Healthiest oil?

[divegirl]

Hi, what is the healthiest oil to use in cooking, apart from Olive. My kids notice the taste if I use olive oil when cooking pancakes for example, so I use Veg oil instead. I use very little oil in cooking, but would still like to use the healthiest option. Your opinions please.

Lisa x

[Athley]

Hiya Lisa

I use organic sunflower oil as I have heard it is pretty healthy. Doesn't add the flavour like the olive oil so your kids shouldn't notice it.

I use it for roasting veggies and stir frys etc.

:o)

[heathfield]

Sunflower, peanut (groundnut), and coconut oils are all OK, healthy, and won't flavour the food. I personally avoid those simply labelled as 'vegetable oils' since I don't like the idea of using rape seed oil ('canola' in the US) which many of them will contain.

[divegirl]

Thanks for your answers,

heathfield...Why not rape seed oil?

[lafrancaise]

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/T043800.asp

According to this site best oils are; Flaxseed (not for cooking), Rapeseed, Soybean, Olive and Pumpkin seed. Then comes Safflower, sunflower, corn, and peanut. Bad oils are cottonseed, palm kernel and coconut

[patsyann]

Rice bran oil is lovely and has a high smoke rate so that you can fry and get a crisp result without it smoking.Very healthy too.I get mine in Tesco's.No smell either.

[heathfield]

Personal thing, Lisa. Locally, people living next to fields in flower suffer from respiratory ailments, thought there's 'no medical basis' for their troubles (!) Deer like it, but it poisons them. Bee honey from the flowers crystalises in the comb and the bees can't use it. I'd just rather encourage the sunflower oil industry instead.

[BBWCHATT]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooking_oil