Guide to become an oil expert

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Is there anything worse than a badly dressed salad? Or that acrid, burnt aftertaste that comes with food that's been cooked in the wrong oil? Those black flecks that form in the bottom of a frying pan are a tell-tale sign that maybe you used the wrong oil for the job. How do you keep track though? In the early 2000s Jamie Oliver had us all glugging olive oil into everything like there was no tomorrow, and it's true those Mediterranean folk know a thing or two about how to simply dress a dish. Lately though, there's been a huge influx of other oils on the market - coconut, avocado, and all sorts of nuts and seeds. But do we need another expensive oil in the pantry? And if so, what on earth do we use it for?

There are a few things to consider when buying oil, and working out what to use it for: health benefits, fat content, heating temperature, and flavour.

The rise of the coconut

Coconut oil is rapidly growing in popularity. It has successfully made its move into the mainstream thanks to the enormous rise of the Paleo diet, after long being a staple of vegan diets as a replacement for butter, especially in baking. It's solid at room temperature, but holds a very high smoke point. That is, it doesn't start breaking down and then burning until a very high heat; much higher than other oils. The Paleo diet means eating similarly to cavemen - lots of meat, fish, nuts, leafy greens, vegetables and seeds. It also advocates the use of 'good fats' which is where coconut oil comes into play. Another way of eating that has risen in popularity lately is the High Fat Low Carb (HFLC) diet, again meaning coconut oil is popular because of its high fat content.

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It's no good for dressings because it's solid at room temperature, but it's great for sautéing or frying, and you can clump it over roast vegetables before roasting them for a subtle hint of flavour. You can scrape flecks of it into a smoothie, and it works a treat if you want to revisit that childhood party treat chocolate crackles.

The endurance of the olive

Jamie Oliver has a lot to answer for, and it was his smiling face cheerily adding glug after glug of this Italian staple to his dishes that has surely partly accounted for its enormous popularity in Western countries. It's good, undoubtedly so. There are different kinds though, and that's worth bearing in mind.

Jamie Oliver. Photo / Getty Images

Extra virgin Olive oil, or EVOO, should not really ever be thrown in a hot frying pan. It's rich in flavour, and usually pretty dark in colour. You can do olive oil tastings much like you can for wine - different varieties of olive lead to a vast range of flavours. It's the highest quality, and most expensive olive oil on the market, and shouldn't have additives - it's simply the pressed juice of the olives. EVOO is great for using in a salad dressing, having on a table to dip fresh bread into, or simply drizzled over greens.

The lighter varieties of olive oil can withstand heat better. The lighter olive oils are closer to your stock standard vegetable oils, and thus sautéing, light frying, and roasting vegetables are all appropriate.

Let's hear it for rice bran

Rice bran oil rode a wave of popularity once people started getting clued up to the fact that maybe we shouldn't be putting EVOO on absolutely everything. Rice bran is a nice and neutral cooking oil. It's relatively low in saturated fat, with little to no flavour, and a high tolerance for temperature. You'll get crispy roast potatoes with this one; even fish and chip shops are ditching the lard for this much healthier alternative.

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What about the nuts and seeds?

Peanut oil, also known as groundnut oil, is a light coloured and mild tasting general purpose oil. It's great for stir-fries because of the high temperature at which it starts to break down. The mild flavour lends itself well to Asian cooking. It's just no good for those with peanut allergies, obviously.

In Marlborough, Uncle Joe's are a boutique NZ company cold pressing oils for our enjoyment. They've just added pumpkin seed and mustard seed oils to their range. These are the ones you want to garnish your vegetables with, because like other pressed oils, they don't have a high smoke point. They are made from 100 per cent seeds, are rich in colour, and taste great. Uncle Joe's cold press all their oils, and as well as the seed oils, they also have walnut and hazelnut oils too. Both excellent for dipping bread into, especially if followed with some dukkah, or simply drizzled over vegetables, or in salads.

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Sesame oil can come either straight up, or toasted for a richer depth of flavour. The strong sesame taste means it's ideal for Asian cooking, and the toasted one is particularly good over something like beef Carpaccio. It's also beaut in an Asian slaw or over noodles and greens. This one also withstands high temperatures, so like peanut, but with a bit more kick, sesame oil is great for sautéing and stir-frying.

- nzherald.co.nz