Can you cook with vegetable oil? What oil is best for frying? What is harmful sunflower oil

Unrefined homemade butter can be bought not only in the market, although it is the most delicious there. But is it possible to fry in unrefined oil if there is no usual one at home? It is hard to imagine a homemade vinaigrette or seasoned with other oil. But it's not good for frying. Why?

Is it possible to fry in unrefined sunflower oil

When compared to unrefined sunflower oil with olive, then you can put these products side by side. It's just that sunflower seeds are a cheaper product than olives, so the price of oil differs significantly. In all other respects, these are two identical products according to the method of obtaining. The seeds are put under the press and fresh unrefined oil is obtained.

The composition of this oil contains various impurities that give it such a recognizable aroma and taste. And although unrefined oil undergoes some purification from impurities, it is not recommended to fry on it. When heated, it smokes and foams heavily, and all useful components are destroyed in it. And, in addition, high-quality unrefined oil releases carcinogens during frying, which adversely affect the benefits of the product, and transfers its rich taste to those dishes that are fried. And if a salad of summer vegetables, when dressed with refined oil, acquires a special taste, then the cutlets will become completely inedible.

Is it possible to fry in unrefined olive oil

For the same reason as described above, fry on unrefined olive oil Not recommended. It does not foam and does not have such a rich taste, but the useful components of the product are simply destroyed during frying. In addition, this product has a high cost, and frying on it is wasteful. However, many chefs, especially for Italian cuisine, recommend adding a spoonful of unrefined olive oil to ready-made fried dishes to give it a special flavor.

You can fry in unrefined oil, starting from the third spin, if the oil is olive. It is designed for heat treatment and perfectly complements the taste of your favorite dishes.

Is it possible to fry in unrefined corn oil

As for mustard, linseed and other types of oils, only one thing can be said. All types of oils obtained by first cold pressing contain maximum amount useful ingredients. They are what make them up. nutritional value, and also make such oil a rather expensive product. It is possible to fry in unrefined oil, but it is not worth it - it is better to take specially refined refined cooking oil for frying.

Vegetable oil made from sunflower seeds, olives, sesame, corn, rapeseed today occupies an important place in the food set of every person. We choose to the table, depending on our own preferences, refined and unrefined oils, the difference between which lies in the type of processing of the product. For each culinary specialist, there are preferred varieties, brands and volumes of such ingredients added to certain dishes.

Vegetable oil is very useful for the body. But in order for the use of this product to have only benefits and not even minimal harm is expected, you need to choose the right oil. And the first question that arises when choosing a good option: is it better to buy refined or unrefined oil? What are the differences and features of these two different products in terms of processing? Let's try to delve into this question and find a fair answer that will help you choose the right food option for your health.

What is the difference between refined oil and unrefined oil. Product options

In order to understand the difference between refined oil and unrefined oil, it is worth understanding what refining is. In fact, this is a type of product purification from impurities and some elements. This process is carried out by chemical or physical method. Purification technology involves evaporation, filtration, neutralization of the substances that make up the product. In order to obtain refined oil, the liquid is subjected to multi-stage purification, deodorization, clarification. The product of final processing has a light transparent shade, almost does not smell, does not foam during thermal exposure. It would seem, not an ingredient, but a find! But all these advantages are not so unambiguous.

Unrefined oil is an unrefined product. But what is it not cleansed of? What impurities or elements of the composition of an oil, such as sunflower, can we consider superfluous? During the refining process, almost everything that can be considered valuable in this product is removed from the structure. Only fats and a small part of the other composition remain.

It turns out that refined oil is a product purified from everything! There is almost nothing useful in it, and nothing useful either. Only the consistency and properties remain: lubricating effect, anti-adhesive effect, softening ability. All these qualities are often used to improve the taste and texture of dishes. But can we get something else useful from refined oil? It's worth thinking about it!

Which oil is healthier and better: refined or unrefined?

Going to the supermarket to fill the cart with delicious and useful products, you should think about what exactly you should choose for yourself and your family. Which oil is healthier and better: refined or unrefined? Let's take a closer look at both oils.

Refined:

• almost colorless or has a barely perceptible yellowish tint;
• does not have a pronounced taste or is completely devoid of any flavor;
• does not foam during frying;
• has good lubricating and softening abilities;
• combined with a number of staple foods in the diet of more people;
• almost does not change the taste of the products.

