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Smoke Point Not a Reliable Indicator ofCooking Oil StabilityNovember 13, 2018

There is no scienti�c basis for the common misconception that you shouldn't cook withextra virgin olive oil.  Many of the myths around cooking with olive oil have to do withsmoke point. Many people mistakenly believe  that you should only cook with oils thathave a high smoke point. 

The smoke point of an oil is de�ned as the temperature at which the fat produces a thin,continuous stream of bluish smoke under controlled circumstances.  Although it hadbeen assumed that smoke point indicated an oil’s safety and suitability for cooking,  newresearch has shown that is not the case.   An oil’s smoke point does not correlate to itsperformance and stability when heated.  Rather, the factors that predict an oil's safetyand stability at high heat are the percentage of polyunsaturated fats (the lower the

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better), and the extent to which the oil has been re�ned (the less the better).   Extra virginolive oil, which has a low concentration of polyunsaturated fat, and is not re�ned at all,proved the best oil for cooking.  

Extra virgin olive oil was the best performing oil but regular olive oil also performedbetter than most seed oils.  According to Leandro Ravetti, one of the researchers in thestudy, this is because of three reasons:  1) the oleic acid composition of olive oils; 2) thefact that regular olive oil is enriched with some (usually around 15-20%) unre�ned virginolive oil;  and 3) the fact that the re�ning process for olive oil is done under relativelygentle physical conditions compared to that used for seed oils which are extracted withsolvents and therefore need to be aggressively re�ned at very high heat.

The below infographic explains how the study was conducted and its conclusions. Inconclusion, if you love olive oil, now you can con�dently cook with it--even extra virginolive oil--as you would any other oil.

 

Cooking with Extra Virgin Olive Oil

A recently published research paper assessed the most commonsupermarket cooking oils, and determined which is the mostsuitable for use when cooking.

OILS TESTEDSTANDARD DOMESTIC COOKING

TEMPERATURES:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)Virgin Olive Oil

Olive Oil (re�ned blend)Canola Oil

Rice Bran OilGrapeseed Oil

Coconut OilPeanut Oil

Sun�ower OilAvocado Oil

Pan frying (sauté) on stove top heat 120ºC/248ºF

Deep frying 160–180ºC/320–356ºF

Oven bakingbelow 200ºC/392ºF

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HEAT COOKING OILS?

Chemical changes (e.g.oxidation, hydrolysis) – this

Commercial kitchensregularly assess the levels Physical changes (e.g.

thickens, foams).

can lead to the production ofpotentiallyharmful compounds (e.g.polar compounds) that arelinked with negative healthoutcomes.

of polar compounds incooking oil - on average,25% of polar compoundsis the limit to ensure the oilis safe for continued use.

 

TESTSPERFORMED

Oils heated gradually (over 20minutes) from 25 to 240ºC /77–464ºF.

HIGHER THAN DOMESTICCOOKING TEMPERATURES

Oils heated at 180ºC / 356ºF for 6hours.

LONGER DURATION THAN SLOWCOOKING METHODS IN ADOMESTIC KITCHEN

KEY RESULTS:

EVOO was the most stable oil of those tested – in both tests, EVOO yielded lowerlevels of polar compounds and trans fats when compared with other oils – Canola oil,Grapeseed Oil and Rice Bran Oil performed the worst and produced very high levelsof polar compounds and trans fats.

This shows that EVOO is the safest and most stable oil to cook with. 

WHY?

This research showed that cooking oilsmoke point is NOT the bestpredictor of oil stability and suitabilityfor cooking at domestic temperatures.

 

Results showed that EVOO performedbest when compared with othercommon cooking oils.

After heating EVOO contained onlytrace levels of trans fats, retained ahigh level of antioxidants and had abetter fatty acid pro�le compared withall other cooking oils tested.

It showed that the best predictors of an

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After heating, EVOO was highest inantioxidants and low is PUFA (high inMUFA) = High oxidative stability (andwill not produce high levels of harmfuloil products.)

These positive results for EVOO wereachieved despite using temperaturesand cooking times above thosecommonly used in domestickitchens.

 

oil's stability and safety when cookingare the oxidative stability, theamount of poly-unsaturated fattyacids (PUFA) (more prone to oxidationthan mono-unsaturated fatty acids(MUFA)) and saturated fatty acids, thenatural content of antioxidants, and thelevel of re�ning that has occurred inthe oil production process.

De Alzaa F, Guillaume C, Ravetti L. Evaluation of Chemical and Physical Changes inDi�erent Commercial Oils during Heating. Acta Scienti�c. 2018;2(6):2-11.

To download a PDF version of this page, click here.

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Read our tips.

Posted in: About Olive Oil, High Heat, Frying with Olive Oil

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