Cooking Oils...What are Your Favorites?
 

When I'm on a tight budget, I buy the cheapest, general purpose oil out there. However, when I feel like splurging, I go for the good stuff, like a local, cold pressed olive oil, or Spectrum's Sunflower oil. What are some of your favorite oils for cooking?

~ C

the smallest bottle possible. Usually wesson or store brand. sunflower/safflower etc. I only use it in popovers and a few other recipes.
I have read most grocery store olive oil now is not really olive oil, the Italian trees have a disease and the supply is relatively limited. I don't have a palate for it so won't buy it ;) any search for "real olive oil" will tell the story.

I just stay away from canola oil. It doesn't agree with my digestive track. Go figure.

I use as little cooking oils as possible. But when the need arises I use either corn or peanut oil. My husband is on blood thinners so we have to watch the Vitamin K intake.

High grade coconut, olive, avocado or sesame oil. For deep frying peanut oil.

I use very little oil - just a tablespoon to brown something in the Instant Pot, or for a salad dressing. We did read that Kirkland Brand Olive oil is the "real thing" so I use that. I keep it in a cool dark place and it seems to do okay til we use up the bottle.

I normally use Canola oil for normal stuff, love grapeseed oil, it has a high smoke point and has no added flavor. I have a really good Olive Oil that my store gets in once a year that I use when I want that great Olive Oil taste and another Spanish Olive Oil for my other olive oil things. I love dark sesame oil.

With hubby's interest in food things and his Keto diet, we no longer buy general vegetable oil. We have Costco Olive Oil and Avocado oil, use avocado mayo. We also get a huge thing of Ghee (Indian Clarified Butter) from Costco on a regular basis, as well as butter for him, we've started buying the Kerry Gold expensive butter.

I'm not keto, I'm just high protein/low carb so I use very little oil myself. I was always just fine with my cheap margarine but since I've had to change my eating style, there really isn't much I use it on and the butter is convenient, kept on the dish shelf where the cat can't get it but it can be soft.

We use canola oil if we want a neutral flavor. I use olive for many dishes that require oil if it will blend with the other flavors because I believe it is relatively good for you. I don't know about the olive trees in Italy, but I think that most of the olive oil we get here is a mix from several southern Mediterranean countries. The label on our current bottle states it contains virgin olive oils from Spain, Tunisia, Argentina. I don't use gourmet olive oil and it may be possible to buy single country oil but this suits me. If I remember correctly from my nursing school nutrition classes, humans need at least a small amount of oil to stay healthy. Certain vitamins are fat soluble.

I use bacon grease I save from Slankers Grassfed Meats for most things. "When cooked this bacon produces grease you will want to save. Bacon grease from Omega-3 pigs is priceless. Injected with a sea salt solution and hickory smoked to 140 degrees internal temperature. Smoked but not cured. No nitrates. No sugar. Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio of 1.5:1 versus conventional pork at 20:1 on average."

Raw, extra-vigin coconut oil. Refined coconut oil is usually bleached or deodorized.

Extra-virgin oilive oil at low to medium-heat temperature.

Avocado oil has a very high smoke point, between 480 to 520 degrees. I use this when cooking stir-fry or other dishes that require high temperatures.