Saturday 26 October 2013

Intro to my cooking oils 2/ 2

Part 2/2 Hazelnut, Walnut, Almond, sesame seeds, ground nut, palm oil.

Hazelnut oil… The thing with this oil is that it always reminds me of a Starbucks coffee I used to love… If I am not careful, I will end up drinking this oil like wine… the taste of hazelnut is so strong, it is amazing. This is probably due to the quality of the oil. I got this one from Marks and Spencer’s. It is great for baking (used as a replacement for butter). ; It can also be used to drizzle on Salads if you are using chopped nuts and flash frying. Hazelnuts are apparently rich in vitamin B6, B and proteins… suppa duppa. I like that! Try it in your homemade pesto the next time… fry you pancakes with it… so yummy!


Walnut oil. I was really surprised to find this one, again from Marks and spencer’s. The taste isn’t that strong and I rather use it in Salads. The taste of walnut is so light that and heating it might just lose it. So, I just use it raw and … sparingly. 250ml costs between £2.00 and £5.00 depending where you shop. It is worth having it handy. The bottle can last up to six months if you are being really economical with it.

Almond oil. Growing up, I used this oil to moisturise. When I saw it on the food aisle it was a “ding” moment… I love almonds, but I was disappointed by the oil… I can’t taste the nuttiness in it. Not sure it really plays role in my collection of oils, but it is a worthy replacement for vegetable oil or rapeseed oil. It is not as expensive as the hazelnut or walnut oil, but, it is not available everywhere either. The Turkish shop and the Indian shop round the corner will have it in stock.


Toasted sesame oil. Now I love sesame, and if I could I would include it in all my baking and salads. But, for the sake of diversity…, I swap it for poppy seeds. Been a fan of this tiny little seed for ages. It was only natural that its oil should be included in my collection. The toasted sesame oil REALLY does tastes like TOASTED sesame… the taste is so strong, it would be a pity to heat it up for frying and lose all that taste. I recommend using it to finish off vegetable dishes and salads. It is widely used in south India, and I am sure that you have spotted it In the Japan centre in regent Street London.
Ground nut oil. That is peanut oil or monkey nuts oil… not sure why this one has so many names… This oil is widely used in Asia and West Africa and is great for deep frying… Doughnuts and French fries. I bet this oil is much cheaper in Africa than it is here. I use it very sparingly in most cooking. I will not us it for deep frying because of its cost. It is apparently used as a biodiesel in some countries. It is a good one to have in the collection.


Palm Oil. Get this, you can find palm oil in Nutella and a lot of Palmolive products! Did you know that? I love the taste of this oil but, regular consumption of it isn’t recommended in this British climate which is very cold at times. This oil tends to coagulate very easily and is best suitable for really hot climates... Asia, south American and Africa.
It really really taste nutty, has the colour of saffron and colours everything it comes in contact with. If you are reading this based in the UK, you will not find it in supermarkets unless they have a world foods aisle like big Tesco supermarkets. Otherwise you may find it again, in the Turkish and Indian shops. I recommend the Nigerian variety as its colour seem to be the best and it stays liquidly for longer.  This oil is suitable for types of cooking and stews in particular. Do not use it for salads as it will coagulate as it get in contact with cold items. This oil is amazing and contains a whole lot of goodness including Q10, Carotene and vitamin B6…
That it is, this is my collection of oil. I did came across corn oil and rice bran oils in the shop too. They sound amazing, but I am running out of space in my kitchen for now…
All those oils seem to be full of great things… how amazing. Just with this I might manage to stay away from my doctor for the next 12 months.
I really hope that you will try some of these oils. Do come back and let me know what you think.

Hey do not try any of it if you are allergic to NUTS!

See you soon!

No comments:

Post a Comment