Unrefined:

• has a pleasant amber hue;
• has a pleasant taste depending on the base (seed, corn, olive);
• foams slightly during frying;
• well lubricates and softens;
• combines with a large number of products;
• affects taste qualities dishes.

I want to add a content item to each of the product feature lists. useful substances: vitamins, microelements, bioactive components. In the case of the refined version, this point will be almost negative. Most of the useful components are removed during cleaning. That is, in fact, refined oil no longer contains the amount of vitamins that it originally had, and unrefined oil retains a high proportion of the content of all substances important for the body.

Based on all this, let's try to answer the question: what is better and healthier - refined or unrefined oil? If we look at this issue from the point of view of choosing a product that fits perfectly into a healthy diet, then unrefined oil should definitely be preferred. Here you ask: "How possible harm from those substances that remained as a result of the lack of purification? We will answer: “There can be no harm in the moderate, proper use of a plant product. But the benefits of a natural, unmodified product, which contains valuable fatty, semi-saturated acids, amino acids, vitamins, etc., are definitely there.”

As an example, let's analyze the composition of sunflower oil, which has not undergone a cleansing treatment. The composition includes: vitamins E and A, omega-3, -6 acids, oleic acid. Saturation of the body with these and other components contributes to:

• preservation of youth and elasticity of tissues (skin, hair, nail plate);
• building a strong immune system;
• stabilization of the balance of nutrients in the body;
• improving bowel function;
• normalization of the hormonal background.

Vegetable oil gently envelops the gastric mucosa, which creates a natural protection against mechanical microtrauma, the introduction of pathogenic microflora. The antioxidant effect of vegetable oils has also been proven. The use of this product during a weight loss diet is very beneficial.

What does refined oil mean?

Consider what is refined oil. This is a refined product that does not stand out too much in taste and aroma. However, culinary experts note a very bright softening effect and separating ability. By adding this oil to any culinary product, you can achieve reliable mixing without gluing the components of the products. At the same time, the taste of the dish does not change. Beneficial refined oil for frying - it does not burn and does not foam. When using this variation of grease for the bottom of the dishes, you will not encounter soot and burning smell in the kitchen.

But if we talk about healthy eating, where eating is completely unacceptable fried foods, then this ability immediately loses its value.

So what does refined oil mean? This means that it is a purified product that has retained its physical (not all) qualities and mechanical abilities. But this food component has almost no benefit to the human body. Refined oil is purified from all useful! Is there a need for a similar product on the table of a person who has chosen the path healthy eating? The answer is obvious! This oil - in terms of healthy nutrition- absolutely empty.

The benefits of unrefined oil

Want to deal with useful qualities unrefined oil. Many may decide that an unrefined product suggests harm to the body. This is wrong! Unclean does not mean dirty. Oil that has not been refined undergoes minimal purification. During this cleaning process, a suspension of impurities is removed, and elements that affect the transparency, color and softness of the texture are eliminated.

Vegetable oils that have not undergone deep purification retain a variety of useful qualities.

However, it is worth noting a number of features of such a product that can be considered disadvantages:

• the unrefined product is sensitive to light;
• has a shorter shelf life;
• may be bitter;
• not suitable for heat treatment;
• It has a bright taste shade (this can be considered both a minus and a plus).

To a natural product, the attitude should be reverent. It is important to take into account the features of application, storage, selection. However, for experienced chefs and housewives, it will not be difficult to remember some rules for using natural, unrefined vegetable oil.

What happens if you choose refined oil?

A reasonable question - is there any harm from using a refined product? Many people believe that refined oil does not cause much harm to the body. This is not true at all. After all, the refining process involves the use of substances and compounds such as phosphates, silicates, poisons. Gasoline is often used for cleaning. Do you think that the absorption of these substances is harmful to the health of the body? chemical elements with food? The answer is clear and simple! Carries.

However, choosing such a variant of the culinary component, in addition to the obvious harm, you cause damage to your health by depriving yourself of the benefits that a good natural version of food gives.

And if your body does not regularly receive valuable trace elements and biologically active substances contained in a particular product, you need to either find a replacement for this source (but it is not always there), or accustom yourself to healthy food. What are the reasons for preferring the less useful option?

