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Meet Your Cooking Oils

Featured Author:

Chef Danielle Turner

As a personal chef, cooking instructor, and food writer, Chef Danielle is an expert in all things culinary. Her company, Great Taste – A Personal Chef Service, allows many members of Washington D.C.’s elite to enjoy restaurant-quality meals in their homes.

As a food writer, Chef Danielle has penned feature articles for The Food Network Holiday Survival Guide and The Food Network Summer Grilling Guide. Chef Danielle is a contributor to ChefsBest, where her how-to articles have covered planning a cheese tasting, creating simple place settings, and increasing antioxidants in your diet. She has also served as Contributing Editor at Restaurant Digest and written for Prince George’s Gazette and The Baltimore Sun. Chef Danielle also blogs at How to Boil an Egg.

She makes her home in the wilds of suburban DC with her husband and daughter.

More articles from this author:

• Break Out of Your Culinary Comfort Zone
• How to Buy a Chef's Knife and How to Use It
• 6 Things You Should Know About Chicken

Canola oil? Olive Oil? Vegetable oil? Extra Virgin? If you don’t know what to look for, the cooking oil aisle in your grocery store can be overwhelming. Choosing the right oil is an important step in cooking and armed with a little information you’ll make the best choice for the task at hand.

There are two key things to consider when selecting an oil – flavor and smoke point. Some cooking oils have more flavor than others so if you’re looking to use the oil to add flavor to your dish, choose a darker, more flavorful oil. Lighter and usually less expensive oils are best when you’re only using the oil to lubricate a pan or dish.

Smoke point is the temperature or point at which oil, when heated, literally starts to smoke. If you’re looking for an oil to sauté or deep-fry with, make sure it’s a refined or processed oil with a high smoke point. These oils are usually light in color and less expensive than their purer, more flavorful counterparts.

Types of Oils:
1. Vegetable Oil
2. Canola Oil
3. Olive Oil
4. Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Virgin Olive Oil
5. Pure Olive Oil
6. Peanut Oil
7. Specialty Oil

Next Page: Vegetable Oil>>