Oil

Cooking oil
Cooking oil is purified fat of plant origin, which is usually liquid at room temperature (saturated oils such as coconut and palm are more solid at room temperature than other oils).

Some of the many different kinds of edible vegetable oils include: olive oil, palm oil, soybean oil, canola oil, pumpkin seed oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, grape seed oil, sesame oil, argan oil and rice bran oil. Many other kinds of vegetable oils are also used for cooking.

The generic term "vegetable oil" when used to label a cooking oil product may refer to a specific oil (such as rapeseed oil) or may refer to a blend of a variety of oils often based on palm, corn, soybean or sunflower oils.

Oil can be flavored by immersing aromatic food stuffs such as fresh herbs, peppers, garlic and so forth in the oil for a period of time. However, care must be taken when storing flavored oils to prevent the growth of Clostridium botulinum (the bacteria that produces toxins that can lead to botulism).

Olive oil
Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained from the fruit of the Olive tree (Olea europaea L.), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is used in cooking, cosmetics, soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps. Olive oil is regarded as a healthful dietary oil because of its high content of monounsaturated fat (mainly Oleic acid) and polyphenols.

Grades of olive oil

 * Extra-virgin olive oil comes from virgin oil production only, contains no more than 0.8% acidity, and is judged to have a superior taste. Extra virgin olive oil accounts for less than 10% of oil in many producing countries. It is used on salads, added at the table to soups and stews and for dipping.
 * Virgin olive oil comes from virgin oil production only, has an acidity less than 2%, and is judged to have a good taste.
 * Pure olive oil. Oils labeled as pure olive oil or olive oil are usually a blend of refined and virgin production oil.
 * Olive oil is a blend of virgin and refined production oil, of no more than 1.5% acidity. It commonly lacks a strong flavor.
 * Olive-pomace oil is refined pomace olive production oil possibly blended with some virgin production oil. It is fit for consumption, but may not be described simply as olive oil. Olive-pomace oil is rarely sold at retail; it is often used for certain kinds of cooking in restaurants.
 * Lampante oil is olive oil not suitable as food; lampante comes from olive oil's long-standing use in oil-burning lamps. Lampante oil is mostly used in the industrial market.
 * Refined olive oil is the olive oil obtained from virgin olive oils by refining methods that do not lead to alterations in the initial glyceridic structure. It has a free acidity, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 0.3 grams per 100 grams (0.3%) and its other characteristics correspond to those fixed for this category in this standard. This is obtained by refining virgin olive oils with a high acidity level and/or organoleptic defects that are eliminated after refining. Over 50% of the oil produced in the Mediterranean area is of such poor quality that it must be refined to produce an edible product. Note that no solvents have been used to extract the oil but it has been refined with the use of charcoal and other chemical and physical filters. An obsolete equivalent is "pure olive oil".

Vegetable oil
Vegetable oil is fat extracted from plant sources, known as oil plants. Although in principle other parts of plants may yield oil, in practice seeds form the almost exclusive source. Vegetable oils are used as cooking oils and for industrial uses. Some types, such as cottonseed oil, castor oil and some types of rapeseed oil, are not fit for human consumption without further processing.

Like all fats, vegetable oils are esters of glycerin and a varying blend of fatty acids, and are insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents.


 * canola oil
 * sunflower oil
 * safflower oil

Nut oils
Nut oils are pressed vegetable oils, extracted from edible seeds or nuts.
 * almond oil
 * hazelnut oil
 * macadamia nut oil
 * peanut oil
 * pine nut oil
 * Pistachio oil
 * walnut oil

Specialty oils

 * garlic oil
 * hot chile oil