Popular today, fruit oils like avocado, olive, palm fruit, and coconut are food lover favorites. They're also used holistically, applied topically, and versatile in various uses, from baking and sauteing to emulsifying.
Avocado oil is making the rounds as one of the best oils for culinary, baking, and deep frying. Spray on a nonstick sauté pan to make savory crepes. Consider switching to avocado oil for baking a dessert. Due to its high smoke point, avocado oil is an excellent option for deep frying panko-covered chicken tenders.
Various grades of olive oils exist, like extra virgin, virgin, pure, and pomace. On each labeled bottle, you will see their differences in grades and price. "Cold-pressed" means "unrefined" oil because processing plants can't process it beyond 120 degrees. Extra virgin, aka EVOO, is an excellent option for cooking, sauteing, and baking due to its slightly acidic and rich flavor and consistency. Consider it in sauces and stews, adding it to certain pastries, dipping bread, or as a finishing oil. Virgin is best for sauteing, adding to salad dressings, or as a dipping oil. It's highly acidic, so I use a dash of it in hummus. Pure olive oil is best for cooking and holistic practices. Pomace, the lowest grade of olive oil, uses every bit of the fruit. I prefer it for massages instead of cooking, but that's just me.
Evoo vs. Virgin
Palm fruit oil derives from the fleshy, orange-colored area surrounding the palm seed. It's high in vitamin E and, when unrefined, can be full of carotenoids due to its rich orange or golden-orange color. Palm fruit oil becomes unhealthy once it is hydrogenated or turned from a liquid form like oil into a solid mass like shortening. You can find it in most baked goods and fried foods in restaurants and stores. Many people avoid it processed because it increases inflammation levels within the body.
Check out vegan bakeries in your area, where coconut oil is popular in baked sweet vegan treats. Additionally, used holistically, coconut oil is an excellent option as a topical treatment to soothe skin, hair, gums, and insides.