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Indicator of Cooking Oil Stability

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November 13, 2018

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There is no scientific basis for the common misconception that you
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shouldn't cook with extra virgin olive oil. Many of the myths around
cooking with olive oil have to do with smoke point. Many people Popular Posts
mistakenly believe that you should only cook with oils that have a high
smoke point.

The smoke point of an oil is defined as the temperature at which the

fat produces a thin, continuous stream of bluish smoke under
controlled circumstances. Although it had been assumed that smoke Is It Safe to Cook with
point indicated an oil’s safety and suitability for cooking, new research Extra Virgin Olive Oil?

has shown that is not the case. An oil’s smoke point does not
correlate to its performance and stability when heated. Rather, the
factors that predict an oil's safety and stability at high heat are the
percentage of polyunsaturated fats (the lower the better), and the
extent to which the oil has been refined (the less the better). Extra
virgin olive oil, which has a low concentration of polyunsaturated fat,
and is not refined at all, proved the best oil for cooking. Olive Oil Myths and Facts

Extra virgin olive oil was the best performing oil but regular olive oil
also performed better than most seed oils. According
to Leandro Ravetti, one of the researchers in the study, this is because
of three reasons: 1) the oleic acid composition of olive oils; 2) the fact
that regular olive oil is enriched with some (usually around 15-20%)
5 Expert Tips For Buying
unrefined virgin olive oil; and 3) the fact that the refining process for Olive Oil
olive oil is done under relatively gentle physical conditions compared
to that used for seed oils which are extracted with solvents and Topics
therefore need to be aggressively refined at very high heat.
Olive Oil Facts
The below infographic explains how the study was conducted and its
conclusions. In conclusion, if you love olive oil, now you can confidently Olive Oil Recipes
cook with it--even extra virgin olive oil--as you would any other oil.
Olive Oil for
Health

Cooking with
Olive Oil

Buying Olive Oil

Olive Oil Quality

Cooking with Extra Virgin Olive

Oil
A recently published research paper assessed the
most common supermarket cooking oils, and
determined which is the most suitable for use when
cooking.

STANDARD DOMESTIC
OILS TESTED COOKING
TEMPERATURES:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

(EVOO) Pan frying (sauté)
Virgin Olive Oil on stove top heat
Olive Oil (refined blend) 120ºC/248ºF
Canola Oil
Rice Bran Oil Deep frying
Grapeseed Oil 160–180ºC/320–356ºF
Coconut Oil
Peanut Oil Oven baking
Sunflower Oil below 200ºC/392ºF
Avocado Oil

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HEAT COOKING OILS?

Commercial
Chemical kitchens
changes (e.g. regularly assess
oxidation, hydrolysis) the levels of
– this can lead to the polar
production of compounds in
potentially cooking oil - on Physical changes (e.g.
harmful compounds average, 25% of thickens, foams).
(e.g. polar
polar compounds) compounds is
that are linked with the limit to
negative health ensure the oil is
outcomes. safe for
continued use.

Oils heated gradually

Oils heated at 180ºC /
(over 20 minutes)
356ºF for 6 hours.
from 25 to 240ºC /
TESTS 77–464ºF. LONGER DURATION
PERFORMED THAN SLOW COOKING
HIGHER THAN
METHODS IN A
DOMESTIC COOKING
DOMESTIC KITCHEN
TEMPERATURES

KEY RESULTS:

EVOO was the most stable oil of those tested – in both tests, EVOO
yielded lower levels of polar compounds and trans fats when
compared with other oils – Canola oil, Grapeseed Oil and Rice Bran
Oil performed the worst and produced very high levels of polar
compounds and trans fats.

This shows that EVOO is the safest and most stable oil to cook
with.

WHY?

This research showed that Results showed that EVOO

cooking oil smoke point is
NOT the best predictor of oil
stability and suitability for
cooking at domestic
temperatures.
performed best when
compared with other common
cooking oils.
After heating EVOO contained
only trace levels of trans fats,
retained a high level of
antioxidants and had a better
fatty acid profile compared
with all other cooking oils
tested.

It showed that the best After heating, EVOO was

predictors of an oil's stability
and safety when cooking are
the oxidative stability, the
amount of poly-unsaturated
fatty acids (PUFA) (more
prone to oxidation than
mono-unsaturated fatty acids
(MUFA)) and saturated fatty
acids, the natural content of
antioxidants, and the level of
refining that has occurred in
the oil production process.
highest in antioxidants and
low is PUFA (high in MUFA) =
High oxidative stability (and
will not produce high levels of
harmful oil products.)
These positive results for
EVOO were achieved despite
using temperatures and
cooking times above those
commonly used in domestic
kitchens.

De Alzaa F, Guillaume C, Ravetti L. Evaluation of Chemical and Physical

Changes in Different Commercial Oils during Heating. Acta Scientific.
2018;2(6):2-11.

To download a PDF version of this page, click here.

Want to know more about how to buy a good olive oil?

Read our tips.

Posted in: About Olive Oil, High Heat, Frying with Olive Oil

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