Thread: Tips/tricks/advice/recipes/whatever

Originally Posted by outdoorlad

Angus, can you explain what & when different oils should be used for? ie; olive, rapeseed, canola, etc
I just use olive for everything, also what's the story on mixing butter & oil?

Olive oil has a low smoke point so it's best used when cooking at lower temperatures. It has a strong flavour so it's not ideal for searing, regular olive oil should be used for cooking whilst extra virgin should be used for salads and dressings because it has more plant matter in it (giving it a stronger flavour) which makes it burn and turn bitter very easy.
Rapeseed/canola/ricebran/avacado/soya bean oil are what are known as 'neutral oils' and have little to no flavour but extremely high smoke points making them ideal for searing and frying. Generally rice bran and sunflower oil have the highest smoke points of the lot.
Combining butter and oil will stablize it and prevent it from burning as quickly when used for frying.