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So… why shouldn’t you ever cook with olive oil? Isn’t it supposed to be healthy for you?
Yes it is.. under certain circumstances! Watch the video to find out why I don’t cook with it and what I use instead:
What oil do you use to cook with?
Blog author Tracy Raftl used to have severe acne — now she teaches thousands of women how to take back control of their skin through natural, holistic, and mind-body methods.
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18 Responses
I cook with coconut oil or butter more than 90% of the time. I never cook with olive oil. I only used it as a dressing.
The smoke point is only used to determine when the oil will start to “smoke.” If olive oil has a smoke point of 350 degrees it does NOT mean that you can cook with it at a temperature of up to 350 degrees.
Just keep it simple folks. Cook with saturated fat – its stable. Coconut oil, butter, ghee and tallow or lard if you want.
Use olive oil as a dressing. I LOVE sesame oil – awesome flavors but just drizzle that on some foods… a little goes a long ways!
Yeah, you’re right, I got that wrong – it’s not the smoke point that’s important, it’s the type of fat that the oil is comprised of. Polyunsaturated is the delicate type, and it’s in most cooking oils.
So yeah. Saturated fat for cooking is beeeest 🙂
I’ll need to try some sesame oil for my salads, I haven’t been very adventurous with my oils. Just stick with my EVOO mostly!
whats the highest temp you can cook butter at? anyone knowww?
hmm I don’t know if there is a certain heat… or if it’s just heating it too quickly at a high temperature…. like it’s not good for frying because it seems to burn. So I think as long as you don’t burn it then it doesn’t matter
I don’t know what the actual temp is, but when I want to use butter to saute or anything, if you just put a little bit of some kind of oil in with it (coconut or peanut or whatever high heat oil you want) it doesn’t burn…it seems to kind of protect the butter.
Cool! Good tip! 🙂
Butter is an animal fat, and the fat doesn’t get damaged at high heat. So cook away!
Hey Tracy,
Thank you so much for that info. I’ve actually been looking up all the benefits to using coconut oil and they are endless. I had no idea about the toxic part of overheating these oils and it makes perfect sense. Appreciate your blog tons! You do an awesome job!
So after seeing this post, I was headed to the grocery store and picked up a jar of coconut oil. When I got home and opened it up to use on my chicken that I was baking in the oven, to my surprise it was solid! So, I just put a small dallop on each breast and cooked them in the oven. Is this what you are supposed to do? Help! Haha, Thanks!
Hi Stacey! Yeah it’s slightly harder to work with since it’s solid at room temperature… but not too inconvenient! If I was cooking a chicken breast, I’d put a little bit underneath it so it didn’t stick and then it would just melt and be fine. And yeah… on top if you normally like to put oil on top.
For things like baking sweet potato fries, I just put a dollop on top, put it in the oven for five minutes until melts, then bring it out and mix it all up, and throw it back in.
http://www.natural-cancer-cures.com/healthy-cooking-oils.html
This article really helped 🙂
Thanks Lulu! That was a really helpful article that explained really clearly why polyunsaturates are bad for cooking… thanks for sharing it!
what kind of butter can we substitute for coconut oil?
grass fed or ghee is best!
Love your videos Tracy! Do you have any recommendations for oils to cook with that are vegan and not coconut? I’m very allergic to coconut and anything dairy. I’ve been using vegetable oil but looking to switch after watching this video! Thank you 🙂
Hi Jessica!
I think that would be palm oil you are looking for … like coconut oil, it is mostly saturated fat so it is very heat stable! I don’t have much experience with it as I’ve never bought it or used it myself though so I don’t know where to get it/which brands etc
Hi, Tracy!
First of all, your site is awesome, it has helped me so much!
I’m from Portugal, here we have lots and lots of olive trees and the olive oil is extracted directly from the olive by a mechanical process, they don’t add anything. So it’s extra virgin and very healthy right? I always use olive oil in my cooks based in that idea. It’s the best oil.
Although, I didn’t quite understand if it is bad or not to it, I mean, If the olive oil is actually extra virgin then what’s the problem? My english is not the best, sorry 🙂
Thanks,
Hi Marta,
There’s nothing wrong with extra virgin olive oil itself – it is healthy – but it’s just that if you cook with it (particularly at high heat) it ruins the fat and makes it unhealthy. So it’s best to not cook with it and add it in after, or just ensure you are cooking at low temperatures with it 🙂