(drumming musical tune)
- Hello internet, and welcome to another episode
of A Little Help, where I, Lee Kalpakis
give you a little help in the kitchen.
So, oil, am I right?
So many different kinds.
Should I be cooking with my good olive oil?
Why does deep frying at home seem so scary?
Can I really use coconut oil for everything?
What's a smoke point?
I dunno.
Can't you just use extra virgin olive oil for everything
and just be done with it?
Today we're gonna talk about the basics of cooking oil.
There are three main categories for cooking oil.
Oil best for frying, oil best for sautéing and roasting,
and finishing oils.
Today we're gonna break it down so you can start
making some restaurant quality food at home.
Yeah.
Let's start with frying.
Deep frying requires a lot of intense heat
for a long period of time.
So you wanna make sure that you're using an oil
with a high smoke point.
Meaning that it starts to burn
at a higher temperature than most other oils.
Also, because you're submerging food into oil when frying,
you wanna make sure that you're using
an oil with a neutral flavor.
So it doesn't overpower or clash
with the flavor of whatever you're frying.
For example, if you're shallow frying
in extra virgin olive oil, first off,
there's a really good chance
that you'll burn whatever you're cooking.
But also the strong flavor of the extra virgin olive oil
will take over the dish, and that's a bad situation.
When you're deep frying, or shallow frying,
use vegetable oil or canola oil.
Both have a subtle flavor and have very high smoke points.
That way you can go ahead
and deep fry your little heart out.
If you wanna go the healthier route,
you could use avocado oil, or grapeseed oil.
They both work great for frying,
but just remember those guys are really, really pricey.
So traditionally, if you're gonna be deep frying
and using a lot of oil, and you wanna watch your wallet,
vegetable or canola are the way to go.
To show you guys the proper way to deep fry,
I'm gonna make some falafel balls today.
I used a large bottle of vegetable oil,
and I'm heating it to about 325.
I have my spider so I don't splash myself with the hot oil.
We're ready to go.
(ding)
Okay, so let's talk sautéing and roasting,
because you're not using as much oil
as you would if you were deep frying.
And you're not heating your oil
for a long period of time, or at a high temperature.
You can use oils with lower smoke points,
that lend flavor to your food.
Use oils like regular filtered olive oil,
coconut oil, or grapeseed oil.
Grapeseed is great to use
when you need something with a subtle flavor.
Coconut oil works really well,
but remember that it has a sweet tropical flavor,
so keep that in mind when you're planning your meal.
Are you searing some cod
and serving it with a pineapple salsa?
Use that coconut oil.
Are you sautéing sauerkraut and sausages?
Maybe don't use the coconut oil.
And yes, olive oil is super versatile, but it's best
to use a regular olive oil when you're cooking.
Save your really expensive, flavorful olive oil,
and go for something a bit more filtered and neutral.
As an example, today we're going to sauté some veggies
in some grapeseed oil.
(ding)
Lastly, and probably most exciting, are your finishing oils.
The oils that are so delicious and flavorful
it would be a crime to cook with them.
These specialty oils such as extra virgin olive oil,
walnut oil, truffle oil, and toasted sesame oil,
are so delicious they deserve to be the star of the show.
These are the oils that you use
in salad dressings, and for finishing,
so that they can really shine like they deserve to.
If you must cook with them,
keep it at a low temperature for a short period of time,
so you don't cook off that amazing flavor.
Today we're using an imported
Italian extra virgin olive oil.
AKA, the good stuff.
Oh mamma mia.
(ding)
So there you go, the basics of frying,
sautéing, and finishing oil.
Don't forget to account for the flavor
and know your smoke points.
See?
All you needed was a little help.
So go out there and start cooking.
(upbeat music)
Well, you made it this far,
you may as well like, comment, and subscribe.