What’s the Best Oil for Cooking?

Want to avoid cooking in a smoky kitchen? Believe it or not, swapping out the kind of oil you use when stir frying, searing or sauteing can help reduce the number of times the smoke alarm goes off. Here are the benefits of high smoke point oils and why they can be a cook’s best friend.

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Not All Oils Are Created Equal

You probably know that not all fats and oils are created equal. Consider lard and butter versus liquid oils. Each has its place in baking and cooking. However, when it comes to cooking at high temperatures, there’s much more to consider.

For instance, maybe you prefer marinating your meat before cooking it. Oils help soak in any seasoning you’ve added. If you’re going to sear, saute or stir fry that meat, choose a high smoke point oil for your marinade.

Most Asian cooking, like stir frying, wok frying, or deep frying, requires a high smoke point oil. But not all high smoke point oils are created equal.

What Is a High Smoke Point Oil?

A high smoke point oil is exactly what it sounds like — an oil that doesn’t start to smoke until it reaches a high temperature. There are lots of reasons you don’t want that oil to start smoking beyond the annoying smoke alarm going off. When oil begins to smoke, it means it is degrading and, in the process, can give your food an unpleasant flavor.

Of course, there is a place for a smoky flavor in some cooking — mainly your pellet smoker. However, you don’t want burned oil ruining expensive ingredients.

List of oils and their smoke point

You may be shocked to learn that, in some instances, there is a 100 F temperature difference between when certain oils start to smoke. Here is a list of the most common cooking oils and the Fahrenheit degree range for their smoke point, also known as a flash point.

• Refined avocado oil: 520 F
• Unrefined avocado oil: 480 F
• Safflower oil: 510 F
• Soybean oil: 450 F
• Peanut oil: 450 F
• Corn oil: 450 F
• Sunflower oil: 450 F
• Vegetable oil: 430 F
• Grapeseed oil: 420 F
• Sesame oil: 410 F
• Canola oil: 400 F

That’s a lot of oil choices, and it doesn’t even include olive oil, which has a range of smoke points based on which olive oil variety you use. According to the North American Olive Oil Association, extra virgin olive oil has a smoke point between 350 F and 410 F. Regular olive oil and light-tasting olive oil have smoke points ranging from 390 F to 470 F. That’s still almost 100 degrees less than unrefined avocado oil.

When to Use These Kinds of Oils

Asian cooking often involves high heat—whether you’re stir frying in a wok or deep frying. The most common cooking oils used in Asian cooking tend to be soybean oil and peanut oil, which both have a smoke point of 450 F, making them great choices for Asian cooking, whether you’re cooking Pad See EW or Mongolian Pork.

Avocado oil is less common in Asia, so you won’t see it in a lot of authentic Asian recipes, but it has a very high smoke point of 520 F and is very lightly flavored. It also avoids some of the more common food allergy issues that you have to worry about with soybean or peanut oil.

Avocado oil is the go-to oil for Renee Gardner, who writes the Renee Nicole’s Kitchen blog. “Avocado oil’s high smoke point allows me to use it in almost every cooking application. It’s great for grilling and sauteing,” she said, “but I especially like it for roasting vegetables at a high heat. It’s got a very subtle flavor, which makes it super versatile.”

I use avocado oil almost exclusively for cooking, especially when using high-heat cooking methods like stir frying noodle dishes like Kimchi Fried Noodles or Singapore Noodles. I love that it has a very neutral flavor that doesn’t affect the flavor of the finished dish and that it has such a high smoke point.

The downside of avocado oil is that it can be pricey, but buying in bulk from places like Costco or even buying online can keep the cost down.

Consider Peanut Oil

Another oil with a higher smoke point is peanut oil. While its smoke point is not as high as avocado oil, it is higher than both olive oil and canola oil. Many people who use deep fryers will choose peanut oil. Michelle Goth of Blackberry Babe is one of them. “When deep frying our Thanksgiving turkey, I always use peanut oil,” she said. “It has a high smoke point, neutral taste and is an economical option when you need a good amount of oil for frying.”

Remember: peanut oil’s smoke point is 450 F. Deep frying typically requires oil to be between 325 F and 375 F. By choosing peanut oil, you’re reducing the chances it will start smoking or start to break down, which can affect the flavor of the finished product — in Goth’s instance, that deep-fried Thanksgiving turkey.

Peanut oil is a great choice for stir-fry dishes like Singapore Rice Noodles or Dan Dan Noodles.

You can buy peanut oil in bulk from warehouse clubs like Costco, big box stores like Walmart or online from Amazon. Of course, the only drawback to using peanut oil is it won’t work for an allergy-safe BBQ, if you’ve invited people who have a nut allergy.

When the Smoke Point Doesn’t Matter

Clearly, if you’re making a salad dressing or mixing olive oil into hummus or pesto, the smoke point is irrelevant since you’re not heating the oil up. But there are other instances where you are cooking with the oil, but the heat isn’t high enough for it to matter. For instance, if you’re making a cake that calls for oil, don’t sweat it. Most cakes cook at 350 F, so you’re not even approaching the smoke point for any of the cooking oils.

Final Thoughts

Previously, you may have chosen your cooking oils based on flavor or price point alone. However, understanding how smoke points work can help you to make better choices so you never again end up with a smoky kitchen — or smoky-tasting food that you hadn’t anticipated.

This article originally appeared on Food Drink Life.