[CarJunki]

For me and my family, we use what we have been using for generations (cold pressed mustard oil).
Anything not native to land where one lives when consumed on daily basis is bound to work in some sense counterproductive to health. Fruits being the exception.
If we go back in time, there never was a single oil/cooking medium used across different regions of India. Many parts used coconut (unprocessed) oil, some parts the groundnut and a variety.
Art of cooking with sesame oil is almost lost, now only used in some cases of exotic dressing of salads.

On a similar note: Sugar is not a native product in Indian context, it was always jaggery.

[The Flash]

Originally Posted by GTO

Guys, simple question = what oil to use for cooking at home?

Which is the best / most healthy / least evil oil to use for cooking at home? Cooking consists of typical Indian meals. Which should be my kitchen's Mobil 1 ?

Hey GTO,

Recently I came to know from an oil manufacturer that sunflower oil is imported and they are refined, packed and sold. Being a cafe owner I was using sunflower oil for frying french fries. But wasn't satisfied with the taste. Hence started researching and found out that peanut oil is good for french fries (ofcourse health) and has a high boiling point. Now very much satisfied with how it tastes.

Again depends on what purpose you are going to use the oil. Using olive oil for deep frying is not recommended. Whereas you can use peanut oil for deep frying and also tastes excellent. Peanut oil is good in monounsaturated fats which means 'good fat'. You can also use peanut oil for normal cooking. Don't worry it won't smell or taste of peanuts.

One issue with the peanut oil according to the manufacturer I buy from, most of them mix peanut perfume in sunflower oil and when you boil it it'll give out the exact same smell as peanut oil which is actually sunflower oil. Other one is palm oil mixed with peanut oil.

So finding a genuine manufacturer of peanut oil is difficult due to high cost involved. Also stay away from sunflower oil. I'm convincing at home to convert them to peanut oil.

[vibbs]

For me it's coconut oil all the way the latest study terming it as poison not withstanding. If that was true, Kerala would have been a grave yard for centuries.
Icing on the cake, the wonderful taste that it lends to the dishes. Although for most non keralites, it is a difficult one to 'acquire'.

[Ragavsr]

Originally Posted by vibbs

For me it's coconut oil all the way the latest study terming it as poison not withstanding. If that was true, Kerala would have been a grave yard for centuries.
Icing on the cake, the wonderful taste that it lends to the dishes. Although for most non keralites, it is a difficult one to 'acquire'.

I love the taste, not a Keralite though. However, my grandparents are on Tirunelveli, a district bordering Kerala and hence tended to use lots of it.

I remember that in my childhood days, when I used to visit Kerala, all the dosas in restaurants were made using coconut oil. On my recent visits there, looks like practice has faded away.

[C300]

Our family has been using Groundnut oil, Til oil and Ghee for generations. It worked for them and working for us. Moderation is the key.
Always use locally grown and adapted to our environment.

[GTO]

Thanks a ton for all the suggestions & advice, folks. It's amazing how a car website is the one to give you the best tips even on stuff like cooking oil and mattresses.

From the discussion, it's clear that choosing cooking oil isn't as easy as choosing engine oil . I'm reading this thread with my family members and making notes as to the changes to be made at home.

Just a note = we rarely ever have deep-fried stuff at our place. And yes, oil usage is already on the lower side. A good portion of our daily food intake has nothing to do with oil (e.g. soups, salads, boiled vegetables, fruits).

Thanks again!

[low_rider]

I have been following the cooking oil issue from quite some time now. Following is my summary from various news/magazine articles that I recall:

1. Any oil that you are hereditarily eating is good. E.g. Coconut oil for Keralites, Mustard oil for north Indians etc.

2. It is not the oil/fat, but excess carbohydrates in your diet that matter.

3. Palm oil is a big no. It has a very high vapour point, hence it is used in commercial establishments (e.g. McD, haldiram etc.)

4. Your body needs both vegetable oils and animal fats (ghee, butter)

5. Eat everything in moderation.

6. My so called value-add: Irrespective of your diet/lifestyle, a human life is between 65-85 years. So, worry less and eat well. A marathon runner will not live upto 200 years, neither would a foodie die in 30 years. Moderation is the key. Enjoy everything but don't overindulge in anything.

[DeepakMenon]

After reading 5 pages of everyone's comment, its dawned to me that we motorheads can never agree on OIL irrespective its ends use


Now my two cents, Oil historically was made of something that was locally available and suited the cooking based on diet which was driven by the climate of that area

So I would say Coconut oil is good for southern parts, Mustard / sunflower oil for northern parts

Personally being bought up in Delhi though a south indian, I love both oil ... If it is Chicken Roast then it better be coconut oil, if it is pakoda then it better be sunflower etc

[alpha1]

The most conservative approach is the best approach in terms of health.

