Vegetarian non-UPF oil for cooking?

[waistchallenge]

I used to use extra virgin olive oil for Italian dishes and sunflower oil for things like Indian food where olive oil is not compatible.flavour-wise, but now people are saying to avoid seed oils I don't know what I should cook non-Italian/Mediterranean dishes with. Does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks.

I was going to suggest cold pressed rapeseed, but you said you wish to avoid seed oil too? I presume that also eliminates avocado oil, which I don't use as the price isn't worth it to me, but I understand has a fairly neutral taste.

In some dishes coconut oil could be really complimentary, but it's not an all-arounder. Similarly red palm oil flavour profile could work for some meals, but not others.

Maybe ghee would work, depending on your reasons for wanting to avoid certain fat sources. Are you also wanting to avoid cold pressed seed oils? What about more refined olive oils; a light olive oil is flavourless so would be acceptable in any recipe where a neutral oil is required. It all depends on your very specific concerns and what you want to avoid: saturated fats, certain oil sources, level of processing etc.

I don't think you necessarily have to avoid them. I'm certainly not changing the way I eat and won't be with my kids.

I'm not well informed about this issue but it seems many people online are adamant that you should avoid seed oils.

I just use olive oil for most things, the light versions for frying. Coconut oil is an option though.

Rape seed oil is pretty comparable to olive oil in terms of the relative proportions of things to avoid

I use peanut oil. Not sure if it qualifies as a seed oil as peanuts are legumes, but I find it really light. Obviously don’t use if you have a peanut allergy.

i use extra virgin olive oil for everything else. I can get away with using it for some Indian dishes (I add a dollop of butter to attenuate the flavour) but stir fries and other East Asian need a lighter oil, hence the peanut. I don’t like using coconut oil, in terms of saturated fat it would be better using butter. Plus for some reason it gives me heartburn.

if seed oils are no good, what about sesame oil, consumed in East Asia for centuries?

The op is talking about this

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-resetter-podcast-with-dr-mindy-pelz/id1503897906?i=1000593256786

As a general point, I’m not sure that ‘Asian have been doing it for centuries’ is a scientific way of stating something.

Why are you making changes based on the opinions of random people online when you can’t explain the reasoning?

It’s the processing that’s the issue, not the source of the oil. Cold pressed seed oils are absolutely fine.

I avoid seed oils, so I use avocado oil for high heat cooking. Then olive oil for low heat cooking and dressings, and animal fats/ghee/butter for roasting, pan frying.

Don't like the taste of coconut oil so I tend to avoid that.

I use light oil olive to cook everything and extra virgin olive oil for dressings.

Olive oil isn't a seed oil, is it?

I am wondering the same thing. Specifically interested in avoiding upfs.

No, but the flavour of olive oil isn't right with Asian food, plus it's not suitable for cooking in a wok on a high heat.

Why are you changing your diet based on what some randoms online say? Anyone can have a blog and call themselves a health expert, it doesn't mean they actually know anything.

No, but to your point these foodstuffs existed in ancient times, before industrialised UPFs came along, and were created using slow, natural processes. Like soy sauce, miso, tofu, kimchi etc. Yes I know artisanal versions are not easily available in the West, but I try to select the ones with the fewest (and recognisable) ingredients.

unlike the jarred sauces, which are more emulsifier than ingredient, and the weird sweets and fake meat snacks. I avoid those.

I find this chart useful

Surely Ghee would be the obvious choice? Its vegetarian & it suits Asian cooking?
So other than Olive oil & sunflower oil other vegetarian options could be:
Ghee
Butter
Groundnut oil (peanut)
Rice Bran Oil
Walnut Oil
Grape seed oil
Corn oil (canola)
Avocado oil (this has a very strong taste)
Coconut oil
Sesame oil
Rapeseed oil
Almond Oil
Flaxseed oil

But most of these are seed oils. I too am not sure why you think they're bad.

Olive oil is actually one of the more temperature stable oils. Despite the lower smoke point, it doesn't seem to degrade into harmful compounds at this point, and it has outperformed sunflower and rapeseed oil in some studies. Here's one as an example.

that chart says 'dont eat chicken nuggets' so I'm not convinced of its trustworthiness 🤨

Just a warning, I bought cold pressed sunflower oil once and it was fucking minging. There is a reason it is usually refined and deodorised.

Cold pressed hemp oil is fantastic, also avocado oil. Both have high smoke points and excellent health credentials.