Why some cooking oils are safer to fry with than others
A Review on Oxidative Stability of Edible Oils during Frying: Insight into Lipid Degradation and Quality Preservation
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Coconut oil, often criticized for being high in saturated fat, is identified as the most oxidation-resistant oil for frying.
Public health messaging has long demonized saturated fats, yet this review suggests they may be the most stable—and therefore safest—for high-heat cooking.
Practical Takeaways
Use coconut oil for deep frying or repeated use; reserve polyunsaturated oils like mustard or soybean for low-heat cooking or dressings.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Coconut oil, often criticized for being high in saturated fat, is identified as the most oxidation-resistant oil for frying.
Public health messaging has long demonized saturated fats, yet this review suggests they may be the most stable—and therefore safest—for high-heat cooking.
Practical Takeaways
Use coconut oil for deep frying or repeated use; reserve polyunsaturated oils like mustard or soybean for low-heat cooking or dressings.
Publication
Journal
Journal of Advances in Food Science & Technology
Year
2025
Authors
Manisha Saha, Priyanka Shankar, Anu Ram Kailash Mishra, Alka Nanda
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Claims (6)
When you cook with certain plant oils like sunflower or soybean oil, even at normal cooking temps that aren’t hot enough to make them smoke, they can break down into harmful chemicals — and if you heat them for 30 minutes straight, those harmful chemicals become ten times more toxic.
When you fry food over and over again, some cooking oils break down faster than others—oils with more saturated fats (like coconut or palm oil) hold up better and make fewer harmful gunk particles than oils with lots of unsaturated fats (like sunflower or olive oil).
When you reuse cooking oil over and over again, it starts to break down and create bad-smelling chemicals that can make food taste funny and might be bad for your health.
Oils like peanut oil don’t break down as quickly when you fry food compared to butter or vegetable oils, making them a bit more stable at high heat.
The more you fry, the hotter it gets, and the more times you reuse the oil, the faster the oil breaks down and goes bad.