Team-BHP - The Oil Thread (cooking, not engine)
Team-BHP

Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)
-   Shifting gears (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/)
-   -   The Oil Thread (cooking, not engine) (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/202319-oil-thread-cooking-not-engine-3.html)

We have been using refined Rice Bran for close to a decade now. The properties of the oil suggest it is better than Sunflower oil for sure. I have not found any store that stocks cooking oil that isn't refined.

My folks live in Cochin. They use coconut oil sourced straight from the mill. The absolute best if you can source it this way. However; I understand that coconut oil is not favored among most (except a Keralite) due to its strong smell. We never found this to be an issue. In fact; a Keralite does not differentiate coconut oil used for cooking or for application on the scalp/hair. They use the same oil.

Mustard oil comes up next as a good alternative to sun flower. Once again, where to source oil that isn't refined is an issue and that oil is something I can't stand in terms of smell.

Quote:

Originally Posted by peus017 (Post 4471068)
Interesting post...

Came across a thread long time ago which explains How Cooking Oil is made - http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Cooking-Oil.html

Hope this helps to make a healthy choice !

Recently the Canadian federal govt banned any addition of artificial trans fat to food items.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/canada...fect-1.4096175

There are several comments about effects of different cooking oils on our health. But there can be no argument, that too much of everything could be bad in all sort of cooking oil. I completely agree with with facts shared by @peus017. Below is another link explaining the fat percentage in different oils.

https://www.livescience.com/59893-wh...ealthiest.html

I find Canola oil being used predominantly in North America, which seems to have least amount of saturated fat compared to other cooking oils. I have tried Canola oil for cooking purpose and the taste is not affected during regular cooking. Having said that, the items fried using Canola oil, taste rather dull compared to sunflower oil.

What do a bunch of petrolheads know to comment on cooking oils?

This is my wife's comment. And she was curious to see the responses and comments coming through.

That said - @GTO, nice way to pull in new people to visit T-bhp!!!

I know, I know - no value to the thread added through this post - but hey, she might become a member just to contribute on this thread.

"Under the hood" section has now got an entirely new meaning :)

Its like a debate between Mineral Oil or Synthetic Oil!

At home, we use predominantly Gingly Oil & Ground Nut oil for cooking. Rarely use Coconut oil - that too in very small amount.

We use ghee as additives in food, and like coconut oil, rarely use Ghee for cooking.

Long time back, we stopped using Palm Oil, Sunflower Oil etc.

Logic: Better to spend on healthy food than on medicines.:thumbs up

I thought I'd post a quick one before counting the ZZZs. In our home (and not joking), the missus has about 5 different kinds of oils - frying, sauteing, dressing, tadkaing and Ghee as the mother of all things fatty.

From a taste perspective, this makes perfect sense. EV olive or Avocado oil tastes much better than others in the raw form and suited for salads. Shallow frying is medium-high temp so high smoke point. We do very minimal deep frying and that's with a mediterranean blend from Costco. Now Ghee comes in the picture regardless - we being desis. It simply has to be there.

With all that said, growing up it was either Dalda (Hydrogenated Oil) or Ghee. Mix in the physical aspects and the metabolism will work. I believe, lifestyle plays a big role in deciding what you should ingest in.

p.s. With the current fad on the Keto diet, looks like parachute will move head to mouth. :)

For the past year and a half, we have moved from sunflower oil to rice bran oil and now to Canola oil. On taste front, we do not find any difference in normal cooking. For flavor full recipes, like non-veg or curry (Kadi) we use mustard oil (I like it's pungency, it adds to the taste significantly). Ghee is used as an additive (smeared on roti or for Tadka).

Canola Oil is good for deep frying or cooking with higher amount of oil, for it's low viscosity and high smoke point. It feels less loaded too in high carb foods. Guess, I would be staying with it for some time.

My take on this is : whatever "unrefined" oil your family (ancestors) were consuming. This means

a) For most East and North Indians - Mustard oil
b) For most Malayalam people - Coconut oil.
c) For most people from the Malwa and Deccan region as well as other South Indian states- Groundnut oil

Use ghee sparingly (upto 1 tbsp a day for healthy adults, unless your family has a history of high cholesterol/heart diseases or you are otherwise at risk) and never as a cooking medium.Similarly, Olive oil, should also not be used as a cooking medium.
If you, absolutely, must use refined oil, Rice Bran oil is what I'll suggest.

In each of the above cases, as with most other things, the key to a healthy body is not which but how much.
Avoid food with Trans fats (Margarine/Mayonnaise/Vanaspati ghee).

When choosing an oil (or any food for that matter) I would consider moderation and environment. As a general rule anything that says refined, double-refined, enriched, etc is bad. This means that chemicals have been added to the natural oil to make it look better.

Moderation
No matter how good an oil is, anything consumed in excess is bad. Moderate your oil consumption.