1. The price of vegetable oils of any level of processing is almost in an equal cost range. Plus/minus 20 rubles won't do much for the family budget.
2. Any product options today are easy to find on the shelves of standard supermarkets, markets, grocery stores. Therefore, the problem of accessibility is definitely unfamiliar to the modern consumer.
3. Some people consider a special taste natural oils not very familiar. In fact, the natural taste of a natural product is more natural and pleasant. Do not add too many oily additions to dishes. You only need a drop of valuable product to spice up a combination of vegetables or add zest to some other dishes.

Another feature of unrefined oil is that you need very little of it to provide your body with the necessary saturation with benefits and health!

Although sunflower oil is the most common cooking oil, it is recommended to limit its use as much as possible. The reason lies in the fact that sunflower oil contains a significant amount of omega-6 fats - unlike omega-3 fats, regular consumption of omega-6 negatively affects health.

Alternatives to sunflower oil include unrefined olive and coconut oils, as well as cheaper canola oil. As for frying with olive oil, it is important to note that although it loses some useful properties when heated, its composition does not change - as a result, the body receives Omega-9 fatty acids, which are classified as safe for health.

Why is sunflower oil harmful?

Any type of sunflower oil (including unrefined oil) is approximately 60-80% omega-6 fats. Although these fats do not cause direct harm organism, their use in large quantities disrupts metabolism, significantly increasing the body's need. In contrast, omega-9 fats from olive oil do not increase this need.

Research suggests that the best ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 fats is 1 to 1 - in order to balance the harm of sunflower oil, 10 g of omega-3 fats should fall on each tablespoon of this oil, which is equivalent. In reality, most people do not think about it, consuming Omega-3 and 6 in proportions of 1 to 10 or even 1 to 20.

Omega-6 and Omega-3 imbalance

The result of an imbalance of Omega-3 and 6 is the occurrence of all kinds of micro-inflammation in the body and disruption of cell regeneration processes (1) . The situation is aggravated if the diet is initially deficient in Omega-3 - which is quite typical. In fact, to maintain health, sunflower oil should be used in extremely small quantities.

Unfortunately, refined sunflower oil and corn oil similar to it are widely used not only in convenience foods and fast food (hamburgers and french fries are fried on them), but also in most ordinary restaurants. The reason is cheapness long term storage, neutral taste and the ability to tolerate high temperatures (about 200-250˚C) without burning.

Can you fry in olive oil?

Safe alternatives to sunflower oil are olive oil and canola oil. These oils consist predominantly of omega-9 monosaturated fatty acids, which are neutral for health and do not affect the balance of omega-6 and omega-3. However, the main question often becomes whether it is safe to fry in olive oil and whether it loses its properties when heated.

The good news is that while heating olive oil to high temperatures(and frying means heating above 200˚C) the antioxidants contained in it partially lose their properties, but no harmful elements appear in the composition. In other words, olive oil is safe both for frying food and for regular consumption in reasonable amounts.

Refined olive oil

It is also important to know that for everyday frying you do not need expensive cold-pressed olive oil at all - it is more suitable for adding to salads. For regular cooking, you can use refined olive oil or canola oil - they are much cheaper and are sold in any large supermarket.

However, remember that manufacturers often try to mislead consumers by releasing sunflower oil with the addition of olive oil. Unfortunately, most often the content of olive oil in such mixtures is no more than 5-10% - in other words, this is ordinary sunflower oil. Before buying, always carefully study the composition of the oil on the package.

Coconut oil for frying

In addition to olive oil, another good option for cooking is coconut oil. It perfectly tolerates high frying temperatures, has a pleasant taste and a unique fatty acid profile in its composition. Essentially, coconut oil is a plant-based version of saturated animal fats, but contains no cholesterol.

FitSeven has written at length about how a person's body is extremely reluctant to convert their calories into subcutaneous fat - making it ideal for a diet. Coconut oil fatty acids are mainly used by the body as a source of daily energy and a material for the synthesis of hormones (primarily testosterone).

Can you fry in butter?

Unfortunately, regular butter is completely unsuitable for frying, as it starts to burn at temperatures above 150˚C. An alternative may be, widely used for cooking in India and South Asian countries. Unlike butter, ghee tolerates high temperatures well and has a much longer shelf life.

Cooked with ghee, food acquires a pleasant caramel taste and amber color, and the oil itself contains a large number of vitamin A and vitamin E. You can either buy ready-made ghee or make it at home using regular unsalted butter. Separately, we note that there are practically no harmful Omega-6s in ghee oil - since they are not found in milk either.

