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Myths and Facts about Cooking oils

Cooking oil is one of the last things when people consider the items for their kitchen. It’s always just a fixture buy, not a priority but a necessity in order to cook the food we all eat at home. As such, no thought is given about what is actually true about cooking oils. We hear certain things through friends and family and start accepting their word as bond. But we wanted to clear up the confusion. Today we’re setting the record straight by debunking these following myths about cooking oils. After all, oil is one such product that goes into EVERY SINGLE DISH. 

  1. Myth – Oil is unhealthy and makes you fat
    Fact – Over the course of the last few decades and everyone’s obsession with being skinny, fats have gotten a bad reputation. People often forget that fats are an essential nutrient that the body absolutely must have in order to function naturally at its best. Fats give you energy and cooking oil contains a portion of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids, which the body cannot do without because it cannot produce these on its own. When the intake of fats is unnecessarily high, that’s when it can be harmful to the body. But this happens because of an excessive intake of bakery products and sugar. Cooking oil supplies the body’s daily need for the ‘good fats’ and so, they should be incorporated in your diet. 
  2. Myth – Edible Oils do not go bad
    Fact – Cooking oil is used in very small quantities, even though it is used every single day. So, it is natural to lose track of the date it was bought and the duration for which it is being used. The truth is that cooking oils are a food product after all and as such have an expiry date. How long the oil will stay viable depends upon how it was manufactured and produced. Refined oils can easily stay usable up to 8 months when opened, and 2 years when closed, depending upon their storage. If they are kept in a cool, dry place, the oil tends to be viable. Optimum storage is an opaque container, away from direct sunlight. However, if the oil is past the expiry date, it is recommended that it be disposed of because it can smell rancid.
  3. Myth – You can reuse the Cooking Oil after Deep Frying
    Fact – The reuse of cooking oil after deep frying is not at all recommended and here’s why. Once you heat the oil and it cools down after that, the oil begins to break down into toxins because of the fat it absorbed when it was deep frying your food. It tends to get thicker and the texture and colour of the oil change. Ideally oil that has reached a higher temperature and then cooled down, should be avoided at all costs.
  4. Myth – Vegetable Oils are low in Cholesterol and hence can be used daily
    Fact – Most indian households use vegetable oils for daily cooking. They also choose vegetable oils because they think they have low cholesterol while the truth is that vegetable oils are all derived from plant sources which is why they don’t have cholesterol in the first place! There are plenty of ads that advertise these vegetable oils as having no cholesterol because they weren’t supposed to in the first place. Be weary of marketing gimmicks and in making a choice about which cooking oil to use, be smart. A fortified oil is always a good place to start.
  5. Myth – Replacing Olive oil with cooking oil makes you healthier
    Fact – While Olive oil contains large amounts of Omega 3 fatty acids, it is best used as garnish and for drizzling. Olive oil has a very low smoke point, which means that Olive oil burns when it cooks at a higher temperature. It breaks down when subjected to high heat making it useless to cook with. Olive oil cannot be used for cooking and should ideally be replaced with an oil that is more conducive to cooking. For instance, Emami’s New Smart Balance oil is a fortified oil made up of Refined Rice Bran Oil and Refined Soyabean Oil that has a very high smoke point. It is ideal for frying and daily cooking, and takes on the flavour of absolutely any food it is cooked with. Moreover, it contains Vitamins A, C, D and E as well as Omega 3, so it meets your daily needs.
  6. Myth – Blended Oils are bad for you
    Fact – Blending oils can change the fatty acid composition, essential fatty acids status, and the amount of tocopherol and cholesterol levels. It can also increase antioxidant enzyme activities

The next time you hear some bad information going around, you’re now well equipped to debunk these myths!

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