Vegetable Oil

About

Vegetable oils are oils extracted from vegetables. These vegetable oils maybe edible (for cooking) or inedible (for industrial use).

Examples of vegetable oils used in cooking are canola oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, olive oil, etc.

Information

Other names: Salad Oil, Oil

Translations: Augu eļļa, Augalinis aliejus, Ulei vegetal, Biljno ulje, Dầu thực vật, Olej roślinny, Plantaardige Olie, वनस्पति तेल, Óleo Vegetal, Растительное масло, Φυτικά Λάδι, الزيوت النباتية, 야채 오일, Rostlinný olej, Биљног уља, Halaman Langis, 植物油, Oli vegetal, Rastlinsko olje, Rastlinný olej, Olio vegetale, שמן צמחי, Vegetabilisk olja, Minyak nabati, 植物油, L'huile végétale, Pflanzenöl, Vegetabilsk olie, Vegetabilsk olje, Aceite vegetal, Рослинна олія, Kasviöljyä, Растително олио

Physical Description

Yellow Gold fluid that is easy to boil when applied by heat. It also floats on water and creates greasy effect on plates, spoon and other cooking utensils. It has may variation and smoke point.

Colors: Yellow Gold

Tasting Notes

Mouthfeel: Oily

Substitutes: Oliv e oils, Butter, Margarine, Or lard

Selecting and Buying

Seasonality: january, february, march, april, may, june, july, august, september, opctober, november, december

Choosing: Most vegetable oils will add no discernible taste in frying. However, peanut oil is one that can impart some flavoring to foods.

For healthier choices, check labels for levels of fats. Avoid those that state “partially hydrogenated” and “saturated.” The “good” fats will be listed as unsaturated, polyunsaturated, or monounsaturated. Canola is at the top of the heart-healthy list as it is the lowest in saturated fats.

Blended oils may not list every ingredient. Generic “cooking oils” are generally soybean-based.

It is important to become familiar with the different types of vegetable oils for best results in baking, frying, and serving with fresh foods.

Buying: You can buy these Vegetables oils in supermarkets.

Preparation and Use

Do not use vegetable oil as a dressing.

When reusing frying oils, remember that the smoke point may be lower than when it is fresh.

Use extra virgin or extra light olive oils for cooking. Unrefined olive oil will begin to smoke at about 320 degrees F.

Conserving and Storing

These oils do not require refrigeration and may turn cloudy when cold.

They will be good for about twelve months if stored properly (out of sunlight).

Social/Political

Vegetable oil is a growing part of our diet.

Beginning in the 1960s, researchers began to make clear connections between the intake of saturated fats and coronary heart disease. With the call for people to eat more unsaturated fats, consumers shifted toward vegetable oils, which are a natural, convenient source of such fats.

Since 1995, the global per capita consumption of oils and fats has risen from 15.6 to 23.4 kilograms per year, with vegetable oil assuming a larger percentage, 82 vs. 78 percent, of total fat intake.

History: In North America...

While olive oil and other pressed oils have been around for millennia, Procter & Gamble researchers were innovators when they started selling cottonseed oil as a creamed shortening, in 1911. Ginning mills were happy to have someone haul away the cotton seeds. Procter & Gamble researchers learned how to extract the oil, refine it, partially hydrogenate it (causing it to be solid at room temperature and thus mimic natural lard), and can it under nitrogen gas. Compared to the rendered lard Procter & Gamble was already selling to consumers, Crisco was cheaper, easier to stir into a recipe, and could be stored at room temperature for two years without turning rancid. (Procter & Gamble sold their fats and oils brands - Jif and Crisco - to The J.M. Smucker Co. in 2002.)