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Questions tagged [oil]

Fats from plant sources that are liquid at room temperature, such as olive oil, canola oil and peanut oil. Questions about the use of oils or about which oils to choose for a specific culinary purpose are appropriate here. As per the FAQ, please avoid asking about health matters in this tag unless you have a specific nutritional question - for example, the effect of saturation on smoke point.

Refers to culinary oils such as olive, canola, peanut, and grape seed.

Oils are distinguished from other fats by the high amount of unsaturated (mono- or polyunsaturated) fatty acids. The higher the degree of unsaturation, more likely it is to be liquid at room temperature.

Questions about the use of oils or about which oils to choose for a specific culinary purpose are appropriate here.

As per the FAQ, please avoid asking about health matters in this tag unless you have a specific nutritional question - for example, the effect of saturation on smoke point.

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What is meant by "neutral" oils?

What is meant by "neutral" oils? Conversely, what would make an oil not neutral? When is it important that the oil be neutral (or not)?
Jason Baek
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Why should I use olive oil?

So many recipes list olive oil in the ingredients, as the oil to fry things in. What are the benefits or reasons that I should use olive oil over regular generic "cooking oil" and should I always use olive oil over other oils?
victoriah
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What oils are "required" for a decent home kitchen?

What different varieties of oil are really needed in a decent home kitchen? I ask because I've only two right now (olive & sunflower) that I try to use "correctly" but sometimes use interchangeably. I wonder what I'm missing.
DMA57361
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Will a small "breather tube" on my bottles harm the oil/vinegar/liquor inside?

I have several glass bottles with speed pourers like this: I am thinking of using these bottles to hold my oil/vinegar/soy sauce/etc as well as liquors for my home bar, for efficiency of pouring as well as consistency. The bottles have a green…
Franco
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Why do many recipes instruct you to oil or grease the pan at the start of the recipe?

I've noticed that most recipes that end up in a pan in the oven will have me grease or oil the pan at the start of the recipe. This is long before I have anything else to put into it. The pan just sits waiting for me to do the rest of the recipe.…
markets
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Does blending oil (for vegan butter) make hydrogenated oil?

I recently figured out the recipe for garlic vegan butter which is made primarily by roasting garlic, then whipping it in a blender with coconut and olive oil, and cooling in the refrigerator. It's delicious, textured similarly to butter and, as far…
George Mauer
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Why is refined oil cheaper than cold press oil?

Why is refined oil cheaper than cold press oil? Most people know that cold press oil is far more nutritious than refined oil. Then why use refined oil in the first place? If cold pressed oil costs X, refined oils should cost X+Y, due to additional…
jerrymouse
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Constructing your own oil/water sprayer

I have used Pam with great success, but I'd like to build my own oil sprayer so that I can control what kinds of oil I want to use. I also do a lot of break baking and the ability to build a water sprayer will also be helpful. How have you built…
Jason
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How to prevent olive oil container from getting oily outside?

I'm using this kind of container to add just drops of oil on top of my food or whatever: Problem is it's always oily so after using it I have to clean my hand. Any trick to keep it clean and non oily outside?
drake035
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Why does oil burn when put into a hot pan?

I was trying to make the scrambled eggs based on the answer found here. I set my stainless-steel pan on the burner and set the burner about halfway between medium and high. After the panned warmed on quite a bit (probably all the way), I put some…
Bob
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Advantages of grapeseed oil?

I recently spotted grapeseed oil at Costco. I've been considering switching over from Canola oil; are there any culinary advantages or disadvantages of grapeseed oil over Canola or other cooking oils?
chrisjlee
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Is there a difference between infused oil and adding the ingredient?

For example, is there any difference (taste, use, health, etc) between using an olive oil infused with lemon and a regular olive oil and adding lemon juice? If there are differences, do they only apply when not cooking with the oil (e.g. in a…
Tony Meyer
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What is this brown deposit at the bottom of my Oil can?

We use Filtered groundnut oil for cooking at home. However, we recently changed the brand due to non-availability during COVID-19 lock-down. While pouring the last bit of oil I saw this at the bottom. The brown coloration was stuck to the walls of…
VRM
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Sunflower oil for seasoning cast iron

Can I use sunflower oil to season my cast-iron pan? I know the oil needs to be able to tolerate high temperature and I'm not sure if this oil is fit for purpose.
Ann
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If not hydrogenated, how are spreads from olive oil made?

I read that many spreads are non hydrogenated, so then how are they made solid?
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