Cooking with Fats and Oils

Fats and oils give variety, richness and smoothness to foods that might otherwise be too dry to eat. For the cook, the heating properties of fats and oils are as important as their flavors, and crucial to successful sautéing, deep- and shallow-frying, stir-frying, baking, and pastry and sauce-making. Since fats and oils can be heated to high temperatures, food is often fried very fast, producing a more intense flavor and a crisper texture than by any other cooking method.

Fats and oils are used in cake-making to moisten the batter and improve the keeping qualities of a cake. Flavored oils are key ingredients in salad dressings. Peanut oil, for instance, is agreeably light in a dressing, while olive oil is unmistakably rich and distinctive. All-purpose oils like corn and sunflower have no strong flavor to impart, but even small quantities of nut oils (notably walnut) or infused oils such as chili, add personality.