Important to know about oils

Oils, whether vegetable or animal, are very valuable for health. Our body may well be made up of a large proportion of water, but lipids certainly find their place there. Much more than a nightmare on the buttocks, fats have a fundamental role in the production and reserve of energy. They also carry out numerous metabolic functions in the body and serve as a transport vehicle for fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K). While excess is harmful to the organs, a reasonable layer will ensure their protection. Including quality lipids on your plate will increase your feeling of satiety and provide you with essential fatty acids.

This article aims to make your choice at the grocery store easier. Having already established their general functions, we will instead focus on the different oil options on the market rather than the specificity and therapeutic properties of different varieties. A future article will provide you with information on these details.

Plant VS animal

The choice to opt for vegetable or animal oil is first and foremost personal. If you don't consume animal products, the question doesn't even arise! For lovers of good butter, know that it is an excellent source of saturated fat.

Its quality is just as important as that of a vegetable oil. Although there aren't as many choices, you still have to choose between organic, grass-fed, or neither. As for the question of biology, everything will be said a little later. Now, if you choose a non-organic butter, opting for grass will ensure a better quality product. By opting for organic, the standards already dictate this type of care.

Ghee, or clarified butter, is butter from which the lactose has been removed. As lactose is often poorly tolerated in many people, this transformation is welcome.

Your choices at the grocery store

Organic or not

The chemicals used in conventional agriculture are called fat-soluble, meaning that they concentrate in lipids. During the process of making a non-organic oil or butter, these chemicals follow the harvested lipids. By opting for organic, you ensure that you avoid this inconvenience.

Pressure

Oil pressure is very important. In order to access the maximum therapeutic and nutritional properties of the fruit, seed or nut, the pressure must be done correctly. On higher quality oils, we can read first pressed or cold pressed. These names mean that only one extraction was made and that the oil was not heated. In addition to the preserved properties, the flavors, scents and color are much more appetizing and represent the original plant well.

Otherwise, hot extraction will have a negative impact on the oil. However, this type of extraction is used to produce oils of lower quality, but above all at lower costs. By applying heat during extraction and pressing more than once on the same plant, the quantity of oil collected is greater. We therefore produce more with less!

Virgin or not?

To carry the virgin or extra virgin label, the oil must be produced according to precise standards. For example, the extraction must be mechanical, therefore solvent-free, and must be first cold pressed. All refining processes are refused.

Hydrogenization

A hydrogenated oil is an oil to which hydrogen atoms have been added to the unsaturated fatty acid chains to stabilize them. In other words, we transform the deep nature of the oil by chemical means. The advantage is that this process protects the oil from going rancid. The downside is that the oil is completely denatured, depriving us of its properties and taste.

When you don't like the flavor

The oil used when preparing meals often leaves its flavor, depending on the case. While many will appreciate the delicate touch of taste left by the oil, some will be bothered that it modifies the taste of their culinary creation. For the latter, be aware that there are deodorized vegetable oils on the market. No flavor, no smell. To deodorize an oil, hot water vapor is injected. The oil is of course denatured given the water, but especially the heat, but very little.

Without forgetting the bottle

They always say it's what's inside that counts. Without wanting to contradict anyone, in the case of oils and butters, the exterior also counts for a lot. Earlier it was said that conventional agricultural chemicals like lipids. It's the same thing for the toxic components of plastic. They will diffuse towards the oil. Additionally, the interaction between plastic and oil causes it to lose some of its therapeutic and nutritional properties.

In addition to the material, you also have to look at the color of the bottle. Light is extremely harmful to lipids. It causes them to oxidize, therefore making them rancid and making them unfit for consumption. So choose an oil in a dark bottle.

Once home

The conversation

Storage time and method vary greatly depending on the oil. What is certain, however, is that any oil or butter should be stored in an airtight container and placed in a cool, dry place. Then, depending on your oil, it may be preferable, or even essential, to store it in the refrigerator. As a general rule, any oil that does not set in the refrigerator should be kept in the refrigerator. For example, flaxseed oil.

In the kitchen

Again, depending on the type of oil, cooking will be recommended or avoided. From The best vegetable oils for cooking include avocado oil and coconut oil. Among the most fragile, flaxseed and virgin olive oil.

Now all you have to do is explore the delicious and nutritious world of lipids!