Frying Oil: The 6 Best Alternatives to Sunflower Oil

Frying oil must be heat-stable and should have a neutral taste – not only rapeseed and sunflower oil are suitable for this. We will show you suitable alternatives and also what you should definitely pay attention to when heating oil in a pan.

Frying Oil: Refined or Cold Pressed Oil?

Olive oil, rapeseed oil, sunflower oil – the selection of oils is large. The latter two oils are currently in short supply due to panic buying and shortages. However, various frying oils are suitable for frying.

But which oil is good as frying oil? We give you an overview of heat-stable vegetable oils with a high smoke point. The heat stability of vegetable oils mostly depends on how they were made:

Refined oils: For example rapeseed oil and sunflower oil, they are good for frying.
Cold-pressed and native oils: These oils generally have a lower smoke point and are only conditionally suitable as frying oil. At least “gentle steaming and frying is possible,” writes Stiftung Warentest on rapeseed oil. According to consumer advice centers, olive oil is also suitable at low temperatures. Details in the article “Heat olive oil”.

These refined vegetable oils are suitable as frying oil:

• olive oil
• rapeseed oil
• sunflower oil
• peanut oil
• safflower oil
• sesame oil
• soybean oil

But be careful: Refined oils can withstand high temperatures, but they are problematic. So-called trans fatty acids are formed during refining, which could be associated with the promotion of arteriosclerosis, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. In addition, refined oils contain almost no valuable ingredients, according to Oko-Test. That’s why you should only use refined oils in moderation.

Frying Oil Alternative: High-oleic oils for frying in a pan

A healthier alternative to refined oils are so-called high-oleic oils. This is usually a mixture of sunflower, rapeseed, and safflower oil. The plants are cultivated in such a way that the oils have a particularly high oleic acid content and can therefore naturally withstand temperatures of up to 210 degrees Celsius.

They are still cold-pressed and do not need to be refined. This means that no harmful trans fatty acids are produced and all healthy ingredients are retained. You can find high-oleic oils in health food stores and well-stocked grocery stores, for example.

Caution: These oils are not suitable for frying

However, we advise against using some types of oil if you want to fry something:

• Linseed oil,
• walnut oil,
• pumpkin seed oil,
• palm fat (unsustainable),
• Coconut fat (unsustainable).

In the case of oils and fats, this is mainly due to the high proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids. While these are healthy, they ensure that the oil has a low smoke point. These oils are therefore sensitive to heat and quickly form smoke. This is problematic because the valuable unsaturated fatty acids are destroyed in smoking cooking oils and harmful substances are formed. They can possibly promote the development of cancer cells. These substances include, for example, benzene and formaldehyde. You can read more about this topic here: Cooking oils and their smoke point.

Which frying oil is really sustainable?

From our point of view, rapeseed, safflower and sunflower oil are particularly recommended as frying oils. You can easily get these from German cultivation. Coconut, peanut, sesame or soybean oil, on the other hand, are often imported from distant countries and therefore have a poorer CO2 balance.

When buying, also look for organic frying oil if possible. In this way you support ecological agriculture that works without chemical-synthetic pesticides.

Conclusion: You should keep this in mind when frying

To avoid potentially harmful substances from frying, you should observe the following tips:

• Use high-oleic oils or refined oils with organic plants from German cultivation.
• Refined oils should only be used in moderation.
• Cold-pressed olive and rapeseed oil are also suitable for gentle frying at low temperatures.
• If you want to prepare dressings or dips for which you do not heat the oil, it is best to use high-quality cold-pressed vegetable oils (such as flaxseed, walnut, hemp, or canola oil). These not only ensure a delicious taste but also provide valuable nutrients and healthy fatty acids.