Avocado Oil, (unrefined): Smoke point: 520°F
High in monounsaturated fat (typically touted as a “good” fat), avocado oil has a smoke point of about 520˚, which makes it an efficient pantry item: Use it for sautéing, roasting, searing, and vinaigrettes alike. There’s no need to refrigerate it when opened, although it should be stored in a cool, dark cupboard. Use for searing, frying, grilling, roasting, baking and salad dressings. High in heart-healthy monounsaturated fat (70 per cent).
Safflower Oil: Smoke Point 510°F
With a smoke point of 440-450˚, sunflower oil is the pantry hero for all things sear- and sauté-related (like these hearty salmon steaks, for example). Because it is pressed from seeds, it does turn rancid quicker than other oils, so store it in a cool place and use within a year, max. Safflower seed oil is flavorless and colorless, and nutritionally similar to sunflower oil. It is used mainly in cosmetics and as a cooking oil, in salad dressing, and for the production of margarine
Rice Bran Oil: Smoke Point 490°F
Rice bran oil is the oil extracted from the hard outer brown layer of rice called chaff (rice husk). It is known for its high smoke point of 232 °C (450 °F) and mild flavor, making it suitable for high-temperature cooking methods such as stir frying and deep frying.
Ghee: Smoke Point 485°F
Basically clarified butter
Butter, Clarified: Smoke Point 482°F
Clarified butter is milk fat rendered from butter to separate the milk solids and water from the butterfat. Typically, it is produced by melting butter and allowing the components to separate by density. The water evaporates, some solids float to the surface and are skimmed off, and the remainder of the milk solids sink to the bottom and are left behind when the butterfat (which would then be on top) is poured off. This butterfat is the clarified butter.
Olive Oil, Light (refined): Smoke point: 468°F
All olive oil is made by crushing the olives into a paste, then extracting the excess water from the mixture. This can be done on a stone press, but on a commercial scale, is often completed with high-tech steel machinery. Light olive oil is then treated with chemical solvents to neutralize the flavor. It’s lighter in taste and color, not calories, than straight EVOO. It has a smoke point of 465-470˚ Fahrenheit, which makes it ideal for high-heat cooking. It can be used in vinaigrettes; to add more flavor, just finish with a splash of EVOO. Making your own infused flavored oil? Use pure olive oil. Use for all-purpose cooking and baking (due to its neutral taste).
Soybean Oil: Smoke Point 453°F
Soybean oil is mostly used for frying and baking. It is also used as a condiment for salads.
Palm Oil: Smoke Point 450°F
Palm oil is a saturated fat made from the oil palm tree (not to be confused with palm kernel oil, which comes from the seeds of the same plant). It’s semi-solid at room temperature and has made recent appearances as a substitute for trans fats in commercial baking. However, it is a very efficient frying oil with a smoke point of just under 450˚.
Peanut Oil: Smoke point: 441°F to 445°F (refined).
Peanut oil is pale in color, with a nutty scent and powerful flavor. It can go rancid quickly, so store it in a cool, dry place, and use it within a few months. It’s best to buy in small batches, unless you’re doing a lot of deep-frying (we’d bust it out for this excellent skillet-fried chicken). It’s recommended for high-heat cooking (smoke point: 450˚), and in tandem with complementary flavors. It’s tasty in Asian cuisine, and often used in dishes like stir-fries and this Thai Larb. Use for searing, deep-frying, pan-frying, sautéing, roasting, grilling, baking and salad dressings (mild flavor). A good source of monounsaturated fat (46 per cent).
Safflower Oil: Smoke point: 440 degrees F.
Use for searing, deep-frying, pan-frying, sautéing, roasting, grilling, baking and salad dressings (mild flavor). An excellent source of vitamin E (one tablespoon supplies 30 per cent of a day’s requirement).
