Cooking oil

Cooking oil is purified fat of plant or animal origin, which is liquid at room temperature.

Some of the many different kinds of edible vegetable oils include: palm oil, olive oil, soybean oil, canola 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 refers to a blend of a variety of oils often based on palm oil, corn, soybean or sunflower oils.

Oil can be flavoured by immersing aromatic food stuffs such as fresh herbs, peppers and so forth in the oil for an extended period of time. However, care must be taken when using garlic and onions to prevent the growth of Clostridium botulinum (the bacterium which causes botulism) in this medium.

Cooking oil is a special problem, as hydrogenation of oils makes them more stable, but also creates trans fats, only found in hydrogenated oils, which are increasingly thought to be unhealthy.

Many cooking oils are known sources of various vitamins (A and E), minerals, amino acids, essential fatty acids, and antioxidants.

Peanut and cashew oils and nut-based oils may present a hazard to persons with a nut allergy. A severe allergic reaction may cause anaphylactic shock and result in death.