Here's Why Avocado Oil Is The Most Versatile Fat In Your Pantry

There's an understandable tendency to dismiss all the new cooking fats you see on shelves as unnecessary fads. Olive oil and vegetable oil have been serving you fine for years, so why throw money at coconut, grapeseed, and all the other options that have no clear advantages over what you already know? Well, as much as we all love a good olive oil, it turns out that some of these newly available oils actually have some pretty unique properties that make them extremely useful in your kitchen. There isn't a substitute for the flavors of walnut or sesame oils, and anyone making fried chicken should have a bottle of peanut oil at hand. But the most useful of your cooking oil options — even more so than the old standards — just might be avocado oil.

There are two types of avocado oil you'll see on the shelf, but it's the refined version that will get the most use. The refining process for avocado oil strains out impurities, which also takes out a lot of the flavor and color. This might not sound ideal, but for cooking oil the results are incredibly helpful. A more neutral flavor means avocado oil can be used for sautéing, frying, and baking all kinds of foods without changing the taste. Fat enhances flavor no matter what, but a plainer taste won't clash with any of your ingredients like more flavorful oil can, making avocado oil a true all-purpose option.

While refined avocado oil's mild flavor is a big part of its appeal, what really sets it apart is its smoke point. There's a temperature point with every cooking fat where the compounds in the fat start to break down. This doesn't just produce smoke but also imparts a burnt, bitter flavor to the oil and the food that is cooking in it. This is why some fats like extra-virgin olive oil aren't great for frying or even sautéing; the temperature smoke point of the oil is low enough that it can break down and develop off-flavors before your ingredients are cooked or crispy.

Fortunately, refined avocado oil is on the top of the mountain on smoke points for every major cooking fat. Vegetable oil smokes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and extra-virgin olive oil at 375, while butter is as low as 300. Some other refined oils like sunflower and peanut can get pretty high at 450 degrees, but refined avocado can top out at 520 before it breaks down. That's miles above the competition, and it means everything from high-heat searing to deep frying is on the table. So while there are plenty of uses for most oils and fats, if you need just one cooking fat to get the job done in any circumstance, refined avocado oil may be the best overall choice.