? Get the down low on how we flavor our fries.
The refined oils that are most often used for deep frying include safflower and soybean oil, the latter of which is often labeled as vegetable oil. Decker says the most stable picks are high in a fat called oleic acid, and recommends using peanut or canola oil.
Omega-6s are found in oils such as corn, safflower, sunflower, soy and vegetable and products made with those oils. Excess consumption of omega-6s can trigger the body to produce pro-inflammatory chemicals, and the American diet tends to be very high in omega-6s.
Olive oil is one of the better fats for your heart, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). Olive oil has 2 gm/tbsp of saturated fat, 10 gm of monounsaturated fat including oleic acid, and about 1 gm of polyunsaturated fat. Olive oil has zero cholesterol.
Both olive oil and avocado oil are considered good fats and are an excellent source of monounsaturated fatty acids, which can help improve heart health. On the other hand, olive oil is slightly more nutritious on the whole because it contains more potassium, calcium, iron and vitamins.
Is Canola Oil Better than Olive Oil? No. Canola oil is high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, making it technically a heart-healthy option. Olive oil, on the other hand, is rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, making it a better choice for reducing the risk of chronic diseases.
Canola oil has a higher ratio of monounsaturated fat to saturated fat, and free of trans fats, which is considered more heart healthy. While vegetable oil has 2 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon, canola oil has only 1 gram. Vegetable oil tends to be the more cost-effective alternative of the two.
The oils which should be avoided for cooking are oils like soybean, corn, canola, sunflower, and safflower. These oils have unstable fats and will decimate the nutritional properties of your food. Oh, and they'll give you a big fat health risk in the meantime.
For those looking to reduce their weight and eat nutritiously, olive oil, avocado oil, rice bran, and coconut oil are the top choices. Regardless of which oil you use, it is essential to remember that one should consume it in moderation.
The truth is, olive oil is best consumed without heat, as it has a low smoking point and therefore gives off toxins at a certain temperature. (You can read more about that here.) It can also make your food taste smokier since it's literally smoking at a certain temp, which isn't always our preferred flavor.
The bottom line is: Canola oil is not banned in Europe. Turns out it was just a rumor. According to The Flexible Fridge, the rumor began circulating in 2019, along with false claims that the European Union had classified canola oil as “toxic” and “carcinogenic.” However, this is not true.
For an anti-inflammatory diet, the best choices for oils are olive oil or another cold-processed oil that's high in monounsaturated fats, and flaxseed oil for the omega-3 fats.
Global culinary icon Gordon Ramsay is known for his fiery personality, his hard-fought Michelin stars and his deep and abiding love of olive oil. Nearly every Ramsay recipe, from his early days on Boiling Point to Uncharted and the current critic's darling, Scrambled starts with "just a drizzle" of his beloved EVOO.
Oils that contain lower levels of linoleic acid, such as olive and canola oil, are better for frying. Polyunsaturated oils, such as corn, sunflower, and safflower, are best for using in dressings rather than cooking with.
Deep frying
However, if you do need to deep fry your food, our long-standing advice is that oils like corn and sunflower oils are not recommended for high temperatures.