Environment
Like food, you should choose an oil that is best suited to the environment where you live in. Sunflower, groundnut, coconut or what have you does not matter. To give an extreme example, to survive in the cold environment of the the poles (North or South) one would need to consume in excess of 3000 calories a day depending on how much physical activity you engage in. Doing that in our regular lives is a sure shot way of piling on those kilos.

A close friend of mine who deals with and is wholesale supplier of edible oil in entire Telengana belt often talks about how harmful refined oil is. He shares this with all his cleints and customers just to educate the ill effects of refined oil.
The Oil Thread (cooking, not engine)-img20181003wa0007.jpg

Also these are the details as shared by few labs to him.
Unhealthy cooking oils



Butter
It is made from milk fat and contains a high proportion of saturated fats and cholesterol, both of which when consumed in excess are risk factors for developing heart disease. Hence, it is wise to consume less amounts of butter.



Ghee
Also prepared from milk fat, ghee or clarified butter is an essential item in India cuisine.
According to Indian medical systems, ghee contains several medicinal properties. Nutritionally, like butter, it also contains saturated fats and cholesterol which, when consumed in excess, leads to heart disease. Using small amounts of ghee to season foods is not harmful. Just avoid sweets and other dishes prepared with large quantities of ghee.



Vanaspati
It is nothing but a mixture of vegetable oils that have been converted to solid form by the addition of hydrogen. Hydrogenated fat is used as a ghee substitute in cooking as well in the production of bakery products, sweets and snack items.
When vanaspati is made, trans fatty acids are also produced; these increase the risk of heart disease when consumed in excess and are best avoided.

I am no expert but I trust this guy and his knowledge on edible oils.

GTO,

In TN, Mustard (Gingely) and Groundnut oils are widely used. Coconut oil is used for certain dishes (Frying Banana Chips). Ghee is mostly used for preparing sweets.

Now a days, after lot of awareness, people have started to use coldpress oils. Coldpress oils are from the oil grinder made of wood (photo attached) .The temperature of the oil squeezed out of mustard/groundnut does not go up (very minimum heat generated due to the friction) because of the wooden container.

My recommendation will be, to go for genuine cold pressed oils and hope it is available in Mumbai.

Regarding KETO (LCHF) diet, I heard that it damages the function of liver in due course due to high fat intake. Experts can clarify.

Note: Cold press oils NEED not be ORGANIC.

Cold pressed oils are the most recommended option out here on our forum. I have a silly question - where do we get cold pressed oils? Are there branded options and available in stores/super markets?

Currently, I use branded Mustard oil, 'refined' sunflower oil and very little amount of butter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashis89 (Post 4471736)
Cold pressed oils are the most recommended option out here on our forum. I have a silly question - where do we get cold pressed oils? Are there branded options and available in stores/super markets?

Currently, I use branded Mustard oil, 'refined' sunflower oil and very little amount of butter.

You can get cold pressed oil, if am not wrong it is also called wood pressed oils in local mills. If you search in Google as cold pressed oil mills and add your city name you will find details of mills.

Options available online are more pricier than the ones sold by the mills. I saw mills selling cold pressed ground nut oil at 240 to 280 per litre, but online it's approx 350 per liter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashis89 (Post 4471736)
Cold pressed oils are the most recommended option out here on our forum. I have a silly question - where do we get cold pressed oils? Are there branded options and available in stores/super markets?

Currently, I use branded Mustard oil, 'refined' sunflower oil and very little amount of butter.

In TN, all big stores and supermarkets sell cold pressed oils. No idea about its genuineness. Now they are available in every part of the state. I source from my home town and there are small oil mills where one can give the necessary quantity of mustard/groundnut for oil extraction. They charge a decent amount and take back the peanut/mustard oil cake which is fed to cows and buffaloes.

I don't recommend any refined oil.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KK_HakunaMatata (Post 4471741)
You can get cold pressed oil, if am not wrong it is also called wood pressed oils in local mills. If you search in Google as cold pressed oil mills and add your city name you will find details of mills.

This is what we use: http://woodenchurner.com/pune/contact-us/

I will recommend all Puneites to use these oils. I guess they also have online buy and deliver facility.

Best oil is the one which tastes best.

I don't care if the stats, research bla bla bla mean anything.

When refined sunflower oil hit Indian market in the 90s, the marketing propaganda was majorly focused on demeaning conventional oils i.e. ground nut, gingelly and coconut. If I ask a question, have the heart diseases come down since the 90s. The Answer is NO. The fact is, the sunflower oil growth rate has hit a plateau which is why it has become bad for health. Just another differentiation trick to get more premium for innovations in oil additives.

To me, I repeat, the best oil is the one which tastes best. In that order, my preference is Ground nut oil, Gingelly oil, Coconut oil and Olive oil.


All times are GMT +5.5. The time now is 01:17.