Something that has proven track record of hundreds of years is bound to be safer for you and your progeny compared to newly fanged, "science" backed research (which is typically sponsored by big money with vested interest).

Our previous generations took copious amounts of saturated fats. Milk has loads of saturated fats. Tribes that consume only animal meat consume mostly saturated fats. They all have been healthy.
So saturated fats is not an issue and passes the track record test.
Saturated fats like Butter, Ghee, Coconut oil, animal fats etc.

What doesn't meet the proveness criteria is the new generation oils, which incidentally also have loads of poly-unsaturated content (PUFA): sunflower oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, etc. PUFA is the most reactive oil, and hence can go bad the easiest.

Whenever these big marketing companies advertise "healthy heart oil" they don't tell you the following things (found by more scientific means but sans big money backing):
1) unhealthy heart comes across because of oxidative stress - more unsaturated bonds you have in the hydrocarbon, the more it is prone (which means all PUFA oils are more riskier in the long term)
2) higher temperature elevates the above risk (which means Saturated and MUFA are safer than PUFA for frying)
3) the only PUFA worth consuming are essential Omega fatty acids - which should be in a proper ratio
4) most PUFA oils in the market are absolutely missing the most essential fatty acid: OMEGA-3
5) essential omega fatty acids are destroyed in heat - so you must consume it "raw"
6) refining process eliminates all the oil soluble vitamins like A, D, E, K and other minerals too


On a related note: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shift...d-bad-you.html (The great Cholesterol debate: Is it good or bad for you?)
You will understand that how our "scientific" community actually flip-flops on recommendations.

Better to follow what has been proven in service for generations - that to listen to these "money backed research".

[deemash]

People say we should eat what is available around us!

Coconuts were/are abundant in Kerala and hence they use coconut oil.

Since I am basically from Kerala and grown up eating coconut oil, I prefer coconut oil wherever I go.
There are mixed opinions about coconut oil usage though. Hearing this, we shifted to sun flower oil. Since we could not get used to it, we shifted back to coconut oil.

We generally don't eat outside and avoid deep frying things at home.

[fache89]

My brother in law who is Doctor has advised that it is best if one changes the cooking oil every quarter. The cycle of changing oil (Olive Oil/Mustard Oil) greatly helps in balancing out the saturated and unsaturated fat. There is no oil till date which has all the essential fatty acids nor there is one which has best Anti-oxidant profile.

Although, I've been regularly using Olive oil, but I would like to put out a caveat. The extra virgin oil should not be used for deep frying. It is only meant for topping up the Salads.

Olive Pomace Oil on the other hand to put simply is basically the leftover oil in the pan. It is cheap for a reason. I would refrain from using it.

[GTO]

What a coincidence. On a recent road-trip, I spotted this outside Purohit Thali, Deolali.

Claims that his oil is 100% natural with zero additives. He's going to be putting these up on Amazon soon. Phone number at the bottom in case you are interested. He will ship. We bought 3 bottles as refined oil has become a bad word in our house (thanks to the advice on this thread ).

[sgiitk]

We used Sunflower Oil. Before that it was mustard. Now Sunflower is not locally available. I have been advised for Rice Bran, but my wife get whatever catches her fancy. We avoid Mustard due to the smell.

In fact we are increasingly using Pure Ghee, but in reduced quantities.

Somewhat OT: Recently we met a very senior doctor in a near vegetative state. He had switched to one of the sugar substitutes (Sugarfree Natura), and was consuming up to 20 tablets a day (sweets etc). Most people attributed his condition to the sweetener. In any case we had switched to Sugar a few years ago. I do hear that the recently discovered Stevia being natural may be better. But I cannot and will not risk it.

[fordday]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Somewhat OT: Recently we met a very senior doctor in a near vegetative state. He had switched to one of the sugar substitutes (Sugarfree Natura), and was consuming up to 20 tablets a day (sweets etc). Most people attributed his condition to the sweetener. In any case we had switched to Sugar a few years ago. I do hear that the recently discovered Stevia being natural may be better. But I cannot and will not risk it.

Do you mean people attribute the use of Sugarfree Natura caused him to go to vegetative state?

I didn't understand when you mentioned "switched to Sugar"? What were you using earlier?

[sgiitk]

@fordday; I was using Sugarfree Natura in the past five or so years. Yes, people (mostly doctors) attribute his vegetative state to heavy use of Sugar Free. Reading some whumf in the media, I just switched back to Sugar (in far lower quantities) a couple of years ago. In any case we were not using Sugar Free in sweets etc. Also, I had given up on Coke Zero after a couple of months. My Coke consumption in any case was about three bottles a year.