By: Science + Fourchette
Smoke is coming out of our stove and has - perhaps even - invaded the entire kitchen? Too late! Those few minutes of inattention were enough for our oil to "burn". In layman's terms, we say that our oil has reached its smoke point.
If you love to cook, it is useful to understand what the smoke point is. Here it is deconstructed and demystified!
Making smoke
The smoke point is the temperature at which overheated fats begin to emit continuous smoke. Each fat, whether animal or vegetable, has its own smoke point. Some have a high smoke point and some have such a low smoke point that they should not be heated.
In general, virgin oils have a lower smoke point than refined oils because there are more components that can burn inside. That said, depending on their specific composition, many virgin oils have a very respectable smoke point, such as extra virgin olive oil.
Avoid burnt oil
An oil that has reached its smoking point is not interesting for our taste buds. It has an unpleasant smell and a burnt taste that borders on bitterness. And if we venture to heat our oil beyond its smoking point for a long time, it will develop compounds that are harmful to our health. Worse yet, our oil could catch fire! But at this point, we've long since ruined dinner!
Influencing the smoke point
The smoke point can be influenced by many factors such as the quality of the oil, the extraction method, its impurity content and the degree of fatty acid saturation. If you want to influence the smoke point sensibly, it is best to use good quality oils that are suitable for the desired type of cooking.
Remember: always heat your pan before adding the oil, not pouring it into the cold pan at the beginning of cooking. This will reduce the amount of continuous heat applied to the oil.
The contact of cold food with hot oil also plays a vital role in regulating cooking temperature. Adding your ingredients progressively during cooking allows us to temper the contents of our pan and "thwart" the smoke point.
Mild, medium, or high
It's not always easy to know what oil to use when you're cooking. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself if you want to cook on low, medium or high heat.
You can use just about any oil of your choice to make dressings or when cooking on low heat. Organic virgin canola or sunflower oil will make our dishes shine when simmering in the oven for several hours!
For medium heat cooking, having a good olive oil on hand to sear our grilled food in the pan will give a divine result! For cooking food at high temperatures, in a wok or for frying, organic sunflower oil, grape seed oil and deodorized avocado oil will never let us down.
And since these guidelines are not absolute rules, they are a gateway to your creativity!
The oil of the end
Some oils have more sophisticated aromas. It is therefore preferable not to heat them. These are our finishing oils, such as olive oil with basil, toasted sesame oil or tasting oils. In order not to spoil them, we add them as seasoning to our salads, soups or Asian dishes.
We keep the "cheap" oils to oil the barbecue grills! That's pretty much their only use since all oils will burn every time, regardless of their smoke point.