Edible Oils (Part 1)

This article is the part 1 of my article about edible oils which includes the information about what is edible oil, its history, edible oils used in different countries and cuisines, what the medical channel says about edible oils and which edible oils are the most expensive ones.

Edible oils are an important part of cooking food and in consumption of food, for human beings and animals as well. This uncrowned king is a very vital part of food consumption and has many uses and types. Do you wonder why, how many, which and other such questions? Here we have an attempt to cover most of your questions.

What is oil, and its history?

Cooking oil or edible oil is fat which is liquid at room temperature. It is used in cooking at a low or even high temperature, processed or unprocessed, virgin or refined. Edible oil is used for sautéing, deep frying, shallow frying, adding flavour to dishes by drizzling it on top of it.

Oil, an important vein of food, has existed since early man or ‘Neanderthal’ discovered fire and used it to cook food. Edible oil came into existence and use when the meat items or plant-based products were heated using the sun, fire, oven. The naturally occurring fat in the animals or plants dripped out of them and were collected. This occurred around 2,50,000 B.C.E.. Different sorts of oils and fats started coming into existence. Different regions prepared their own edible oils and fats. The Japanese and Chinese made oil out of soy at around 2000 B.C.. Later in 3000 B.C., the Europeans began to produce olive oil. In Mexico and America, peanut and sunflower seeds are roasted and beaten up, then boiled in water. The oil then tops the surface and it is skimmed off and collected. The Africans use dende oil as a traditional edible oil in their cooking; they grate and beat palm flesh and boil it, later the oil is skimmed off from the surface. In India, fats and oils are in use for cooking since it was Aryavarta i.e. during BDS 1.12.11. India has been using oils like mustard oil, sesame oil, coconut oil and fats like ghee as cooking fats since it was called the vast Aryavarta.

Edible oils and fats used in different countries and cuisines:

• China: Sesame oil, peanut oil, lard.

• Southern countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan: Coconut oil, mustard oil.

• Caribbean cuisine: Coconut oil.

• Japan: Neutral rice bran oil, lard, tallow.

• South Africa: Peanut oil.

• West Africa and Brazil: Dende oil.

• Northern Europe, Northern America: Olive oil, butter, tallow, lard, schmaltz, suet.

• Indian cuisine: Ghee, mustard oil, sesame oil, coconut oil, peanut oil.

• France: Peanut oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, lard, schmaltz, tallow.

Ways of how oils are used in cuisines:

• Oil in French cuisine: French dishes mainly involve flavourless oils. Olive oil is included for inspired cuisine. But commonly peanut or canola oil is used in day to day cooking. Vegetable oil, margarine and butter is used for frying, baking, sautéing. South west France uses schmaltz or duck fat, lard in Brittany tallow is commonly used across France for frying and grilling.

• Oil in Mexican cuisine: Traditionally Mexico uses lard for cooking but now-a-days it is inclined towards using vegetable oils due to health reasons. On street, the food is still cooked in lard, but the Mexican households have space for b=vegetable oils and lard.

• Oil in Spanish cuisine: Olive oil is one of the important pillars on which the Spanish cuisine relies heavily. Olive oil is the edible oil of Spain by tradition for over 3000 years. Olive oil was 1st produced in Andalusia, Spain. Spain follows Greece in olive oil consumption, landing on 2nd place on the record, it is followed by Italy. In ancient times, it was referred to as ‘liquid gold’ and was so much in use that it was used as fuel to light the torch in the early Olympics.

• Oil in Italian cuisine: Italy uses mainly vegetable oils, olive oil and butter in cooking. Vegetable oil or ‘oleo de semi’ or ‘seed oil’ is popular for frying and sautéing food where the taste of olive oil is not an integral part of the dish. Other than that olive oil is commonly used along with other oils. Northern Italy, mainly, uses olive oil. Southern Italy uses fats like cream and butter. Italy is not a producer of olive oil; olive oil imported to Italy from Spain and it is bottled in Italy under the tag of the packaging industry. Italians use olive oil in making mayonnaise and deep frying mainly. Butter is the other principle fat is butter, which is used as a cooking medium as well, mostly in the form of unsalted butter. Traditionally the poorer Italian population and the regions with low or nil olive oil industry use lard or ‘strutto’ for cooking, whereas the expensive olive oil is saved for fish and salad. Food dishes which should have a porky taste are cooked in lard. It also makes food crispier when fried.

• Oil in African cuisine: African cuisine uses dende oil or red palm oil for cooking food. It is mainly used in Western Africa. Dende oil should be red in colour, but if the colour changes to yellow or orange, it is understood to be under processed. Next comes vegetable oil, which is used in all African rice dishes and tomato stews. It is also used to frying food e.g. Fried plantain, fried meat, fried yam etc. Groundnut oil is a good substitute of olive oil but because of its strong taste it is not widely used, another excellent substitute is sunflower oil.

• Oil used in Egyptian cuisine: It includes olive oil, flaxseed oil, sesame oil, moringa oil in cooking.

