Avocado Oil for Frying and the Smoke Point of Oils
Avocado oil is a very heat stable cooking oil and one of the best for high-temperature frying in your kitchen.
It also tastes great and is full of beneficial monounsaturated fats and other nutrition.
Here’s why it’s worth changing from unhealthy processed oils, like soy, corn and canola oil, and even the healthier ones like olive oil, to frying with avocado oil.
The Smoke Point of Oils and How It Affects Your Health
It is very important to consider the smoke point of the cooking oil you are frying with. This is the temperature at which the oil starts visibly smoking in the pan.
At this point the structure of the oil begins to break down. Not only are the nutrients lost and the flavor changed, but dangerous compounds can be created that are damaging to your health.
Even a healthy culinary oil like extra virgin olive oil changes structurally and becomes unhealthy when it reaches its burning point.
Popular Cooking Oil Smoke Points
Here’s a list of the smoke point of cooking oils in both Fahrenheit and Celsius:
- Avocado oil — 520 F (271 C)
- Corn oil — 450 F (232 C)
- Soy oil — 450 F (232 C)
- Peanut oil — 450 F (232 C)
- Refined olive oil — 430 F (221 C)
- Cottonseed oil — 420 F (215 C)
- Canola oil — 400 F (204 C)
- Coconut oil — 350 F (171 C)
- Extra virgin olive oil — 220 F (105 C)
Some very beneficial oils, like flaxseed oil for weight loss and healthy pumpkin seed oil, should never be used for frying or high-temperature cooking as they have a very low smoke point.
Others like processed soy oil, corn oil and canola oil do have acceptable burning points. However, they have inflammatory fat profiles and possible toxic residues left over from the solvents and deodorizers used in their bizarre extraction process.
Besides all of this, none of them taste anywhere near as good as a high quality avocado oil, like this rich and buttery tasting cold pressed oil I use in my kitchen.
The Smoke Point of Olive Oil
Many people use olive oil for cooking and it is a much healthier oil than regular vegetable oils (though not as healthy as avocado oil).
Unfortunately, olive oil’s smoke point can vary greatly, depending on its grade and level of processing.
Extra virgin olive oil, the type usually considered healthiest and best tasting, has a very low smoke point, listed at only 220 Fahrenheit (105 Celsius).
This makes this kind of olive oil it completely unsuitable for frying and even cooking in the oven at high temperatures.
Despite this, many people do use extra virgin olive oil to fry with, thinking they are being healthy.
Once it starts smoking in the pan though, it can become quite unhealthy and full of damaging compounds that lead to free radical damage in your body.
Other lower grades of olive oil have a higher point before they start smoking, sometimes cited as high as 430 F (221 Celsius). These are usually the ‘light’ refined and lower quality varieties.
Cold Pressed Avocado Oil Smoke Point
Regular avocado oil’s smoking point is listed in nutritional databases at 520 F (271 C), making it the best possible cooking oil for high-temperature frying.
Cold pressed and extra virgin avocado oil is often listed as having a similarly high smoke point. Independent testing suggest these figures may be lower though.
It’s recommended to keep extra virgin and cold pressed avocado oil under 400 F (204 C) when frying with it to be safe. There shouldn’t be a need to go that high on your hotplate anyway.
Burnt foods have a whole other set of dangerous compounds worth avoiding so avoid frying at too higher temperatures, even if avocado oil does have a very high smoke point oil.
Healthier Frying and Better Tasting Food
Using a high quality extra virgin avocado oil, like this one I use daily, make good sense if you value your health.
Not only is it great for high temperature frying, avocado oil has many other benefits with its superior fatty acid profile, phytosterols and high antioxidant content.
To top it all off, this culinary oil tastes far better than anything you’ve ever cooked with before. Better than olive oil and certainly much better than bland and unhealthy processed vegetable oils.
If you’d like to try avocado oil for frying in your kitchen, here’s where to buy the best organic oil online at a much lower price than in supermarkets.
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