What Is the Best and Healthiest Oil for Deep Frying
As the world is getting more health conscious and globalized, new trends emerge on which fats are healthier. Many of us stopped buying any vegetable oil 'for frying' and started asking themselves which is the best oil for frying. In order to answer that question, 2 parameters need to be considered: what is the healthiest cooking oil and which oil tastes better for frying.
In this onehowto article we talk about things to consider for healthy deep frying, and the best and healthiest oils for deep frying.
If you want to skip deep frying altogether, you can learn our alternatives to deep frying.
Healthy deep frying
First of all, deep frying is not the healthiest cooking method. However, it shouldn't be banned because it actually makes our liver exercise from time to time. What needs to be considered for healthy deep frying is temperature and timing. Deep frying involves heating large quantities of fat to a deep frying temperature of 350-375 degrees F, and then cooking foods in such fat very quickly. Any higher deep frying temperature would burn even the best oil for deep frying, any lower deep frying temperature would permeate foods with oil, making them heavy to digest. Healthy deep frying time needs to be very short, so that the contact between the food and the oil is not too long.
Best and healthiest oil for deep frying: characteristics
In order to choose the best and healthiest oil for deep frying, you need to consider the following characteristics:
- smoke point: the deep frying temperature at which the oil starts to deteriorate. It needs to be higher than 350 degrees F for healthy deep frying
- stability: the resistance to oxidation when heated to deep frying temperature
- presence of fats: saturated fats are stable in deep frying but are harmful to our cardiovascular system and cholesterol, monosaturated fats are also quite stable but much more healthy, polysaturated fats should be avoided because they become harmful at deep frying temperature
- taste: the mildest the better
- quality: the deep frying oils we list need to be pure and cold pressed in order to present the listed characteristics
The best and healthiest oil for deep frying
Let's now list the best and healthiest oils for deep frying according to the above characteristics:
Olive oil
pros: rich in monosaturated fats, smoke point of 375-410 degrees F, rich in antioxidants, therefore very stable, adds nutrients to food. Can be used for the skin as well.
cons: intense taste
Coconut oil
pros: one of the most stable, smoke point of 350 degrees F
cons: 92% saturated fats, distinctive taste that doesn't go well with everything
Peanut oil
pros: incredibly neutral taste, which makes it perfect for deep frying desserts; smoke point of 446 degrees F; it doesn't absorb flavours, so you can deep fry several foods in the same oil
cons: rich in polyunsaturated fats, therefore vulnerable to oxydation
Ghee (not a oil, it is an animal fat, but very good for deep frying)
pros: smoke point of 375-485 degrees F, rich in vitamin A
cons: rich in saturated fats, if homemade it risks to be not properly skimmed, thus loosing its high smoke point. If you are interested in knowing more about ghee, you might want to check this article.
Conclusion
What is the best and healthiest oil for deep frying? All of the oils we listed are good for a relatively healthy deep frying. Each one of them can be used for different kinds of foods. Just follow our guidelines on deep frying temperature and do not consume deep fried foods too often.
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