• Oils used in Indian cooking: Indian cuisine uses coconut oil, mustard oil, peanut oil, rice bran oil and sesame oil i.e. gingelly or til (most preferred due to health reason. Ghee is the most popular and preferred fat in Indian cooking. Peanut oil is commonly used in Gujarat and Maharashtra i.e. the west; mustard oil is used the most in northern India for cooking, frying, pickling food and especially in Bengali dishes. Sesame oil is used in south Indian food, especially in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana; coconut oil is common across entire South India and is included in frying, baking, tempering, etc... Ghee is also used for cooking, frying and tempering dals mainly.

Edible Oils and medicine:

Edible oil in allopathy: Edible oil is said to be a necessity for our body and hence advised to consume daily. This is because every cell of our body is covered by a specialized membrane composed mostly of fat. Fat forms a major portion of organs such as the brain and nerves hence is a fuel for not only humans but also in animals, at large.1 teaspoon of fat gives us 40 kcal and for every gram of weight, fat generates more than twice energy. Fat is our preferred energy reserve as it is relatively lighter to carry around and can be used during times of illness and starvation. This energy carrier is saved in our body in the form of triglycerides. Some fats are not produced naturally in our body, hence their intake through our diet is important- such fats are called essential fats. Hence, allopathy considers fat as a healthy and necessary component to maintain overall health. But if edible oils are not used properly, they can cause harm to our health. Using reheated oil or oil with high trans fats, especially when consumed highly, can cause high blood pressure, heart diseases and cancer. The substances causing this are the degradation substances of oil or the charred remains of food; and they are called NFC (neo-formed contaminants). They are new and unwelcome substances which occur due to repeated heating. Some NFCs found in such rancid edible oils are acrolein (also found in cigarettes and plastic), aldehydes, trans fats, etc.

Edible oils in Ayurveda: Ayurveda insists on diet and food articles according to the season and geographical location, for e.g. coconut oil, sesame oil and ghee can be used in South India as per geographical location and humidity; sesame oil should be used in colder regions or in winter as it is of heating nature; whereas, some oils like soybean and olive oil are advised to avoid using in the Indian subcontinent as soybean is heavy to digest and olives is not a crop of India, hence it is not very beneficial to our body system.

Ayurveda classifies everything according to tridoshas. Some of the top preferred oils and their what doshas they help fighting:

• Sesame oil: Sesame oil is of a slight heating nature; hence it is useful and beneficial for vata (air) and kapha (sputum) type bodies.

• Coconut oil: It is beneficial for fighting pittas. It can be used as an alternative of ghee, as it is cooling and has a slightly higher smoking point.

(bonus information about an edible fat)

• Ghee: Ghee is cooling in natures and works well in nourishing the mind and body. It has a high smoking point. Ghee can increase mucus, so if a person has aggravated kapha, he or she should reduce their intake of ghee.

Vegetable oils tend to oxidize quickly. In fact, this oil, which is extracted from nuts and seeds, starts to deteriorate as soon as it is extracted; and this deterioration carries on in our body when such oil is consumed. It occurs in the form of free radicals and can impair normal metabolic function. Some of our ancient cultures knew this fact and leaned towards using oils or fats that are saturated, as these are more stable. The oils which have unsaturated fats with an imbalance between MUFA and PUFA where avoided. But oils with stable and balanced unsaturated fats were given a green signal. In India, sesame oil is a great and probably the only e.g. of such fat.

What Ayurveda says about different fats found in edible oils:

• Saturated fats: These fats are obtained from fruits, vegetables, animal derived food products and full fat dairy products. They are stable when heated and hence are healthy to consume. But are society overused it, creating health problems. In fact, it is the best fat to cook with as they are naturally available and goes under very little processing.

• Unsaturated fat: They are found in vegetable oils mostly. They are beneficial if used at a low temperature and unprocessed. If they are used in a proper amount, they can lower high blood pressure, develop brain and prevent arthritis.it is an essential oil, as it is not produced in our body and needs to be taken in our diet. They are naturally available, unstable and some processing is done. Unsaturated fats should not be heated more as they form free radicals (toxic aging molecules) which break down the essential structures in the body. To combat such free radicals, we take antioxidants like vitamin C.

• Trans fat: They should be heavily avoided as these look similar to natural fats but differ by important differences in shape. Our body thinks that these are natural fats and use them for the purpose of so, but they do not work for the system causing failure in cell messages and much more damage. This has a large knockout effect on our body.

Expensive edible oils:

- Sesame oil is most expensive edible oil in India, but as it is used in truly little amount in cooking, peanut oil remains the most expensive.

- The most expensive edible oil of the world is Lambda. It is the world’s first ultra-couture olive oil.

- Truffle oil is an expensive oil and has a growing demand. It is made by adding truffle bits in olive oil to induce the flavour and fragrance of truffles in the oil. This oil is used in dishes like French fries, pastas, pizza, egg dishes, etc. to impart its flavour. However, it is less expensive than the fungi-truffle.

"Hey readers, this was a segment of edible oil showing its importance in different cuisines across the world and in medication.please do checkout part 2 which is about different types of edible oils and their properties."