GoKawiilIf you're simply guessing which oil to use for whatever's on tonight's menu, you might be sabotaging your own meal. And worse, you could be wasting expensive olive or walnut oil only to watch it burn up in the air fryer or under the broiler's fierce heat.
Not all oils are created equal. That expensive variety you drizzle over salad may not be built for searing, and it's affecting your recipe's final taste, along with your monthly food budget.
High-heat cooking methods such as frying or searing are best done with neutral oils that feature a higher smoke point -- canola, avocado or grapeseed, to name a few. Olive oil and lower smoke point oils shine in dressings, slow cooking and sautes, where the rich flavor can stand out without burning and enhance the protein or vegetables.
For baking, some oils also lend moisture, while others add nutrition or depth when left uncooked. To get the skinny on cooking oils, I asked culinary experts to share tips and advice on when to use each oil so you can get the most flavor, texture, and value from every meal you make.
Most common cooking oils and when to use them
Smoke point and flavor are the two big considerations to make when choosing an oil. Maximilian Stock/Getty Images
Guido Parrati, owner of Parla Come Mangi in Rapallo, Italy, is no stranger to teaching others to cook. In addition to serving an impressively robust assortment of Italian delicacies in his iconic deli, Parrati also hosts seminars, tastings and showcases of local ingredients.
Beyond flavor profile, Parrati said that the single most important aspect of an oil, at least when used for cooking, is its smoke point. A high smoke point indicates that the product can withstand higher temperatures before it begins to -- you guessed it -- smoke and break down.
This is important to keep in mind for proteins such as red meat, which may require higher heat and longer cooking times to break through tough exteriors and more fibrous interiors. After all, if oil is the lubricant for a perfect sear and/or crunch, you don't want it to completely dissipate before the job's done (or well done, if that's your preference).
Here is a list of the most common oils used for cooking, detailed by Parrati (sans olive oil, which gets its own section after the jump).
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