Different Cooking Fats: When to Use Them and Why?

By Illana Prinsloo

Let’s start with one of the most delicious options:

Butter: Butter is a dairy product composed of milk solids, fat, and water. Due to the presence of milk solids, butter has a low smoke point, which is the temperature at which a fat begins to smoke, burn, and break down.

Understanding the smoke point of different fats is crucial when cooking. Each fat has a unique smoke point, which can be higher or lower depending on its composition. Butter, for instance, has a very low smoke point and can burn easily at high temperatures. Therefore, it’s best suited for lower-temperature cooking or baking to avoid burning, as burned butter can impart an unpleasant taste to your dishes.

Olive Oil: While it has a relatively low smoke point, slightly higher than butter, extra virgin olive oil has an especially low smoke point. More processed olive oils have a higher smoke point compared to extra virgin, but still not as high as many other cooking oils. Olive oil is excellent for low-temperature cooking, baking, and salad dressings.

Ghee: Often referred to as clarified butter, ghee is the pure fat derived from butter. During its preparation, water and milk solids are removed, leaving behind only the rich, golden fat. This process gives ghee a higher smoke point than regular butter, making it ideal for sautéing and cooking at high temperatures. Ghee is a staple in Middle Eastern and South Asian cuisines, frequently used in dishes like curries. It also appears in some French recipes, such as hollandaise sauce, and is favored for cooking breakfast items due to its buttery flavor and high smoke point.

Avocado Oil: This oil boasts a high smoke point, making it ideal for high-temperature cooking such as searing steaks and sautéing. Its neutral flavor ensures it won’t overpower your dishes. With a smoke point around 500°F, it’s perfect for sautéing without the risk of burning.

Animal fat: Animal fats often have high smoke points and impart a rich, distinctive flavor characteristic of the animal they come from. They are versatile in cooking, perfect for frying, roasting, and adding depth to sauces and gravies

These are just a few of the most popular oils and fats for cooking, but there are many others to explore. Hopefully, this gives you a good starting point for choosing the right oil or fat based on its smoke point when cooking or baking.

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