Hello doctor: How to choose cooking oil to avoid getting sick?

'In addition to boiled and steamed dishes, my family still loves stir-fried and fried dishes. However, I am afraid that choosing and using cooking oil incorrectly can cause illness. Please advise me, doctor!' (Hai Anh, 35 years old, in Ho Chi Minh City).

Nutritionist Nguyen Thu Ha, Nam Sai Gon International General Hospital, answered: To use cooking oil in safe food processing, the first thing you need to know is to choose the right cooking oil for the processing purpose.

Choose cooking oil suitable for cooking purposes

For cooking fried dishes at high temperatures, you need to choose refined vegetable oils with a high smoke point above 220 degrees Celsius such as soybean oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, peanut oil, and fats such as lard, chicken fat, and beef fat.

For stir-fried dishes at low temperatures and for a short time, you should choose olive oil (virgin) or butter, margarine... For salad dressings or to add directly to food right after cooking, you should choose oils with a low smoke point below 180 degrees Celsius such as flaxseed oil, walnut oil, olive oil (Extra Virgin) or fish oil.

For light stir-fries at low temperatures and for short periods of time, you should choose olive oil (virgin type) or butter...

PHOTO: LE CAM

Recently, olive oil is also one of the good oils that many people trust and use. On the market, there are many types of olive oil suitable for different processing purposes. In addition to the two types of olive oil mentioned above, there are many other types of olive oil that are processed by refining methods such as Refined olive or Pomace Olive, which are extracted from olive residue. These olive oils are more suitable for high temperature processing, even deep frying, but the quality and nutritional composition of these oils are inferior to cold pressed olive oils.

Do not reuse oil multiple times.

Second, to use oil safely, you should not reuse oil many times, only reuse a maximum of once for oils that have not changed color, do not have a burnt smell and do not float abnormally. Oil that has been fried or sautéed at high temperatures, especially oil that has passed this smoke point, the components in the oil will decompose, creating toxic substances that cause our eyes to sting, cough and potentially cause vascular diseases, atherosclerosis, stroke and cancer if used regularly.

For vegetable oils, they should be kept in a cool place, away from sunlight, and tightly closed.

PHOTO: AI

"A tip for you is to heat the pan just enough, then add oil and use a pair of wooden chopsticks to test. If the wooden chopsticks bubble slightly, it means the oil is hot enough, then we will maintain the stove temperature at a medium level," Dr. Ha shared.

Store cooking oil properly

Finally, you need to store the oil properly. For vegetable oils, they should be kept in a cool place, away from sunlight, tightly closed, and not placed near the stove after use because the temperature of the stove can cause the oil to deteriorate. As for animal fats or butter, we should cover them tightly and store them in the refrigerator.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/alo-bac-si-nghe-lua-chon-dau-an-nhu-the-nao-de-khong-ruoc-benh-vao-nguoi-185250628163347427.htm