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The worst choices for cooking are sunflower, soybean and corn oils, which contain a large amount of omega-6 fatty acids harmful to metabolism. The best oils for frying are olive, coconut and canola oils (including refined versions of these oils), as well as ghee butter.

Scientific sources:

1. The Shocking Truth About Sunflower Oil,
2. Why it's best not to cook with extra virgin olive oil,
3. debunking the common myths about palm oil,

Many mistakenly believe that frying in olive or sunflower oil dramatically reduces the harm of fried foods. Unfortunately, this is not the case at all.

As numerous studies show, the use of almost all vegetable oils in this case will be detrimental to your health. This is especially true when it comes to cooking for children.

In this article, we'll take a look at exactly what fried foods can do to your health, is it safe to fry without oil, and how to find an alternative to fried foods.

To fry or not to fry, that is the question.

Today, almost no one doubts that fried foods are unhealthy. Doctors and nutritionists from the screens just keep saying: "Give up fried food, fried food is harm and poison." But even I, I confess, did not fully realize that frying (in particular in oil!) Is infinitely harmful.

And the point here is not even that with oil we eat dozens of times more unnecessary calories (and many people do not even think about it when they pour oil into a frying pan: an extra 100 ml of this product adds at least 900 kcal to our dish , just think, almost half the daily allowance!).

Having understood the issue, I realized that everything is much more serious than just fat, which will certainly be deposited on the sides. So what is the main danger of fried food?

Why is it bad to fry in oil?

For most types of vegetable oils, which are supposedly intended for frying (sunflower, corn, etc.), the smoke point is lower than the temperature to which frying pans can be heated on electric and gas stoves. The smoke point of vegetable oils is the temperature at which the oil begins to produce toxic substances and carcinogens that contribute to the emergence of malignant neoplasms.

In order to exceed this smoke point, it is not at all necessary to fry in the same oil many times. Depending on the stove and pan, the temperature during frying can easily reach 250-300 degrees. And this means that in oil (for example, at the olive Extra Virgin maximum smoke temperature - 191°C) at this temperature, reactions are triggered to form toxins and carcinogens, and it simply turns into poison.

If you still fry, then how is it safest?

An important point to remember first of all when frying is the use of exclusively refined oils (the refining process increases the smoke point). The fact is that unrefined oils are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, and free radicals are formed during their heat treatment. They provoke the development of cancer, Alzheimer's disease and other deadly diseases, and also destroy the structure of DNA.

Therefore, any unrefined (salad) oils are unsuitable for frying in any way! But many people are deeply mistaken in this regard, thinking that it is most useful to fry in Extra Virgin oil.

Remember, if we are talking about any unrefined oil, then fry on such vegetable oil harmful.

I think it goes without saying that you can’t re-fry in used oil (even if it looks “like new”). Once in use, it quickly oxidizes in air, and during subsequent frying, the amount of oxidation products sharply increases in it.

The smoke point of vegetable oils.

I will give several types refined oils with indicators of their smoke point (I will make a reservation that these indicators differ slightly in different sources - it all depends on the degree of refining. I will take the average values):

• Oil grape seed— 216°C
• Corn oil - 232 °C
• Olive oil - 242 °C
• Sunflower oil - 227 °C
• Coconut oil - 232°C
• Peanut butter - 232°C
• Rapeseed oil - 240 °C
• Walnut oil - 207 °C

It would seem that everything is simple: fry yourself slowly in olive or rapeseed oil, not letting it burn, but that was not the case. There are also some "pitfalls" here: the smoke point of vegetable oil is, in principle, higher than that of animal fats and proteins. And this means that when frying meat, fish or poultry, the main part of carcinogenic substances is formed from the burning of fats and proteins from these products, and not from oil.

Thus, as we see, the harm of fried food is not only that it is fried in oil.

And if you are wondering: “is it possible to fry without oil”, then, I believe, the argument above should dot the “i” (at least when it comes to food of animal origin). Of course, for the same reason, butter frying is bad its smoke point is 121 -149 °C).

Let me just say in the end that you can always find a delicious alternative to frying (whether it's baking in the oven or stewing with a little water over low heat). Now I know for sure: whether it be chicken, fish or cutlet, for delicious cooking you can find many ways and variations 😉

Our compatriots heard about refined vegetable oil not so long ago.

The flagship in the expanses of the post-Soviet space was TM "Oleina" - its advertising appeared in the late 90s, or rather in 1997.

