127. Oil


Cooking oil is a fat derived from a plant or animal used in frying, baking and other types of cooking. It is also used in salad dressings and bread dips. Cooking oil is usually a liquid, although some oils like coconut oil and palm oil are solid at room temperature.

Some of the common cooking oils are Olive oil, Palm oil, soybean oil, canola oil, pumpkin seed oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, grape seed oil, sesame oil, rice bran oil and other vegetable oils. Herbs, chillies and garlic may be used to flavor cooking oils.
Cooking with oil

Heating an oil changes its characteristics. Oils that are healthy at room temperature may become unhealthy when heated above certain temperatures. When choosing a cooking oil, it is important to match the oil’s heat tolerance with the method of cooking involved.

A 2001 parallel review of 20-year dietary fat studies in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Spain found that polyunsaturated oils like soya, canola, sunflower, and corn oil degrade easily to toxic compounds when heated. Prolonged consumption of burnt oils led to inflammatory joint diseases, and development of birth defects.

Palm oil contains more saturated fats than canola oil, corn oil, linseed oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, and sunflower oil. Therefore, palm oil can withstand the high heat of deep frying and is resistant to oxidation compared to highly unsaturated vegetable oils. Since about 1900, palm oil has been increasingly used because it remains stable in deep frying or in baking at very high temperatures and has high levels of natural antioxidants.

Storing and keeping oil

Whether refined or not, all oils are sensitive to heat, light, and exposure to oxygen. Rancid oil has an unpleasant aroma and acrid taste, and its nutrient value is greatly diminished.

All oils should be kept in a cool, dry place. Oils may thicken but they will become liquids if allowed to stand at room temperature. To prevent negative effects of heat and light, oils should be removed from cold storage just long enough for use.

Refined oils high in monounsaturated fats keep up to a year (olive oil will keep up to a few years), while those high in polyunsaturated fats keep about six months. Extra-virgin and virgin olive oils keep at least 9 months after opening. Other monounsaturated oils keep well up to eight months, while unrefined polyunsaturated oils will keep only about half as long.

In contrast, saturated oils, such as coconut oil and palm oil, have much longer shelf lives and can be safely stored at room temperature. Their lack of polyunsaturated content causes them to be more stable.

Olive oil is good for the heart, liver, and gall bladder. All the other oils become rancid due to the exposure to oxygen. The free radicals release by these oils damage our cellular structure, resulting in Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

34 thoughts on “127. Oil”

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      Thank you for your genuine appreciation of my style.
      I owe it to my grandpa who dinned English Grammar into my head
      and my father who encouraged me to take up writing.
      English is a foreign language to me and my mother tongue is called Tamil.
      If You visit My blog of blogs in http://visalakshiramani.weebly.com/
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