Coconut Oil (refined): Smoke Point 450°F
Coconut oil is solid at room temperature, which means it’s not ideal for vinaigrettes or as a finishing oil. It is, however, good for moderate-heat roasting. It melts and gives off a tropical scent when heated. Do not exceed its smoke point (350˚). Its similar-to-butter consistency when cold makes it good for non-dairy baked goods (although, as in the pound cake recipe above, we prefer to use both butter and coconut oil). These 13 recipes offer some great ways to cook with coconut oil, from a carrot soup to waffles. High in saturated fat.
Sesame Oil: Smoke Point 450°F (Semi unrefined)
One type of sesame oil, a pale-yellow liquid with a pleasant grain-like odor and somewhat nutty taste, is used as frying oil. A second type of oil, amber-colored and aromatic, is made from pressed and toasted sesame seeds and is used as a flavoring agent in the final stages of cooking.
Despite sesame oil’s high proportion (41%) of polyunsaturated (omega-6) fatty acids, it is least prone, among cooking oils with high smoke points, to turn rancid when kept in the open. This is due to the natural antioxidants, such as sesamol, present in the oil.
Corn Oil: Smoke Point 446°F to 460°F
Refined corn oil is often used in frying, thanks to its smoke point of 450˚. It has a neutral flavor, and is used frequently in commercial kitchens, thanks to its low price point. Not sure what to use it for? French fries are a solid win, every time.
Searing, sauté, pan-fry, baking, roasting, grilling, deep-frying
Sunflower Oil: Smoke point: 441°F (refined).
Use for deep-frying, pan-frying, sautéing, roasting, grilling, baking and salad dressings (mild flavor). High in vitamin E, delivering 5.6 mg per tablespoon.
Almond Oil: Smoke point: 430°F.
Use for frying, grilling, roasting, baking and salad dressings. High in monounsaturated fat (70 percent) and an excellent source of vitamin E (1 tablespoon provides 5.3 mg, one-third of a day’s worth), a potent antioxidant.
Hazelnut Oil: Smoke Point 430°F
Hazelnut oil is liquid extracted from a hazelnut by a machine called a press. It’s commonly used for cooking and in salad dressings. It’s also used for hair care and as a carrier oil for aromatherapy or massage oils.
Olive Oil, Extra Virgin: Smoke point: 410°F.
Once the olives are pressed and the oil is extracted, you’re left with extra virgin olive oil; it’s robust in flavor, and can have buttery, spicy, fruity, or grassy notes, depending on the olives point of origin. EVOO’s lower smoke point (about 325˚) means it’s not great for cooking. Depending on its place of origin, it can range in flavors from fruity to grassy to bitter and even buttery. Save it for vinaigrettes and finishing oil—we’ve been known to put it in plain yogurt as a dipping sauce. That said, many BA staffers are partial to frying their eggs in EVOO, because, well, eggs fried in EVOO are pretty delicious.
It does also make for tasty ice cream! To make olive oil ice cream, choose a fruity, herbaceous oil (rather than a spicy, peppery one), and whisk it into a traditional custard ice cream base, then process in an ice cream machine. The only thing this concoction needs is a sprinkle of sea salt. Use for sautéing and frying over medium-high heat, and salad dressings. A good source of vitamin E and antioxidants called polyphenols.
Grapeseed Oil: Smoke point: 421°F.
Grapeseed oil is light green in color and is prized by restaurant chefs for its high smoke point ( 420˚)—but also for its clean, plays-well-with-others taste. It’s often used in vinaigrettes because it is less expensive than EVOO, and allows other ingredients (like specialty oils or herbs) to shine through. Use for sautéing, frying, baking and salad dressings. A good source of vitamin E, serving up 4 mg per tablespoon, 25 per cent of an adult’s daily requirement.
Canola Oil or Rapeseed Oil, Refined: Smoke point: 428°F to 446°F (refined).
