What to use instead of oil
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
Advertisement
Frying medium at high heat
It carries heat evenly to the whole surface at once, and it has to stay stable above 180C without breaking down or tasting scorched.
Peanut oilRan out
1:1 by volume
Smokes around 230C and holds up to several batches without going stale. Faintly nutty, and out of the question for a peanut allergy.
Refined sunflower, canola or rice bran oilNut-free
1:1 by volume
Neutral and cheap with a 230C smoke point. Sunflower degrades faster than the others across repeat batches and starts to smell fishy.
Beef tallow or lardRan out
Match by weight
Browns faster and crisps harder because of the trace protein in it. It sets firm on the food as it cools, so the fries have to be eaten hot.
Refined coconut oilPlant-based
1:1 by volume
Good to about 200C and very stable, and it solidifies on the food within minutes of coming out, which reads as waxy on the tongue.
Avocado oilNut-free
1:1 by volume
The highest smoke point of the group at around 250C and completely neutral. Costs three times as much per litre, so it suits a shallow pan.
What doesn't work: Toasted sesame oil, cold-pressed nut oils or butter. The particles that give them their flavour are exactly what burns, and they go acrid between 150C and 175C, well before the food has browned.
Coating food for roasting or the grill
A thin film spreads oven heat across the whole surface and lets water escape, so the food browns instead of steaming, and it carries fat-soluble spice into the crust.
Olive oilRan out
1:1 by volume
More flavour and it browns on the same schedule at 200C. It tastes greener and more peppery on a plain potato, which some people want and some do not.
Melted butterRan out
1:1 by volume
Browns faster and darker because the milk solids toast, and it burns past 200C. Best on things that go in for under 30 minutes.
GheeRan out
1:1 by volume
Butter flavour that survives 220C because the solids are already gone. It sets on the plate as the food cools.
Duck fat or bacon fatRan out
Match by weight
Crispest roast potato of the lot. Bacon fat brings salt and smoke with it, so pull salt out of the seasoning.
Mayonnaise, spread thinRan out
1 tbsp per 1 tbsp oil
It is oil with egg and acid already in it, so it clings to a wet surface and browns sooner and more evenly. Faintly tangy underneath.
What doesn't work: Broth or water in place of the fat. The surface cannot climb past 100C while it is wet, so the food steams grey and soft and no crust forms however long it stays in.
Fat worked into a flatbread or fritter dough
It coats the flour and shortens the gluten strands, which is what keeps a flour tortilla foldable after it cools instead of setting like cardboard.
LardRan out
Match by weight
The traditional tortilla fat. More pliable at room temperature and faintly savoury, and the tortillas stay soft a day longer.
Melted butterRan out
Match by weight
Richer and browner on the griddle. It sets hard in the fridge, so refrigerated tortillas crack until they are warmed through.
Vegetable shorteningPlant-based
Match by weight
The most pliable result and completely flavourless, so the dough tastes only of toasted flour and salt.
Olive oilPlant-based
1:1 by volume
Works the same mechanically and carries its own flavour into a plain dough. Extra virgin is loud in something as thin as a tortilla.
What doesn't work: Cold butter cut in as cubes. Solid pieces make flaky layers and hold water, so instead of a soft foldable round you get a puffed, dry flatbread that shatters at the crease. The fat has to be liquid or soft enough to coat the flour.