Hello,

I perceive it as better to use pressed oils for cold cuisine, and also for hot cuisine if one monitors the smoke point. Furthermore, you can work with refined oils, where although the nutrient-rich sediment is removed, in lower doses it is still better than burning cold-pressed oils. Producers might proudly announce that oils are extra virgin and cold-pressed, but how should one proceed in cases where nothing can be discerned from the labels? How can I distinguish the desired refined fats for cooking from those that are esterified and hydrogenated (the rule of 'the more solid, the worse' supposedly no longer applies)? For example, an oil like majola contains nothing more than sunflower oil according to the ingredients. Suitable for both hot and cold cuisine. Perhaps it's better to leave such oil on the shelf...

Or take butter, for instance; I would expect it to be hydrogenated, but I learn nothing from the ingredients, and moreover, it has a very low smoke point, so I would rather expect it not to be processed in that way.

When choosing fats for cooking, first define the purpose (at what temperatures) you will use them. Meal preparation should be as simple as possible, so there's no need to complicate the situation with a complex selection of suitable fats. Butter is not hydrogenated; the term "hydrogenated" refers to the process in which unsaturated fats undergo saturation of double bonds with hydrogen, which does not occur with butter. Traditional butter has a low smoke point due to the residual content of lactose and proteins, which easily burn. For cooking, it is beneficial to use ghee – if you are not keen on plant-based forms of saturated fats, ghee should suffice perfectly well for cooking.

Themes:  Fats   Butter