A Practical Guide to Cooking Oils

Choosing an oil comes down to two questions: how hot will it get, and do you want to taste it? Every oil has a smoke point, the temperature at which it breaks down, starts to smoke, and turns bitter. For high-heat searing and frying, reach for refined oils with high smoke points like avocado, grapeseed, or refined peanut oil that can take the heat without complaint.

For finishing and dressing, flavor takes over from heat tolerance. A good extra virgin olive oil, with its grassy bite, is meant to be tasted raw over a salad or a finished soup, not blasted in a screaming pan where its delicate compounds are wasted. Toasted sesame and nut oils belong in the same finishing category, added at the end for aroma.

Stock two or three oils and you are covered: a neutral high-heat oil for cooking, a flagship extra virgin for finishing, and one specialty oil like toasted sesame for accent. Store them away from light and heat, buy quantities you will use within a few months, and your oils will always taste fresh rather than stale and flat.