When one wants to cook, one wonders, if one should use peanut or vegetable oil to cook. There some people who prefer cooking with vegetable oil, while there are others who prefer peanut oil.
Do you want to try out a new recipe and it demands the use of a particular oil only? At this point do you wonder, what difference would it make if one substitutes another oil for the said oil? Well in some cases, choosing one oil over the other will not make much of a difference. However, in some cases it can affect the recipe to a large extent. Would you really want to ruin your hard work by using the wrong oil? Cooking oil is often only derived from a plant source.
There are a number of cooking oils, which can be used. The different oils that can be used include peanut oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, sesame oil, rice bran oil, vegetable oil, etc. Often there is a peanut oil vs. vegetable oil debate, which arises. The questions raised are, which is oil is better than the other in terms of nutrition, which oil lends better taste to the recipe, etc.
Vegetable Oil Vs. Peanut Oil
Every oil that one uses has certain heating characteristics. Some of oils should not be heated above a particular temperature as the oil then becomes unhealthy. Therefore, when one wants to cook using any of the oils it is important to match the oil’s heat tolerance with the cooking method to be used.
Vegetable Oil: It is derived from a number of vegetable sources like corn, soybean, palm and sunflower. In other words, it is a blend of a number of oils put together. It is one of the most commonly used oil. Hence, one will find a mention of this oil in maximum number of recipes.
Peanut Oil: As the name suggests, this oil is derived from peanut. This oil is also one of the most commonly used oil. It is often used for frying at high temperatures, as the oil does not become unhealthy, when it is heated at high temperature.
Peanut oil is relatively high in saturated fats, however, the saturated fats do not turn into trans fatty acids, when the oil is heated. However, since the vegetable oil is a mixture of different oils, it is difficult to talk about the nutritional value of the said oil. Both vegetable and peanut oil do not have their own distinct taste, hence they are often used, when a neutral taste for the recipe is required. However, if a person has a heightened sense of taste, then there are chances, that he will be able to distinguish the taste of peanut oil.
When you are debating cooking with peanut oil vs. vegetable oil, you will have to take the recipe into consideration. If the recipe demands frying, then it is best to opt for peanut oil, as it will not turn rancid, when heated to high temperature. On the other hand, vegetable oil has lower smoke point, due to which there are chances that the oil will turn rancid. It is important to note that when both the oils are heated, they will emit a distinct odor and the color of the oil will also change.
Before you choose peanut oil over vegetable oil or vice versa, you will want to take allergy for any one of the oil into consideration. If a person is allergic to peanut oil, then it is easy to avoid the oil totally. However, if a person is allergic to vegetable oil, it is difficult to point out to the ingredient the person is actually allergic to. In some cases, it can be due to a mixture of a couple of oils as well. In such cases, it is best to opt for oils, which have the ingredients clearly mentioned.
I hope with this write-up on the doubts that you had about the peanut and vegetable oil have been cleared. According to some health experts, it is best to keep the use of both these oils under limit. More so of vegetable oil, as there are chances, that it may be a mixture of oils, which are not really healthy.