I used to use olive oil for stir frying vegetables, but now understand that it breaks down if the temperature is too high. But I’m not sure if that’s more a taste thing, or if the health benefits also disappear. Should I be adding some to salads or vegetables that are already cooked instead?
Also, am I right that you should get the good stuff for health benefits? How good? Some of it can be really pricey.
yeah it’s ok. olive oil won’t “break down” at high temperatures - not in the temperatures you can realistically reach in a home kitchen anyway
the only difference is that extra virgin oil contains a couple sensorial (taste/smell) nuances from highly volatile substances which decompose rapidly when submitted to any heat above room temperature, meaning EVOO behaves as regular olive oil with respect to taste and smell if used for cooking. that has strictly culinary implications and does not affect the oil in any noticeable “healthiness” aspect. if you don’t mind that, use EVOO for everything
if cost or availability is a meaningful factor (I mention “availability” because in average supermarkets here in Brazil for some reason I hardly ever find regular olive oil, only EVOO), then submit only regular oil to heat and use EVOO strictly in cold preparations (eg pesto), finishings or on top of the table (eg for salads)
Contrary to popular belief, the saturated fat content of olive oil is higher than some oils like canola oil. So from a health perspective If reducing saturated fat is a goal, switching to canola oil can be healthier. Also, I remember my professor telling us a while ago that oil should be stored in the fridge to reduce the amount of oxidation that occurs when stored in the pantry/ lower temperatures for example.
I read that solid fats are better for cooking on high heat as they are a lot more stable. Fine oils are a lot more sensitive, and also tend to capture free radicals from the air (so best to keep oils covered and in the fridge). Free radicals cause inflammation I think. All of this is from the book Gut by Giulia Enders.
Best to worst frying oil:
Saturated > mufa(oleic) > linoleic(n-6) > ALA(n-3)
Omegas are essential fats, but they’re also the most fragile when it comes to heat and oxidation.
Just stir fry over medium heat (350F/175C) or less and you’ll be fine for the most part with most any high oleic vegetable oil. Or use a saturated vegetable oil (or lard/tallow/ghee) like coconut or palm for higher heats.
The fiber helps inhibit fat absorption, so stir fry it up!
You need fat. There’s no real health benefits to either SFA or MUFA cooking fats. It doesn’t really matter. Some of the largest reviews show that besides trans fat there’s really no bad fat(some evidence suggests too much n-6 and not enough n-3 is bad). Saturated or monounsaturated doesn’t really matter. They’re the two most abundant fats in animals, including humans, and neither is essential in the diet.
There’s something called healthy user bias. People that are health conscious follow guidelines, even when those guidelines aren’t proven to be good. Even when they discover the guidelines were bad the dubious associations persist! That’s just one problem with epidemiological studies.
When the RCTs come out. Absolutely follow that advice. That’s where we get strong evidence that can prove causation. Like saturated fats being replaced with PUFAs resulted in higher all-cause mortality including from heart disease:
https://www.bmj.com/content/353/bmj.i1246
So don’t listen to the AHA or Harvard. They’ve been check marking (AHA seal of approval) trans fats and junk food cereals for a hundred years. I honestly doubt they want to genuinely promote health. Harvard has been caught taking money from the sugar industry to push the blame onto fat for decades.
Science isn’t a consensus. Nutritional guidance is often political more so than scientific. Much comes down to who pays the most to get their propaganda preached as gospel.