Pressed from the rapeseed plant, canola oil is similar to vegetable oil in flavor, color, smoke point, and usage qualities. Both canola and vegetable oil can be used in salad dressings. Finish with EVOO for more flavor. It’ll go rancid in about one year—your nose will tell you when it’s time to toss the bottle. Store them in a cool, dark place, away from the stovetop and oven.
Use for sautéing, pan-frying and baking. A good source of monounsaturated fat (61 per cent) and high in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acid. One tablespoon delivers 1.3 g; women require 1.1 g ALA per day; men need 1.6 g.
Cottonseed Oil: Smoke Point 420°F
Cottonseed oil has traditionally been used in foods such as potato chips and was for many years a primary ingredient in Crisco, the shortening product. The current formulation of Crisco includes no cottonseed oil. Significantly less expensive than olive oil or canola oil, cottonseed oil is a popular frying oil for the restaurant and snack-food manufacturing industries.[58]
Olive Oil, Virgin: Smoke Point 410°F
Margarine: Smoke Point 410°F
Sauté, stir-fry, roasting
Beef Tallow: Smoke Point 400°F
Olive Oil, Extra Virgin: Smoke Point 405°F
When extra virgin olive oil is heated above 210–216 °C (410–421 °F), depending on its free fatty acid content, the unrefined particles within the oil are burned. This leads to deteriorated taste. Also, most consumers do not like the pronounced taste of extra virgin olive oil for deep fried foods. Refined olive oils are suited for deep frying because of the higher smoke point and milder flavor. Extra virgin oils have a smoke point around 180–215 °C (356–419 °F) whereas refined light olive oil has a smoke point up to 230 °C (446 °F).
Vegetable Oil: Smoke Point 400°F
This is typically a blend of many different refined oils, is neutral-tasting and -smelling, and has a smoke point of about 400˚ (although it can vary, depending on the oils used in the blend). Because it doesn’t add much flavor, it is good for high-heat sautéing and frying. You want crispy-skinned fish or perfectly golden scallops? Veggie oil’s your guy.
Olive Oil, (refined): Smoke Point 390°F to 470°F
Macadameia Nut Oil: Smoke Point 390°F
Macadamia oil is the non-volatile oil collected from the nuts of the macadamia, a native Australian plant. It is used in food as a frying or salad oil, and in cosmetic formulations as an emollient or fragrance fixative
Chicken Fat or Schmaltz: Smoke Point 375°F
Duck Fat: Smoke Point 375°F
Lard: Smoke Point 374°F
Sauté, pan-fry, baking, roasting, deep-frying
Pork Fat: Smoke Point 370°F
Vegetable Shortening: Smoke Point 360°F
Baking, sauté
Coconut Oil: Smoke point: 350°F.
Use for sautéing and baking. It’s high in saturated fat (86 per cent). The saturated fat in coconut oil raises LDL (bad) blood cholesterol, but not nearly to the same extent as butter. Coconut oil also seems to raise HDL (good) cholesterol.
Hemp Seed Oil: Smoke Point 332°F
Hemp seed oil has a very nutty, rich flavor and dark green color. It’s too sensitive to be heated, so skip the sauté and use it as a finishing oil for soups or grain bowls. If using it in a vinaigrette, cut with a less-intense oil. Store it in the fridge. (For more on hemp seeds and hemp seed oil, check out our guide.)
Walnut Oil: Smoke point: 320°F (unrefined).
Use for salad dressings and drizzling over foods after cooking. A good source of the omega-3 fatty acid ALA; one tablespoon delivers 1.4 g.
Butter: Smoke point: 302°F.
Sauté, quick pan-fry, baking, roasting
Flax Oil: Smoke point: 225°F.
Use for salad dressings, smoothies and drizzling over cooked foods. Excellent source of the omega-3 fatty acid ALA (one tablespoon provides 7.2 g, more than four days’ worth). Flaxseed oil is also nutty tasting, but too much can impart a fishy, funky flavor. Use sparingly in dressings or as a finisher—it’s also great as a seasoning agent for cast-iron pans. Keep it in the fridge.