[mudbug]

Originally Posted by Jzone

If you are cooking health conscious avocado, coconut and macadamia oils are not so good. I believe they are mono-unsaturated, but it could be something else too. tasty though :-)

Monounsaturated fats include canola oil, avocado oil, Macadamia nut oil, or olive oil and monounsaturated fats are good for you. So good for you the American Diabetes Association recommends them. They all raise your HDL level.

"High-density lipoproteins (HDL) are also known as "good" cholesterol (think, H is for "Happy"). HDL helps remove cholesterol from your body, so the higher your HDL, the lower your chance for getting heart disease."

Health Benefits of Avocado Oil

Macadamia nut oils, as well as other nuts and their oils contain vital Omega-3 fatty acids that are lacking in most American's diets.

Any of these oils are better for you so long as they are not hydrogenated. It's the type of processing you need to be aware of. The more processed it is, the worse it is for your system.

I personally try to avoid corn products because over 85% of products on the grocery shelves are made from corn which has been genetically modified. I'd rather have a bit of high quality non-hydrogenated coconut oil (which is saturated) in my diet than corn or soy oil. Vegetable oil is made of soybeans, much of which are now processed also from genetically modified soybean plants.

Several years ago the vegetable oil industry tried to tell us that natural products were bad for us, so they started us eating margarine, etc. Now there's proof from us human test subjects that maybe a little artificial highly processed fat ingested over a long period of time is deteriorating our health. And so goes the story for numerous highly processed ingredients.

The key is balance and moderation. Get educated so you can make good decisions. The human body requires both HDL (less) and LDL (more) cholesterol. It wouldn't be healthy to drink a bottle of olive oil would it? Even drinking too much water (Hyponatremia) can kill a person.

My rule of thumb is: The closer an ingredient is to it's original integrity in nature, the better it is for you. You never read about organic vegetables being bad for your health, do you? The more processed, refined, partially hydrogenated, etc. it is, the worse it is for you.

[Myplaceoryours]

Originally Posted by eugene

From many articles that I read, olive oil looses its taste and smell after its boiling point. So why so many people recommend cooking food in olive oil?
Its more expensive, and without the taste, isn't there a little reason to use it?

Well, eugene, you've got a lot of information to digest in this thread. I assure you that the mistique associated with olive oil is often more show than go. There are differences in grades of olive oil but, except perhaps for the connoisseur, few people can recognize differences in one olive oil over another within a certain grade. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is from the first pressing of the olives - that applies to all EVOO. However, olives harvested early in the season tend to have less acidity than those harvested later and the variations in acidity can make a difference.
Generally speaking, I wouldn't fry using EVOO. I do, however, use it as a spash, in dressings and as a dipping oil. Here's a primer that might help you begin to understand this beautiful ingredient and how best to use it:
http://www.hormel.com/templates/know...emid=40&id=573
Oh, one more thing. Olive Oil is fast becoming a major influence in the California agricultural industries and, IMHO, it compares with some of the best I've used from throughout the world.
Try to avoid olive oil snobs. Like wine snobs, they tend to bore others at dinner parties and typically know little more about the subject than what they've read in some gourmet magazine.

[mredikop]

Originally Posted by Suzanne

I just met some folks who deal in avocado oil -- Olivado Gourmet Foods http://www.olivado.com. I was very impressed by the oil -- lovely mild flavor, and excellent cooking properties. They also carry infused avocado oils (chili, rosemary, basil, and lemon) and macadamia nut oil. The company that sells it here in the US is based in Florida, but the oils come from New Zealand. The Web site has lists of retailers all over the world.

[snip]

Thanks for the heads up. I want to try using this. I don't care if it is healthy most everything I make is horrible for me.

[siduri]

Originally Posted by even stephen

A popular quote these days is "all olive oil is extra virgin, all pepper is white to avoid discoloration in soups, sauces and dressing,

etc
I can go along with all of those but white pepper would be on my NO list and for me all pepper is black, since that's where the taste is, in the outer layer that is rubbed off in white pepper - just hot but no taste. what's teh point? Also, i find those little black gratings so appetizing, you might as well try to find white parsley not to "discolor" sauces and all that!