Until that time, there was no special variety of oils, only the usual unrefined.

It was used both for salads and for frying, though not everyone liked the taste and smell of such “goodies”, too bright relish gives unrefined oil to the products that are fried on it.

And yet, under the influence of high temperatures, it releases harmful substances that adversely affect the human body.

Having tried purified (refined) oil, none of the housewives returned to unrefined oil, at least for frying.

Crude oil today is used only for fresh consumption, which, however, is correct..

Affordable cost, economical consumption, the complete absence of smell and taste of vegetable oil, as well as burning during cooking brought national love and recognition to the refined product.

At one time, it completely ousted the unrefined from the store shelves, in which advertising played an important role.

She focused the attention of potential consumers on the fact that foods prepared with refined oil are dietary and low in calories.

It is good that over time these two types of oils divided the market, because, in fact, they are not competitors, they are both healthy in their own way, each of them has its own field of application, its own advantages and disadvantages.

Refined vs Unrefined Oil: What's the Difference?

The key difference between unrefined and refined vegetable fat is the way they are produced.

If we omit the details of the vegetable oil manufacturing processes that dictate the rules of ultra-profitable commerce, then ideally they should look like this.

To obtain the most useful unrefined oil, raw materials (for our latitudes - these are sunflower seeds, corn, flax, pumpkin, for warm countries these are olives, sesame, almonds and other oilseeds) are subjected to powerful presses, that is, they are thereby obtained by cold pressing.

It will be a virgin oil obtained by cold pressing. But since it is impossible to squeeze out all the oil from the raw material in this way, an extraction method was invented to help him, which is used after pressing.

The essence of the extraction is to heat the remains of the cake, treat them with organic (I would like to believe in this) solvents, which increase the return of the oil, and then are removed from the final product.

Thus, re-pressed oil is obtained, it is no longer as valuable and useful as what is obtained in the first pressing by a press.

As for refined vegetable oil, the raw material for its production is an unrefined product. During forced refining, various impurities are removed from it:

• aromatic and flavoring substances;
• those that can precipitate and spoil the look of the finished product - phospholipids;
• pigments (refined oil is almost colorless);
• all waxy substances and the wax itself, which cause the oil to become cloudy;
• unbound fatty acids and others.

This short description oil production technologies. Today, unfortunately, the production of vegetable oils is primarily a big business, which involves the use of far from harmless technologies.

They allow you to get a market product with minimal material and time costs.

In some varieties of refined vegetable oil, all components useful for the body may be completely absent, and very harmful ones may be present instead.

Therefore, any oil should be bought only from trusted manufacturers, and preferably directly at oil mills, if possible.

Vegetable unrefined oil - benefits

Crude oil is a storehouse of vitamins and components valuable for the body. It is very tasty and fragrant, makes the usual dishes richer, richer.

But it can't be on it! to fry, to get the maximum benefit, you need to use such oil only fresh.

1. Saturates the body with vitamins.

2. Essential fatty acids (which ones depend on the type of oil).

3. Supplier of antioxidants.

4. It is an excellent means of preventing thrombosis and atherosclerosis.

5. Stimulates the production of growth hormone in children and adolescents.

6. Regular use of such vegetable fat improves the condition of hair, nails, and skin.

7. Beneficial effect on the state of the nervous system.

8. Used in cosmetology for the preparation of nourishing and rejuvenating formulations.

9. Normalizes the functions of organs reproductive system in men and women.

10. Increases the body's immune properties.

11. Improves the permeability of nerve impulses through cell membranes.

12. It is a mandatory component of a healthy diet.

13. Normalizes metabolic processes in the body.

Despite the obvious benefits of cold-pressed oil, it should be consumed in very limited quantities - a couple of tablespoons per day, but regularly.

Refined oil, of course, loses in benefits to unrefined oil, since it contains much less of those natural biologically active components with which the crude product is saturated.

But it is ideal for cooking dietary wholesome food- stewed, baked and even fried, if you don’t eat a lot of it every day.

Many are skeptical about refined vegetable oils, but without them, one would have to completely switch to boiled food, or quite harmful, fried in animal fats.

And so, refined, like the golden mean - it is universal, suitable for fillings and for thermal processing of products.

In conclusion, it can be said that there should be two types of oil on the table- one for use pure form outwardly and inwardly, and the other so that the food gives the maximum benefit and pleasure to the eaters. Be healthy.