A Lesson in Cooking Oils

I try to keep up on current health trends and consider myself relatively knowledgeable about food. So when a lengthy article claiming that canola oil was bad for you appeared on my Twitter feed I was shocked. Canola oil was supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread, the heart-healthy oil. And now I hear it can cause diseases?

The next blow came when my sister informed me olive oil has carcinogenic properties when you cook it. All the cooks I admire use olive oil. Lots of it, in some cases. Could it really be true?

In my despair I called my friend Yaakov Levine. Yaakov is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner with offices in Creswell and Eugene and a columnist for the Creswell Chronicle (see copies of his past columns here). Surely he could offer an answer to my oil dilemma.

He did, although he didn’t have quite the answers I was looking for. Canola oil is, in fact, not the healthy alternative it’s touted to be. “Some people call [canola oil] ‘Franken-oil’,” he said. It’s made from genetically modified seeds and must be highly processed before it goes to market, which strips out most of the benefits. (Here is a copy of the original article on NaturalNews.com that tipped me off about canola oil).

And “The World’s Healthiest Foods” by George Mateljan, my favorite food reference book, states that heating olive oil at high temperatures can cause the “formation of unwanted aromatic substances . . . in the oil that can increase our risk of chronic health problems including cancer.”

So what’s a cook to do? “We all need fat in our diet,” Yaakov was quick to point out. Fat gives our cells structure and our bodies energy. There are essential fats that we need that our bodies can’t produce, so we need to find them elsewhere.

The key is choosing the right fat. Yaakov is a proponent of coconut oil. It’s easy to digest, provides plenty of energy, and has a nice flavor. Added bonus in the winter – it has anti-bacterial properties that help prevent colds and flus. Try it when cooking vegetables, in a smoothie, or in Gooey Balls, a dessert recipe provided by Yaakov.

Butter and lard are Yaakov’s other fats of choice. Skip the brick of lard at the grocery store, which is likely to have trans fats. Visit your local butcher instead and see if he or she has a source for something produced locally.
High-oleic sunflower oil is an option in recipes where you don’t want the taste of the oil to be overpowering – for example, Red Onion Salad Dressing, a staple around my house. (A high-oleic oil is one that is high in monounsaturated acid, a “good” fat.) High-oleic safflower oil can be used on the rare occasion when you must deep-fry something.

Eaten at room temperature, or even used for light frying, olive oil is still a good choice.

“What leads me down the road toward more traditional fats is that we have problems with diseases now that we didn’t use to have,” Yaakov says. 100 years ago “they weren’t eating so many plant and seed fats like we are now.” Heart disease is now the leading cause of death for Americans, and poor diet is part of the reason for that.

Whatever type of oil you use, store it in a dark colored bottle and out of direct light. Oil turns rancid quite easily.

All fats should still be used sparingly. Here’s one last tip on lowering your consumption of heated oils: the next time a recipe directs you to brown meat in oil, use a little bit of high-quality stock instead. It will add extra flavor and keep the meat from sticking to the pan. Freeze stock in ice cube trays and store the cubes in plastic bags so you always have some handy.

Gooey Balls
1 c. coconut oil
2 c. shredded coconut
1 c. sesame seeds
6 dates, finely chopped
Pinch high mineral sea salt
Vanilla or orange extract to taste

Melt coconut oil gently (it melts at 76 degrees). Stir in remaining ingredients. Form into balls, place on a baking sheet, and chill.
(Note: For a less sweet option, replace the dates with a grated apple and a drizzle of lemon juice.)

Red Onion Salad Dressing
1/2 c. champagne or apple cider vinegar
1/4 red onion
2 T. honey
1 t. Dijon mustard
1 t. salt
1/2 c. high-oleic sunflower oil

Place vinegar, onion, honey, mustard and salt in a blender. Blend until well combined. With blender on, add oil in a slow, steady stream until well combined.