How To Healthy Saute Veggies? - Topic

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Oct 31 2013 07:25am

I've been eating really healthy, but I only like a few veggies. Fortunately, they're delicious stir fry veggies, onions, peppers, broccoli, maybe zucchini.

I keep cooking them in a pan with less than a tsp of oil to be healthy, and it just turns my pan black and they taste like shit.

Ideas on how to cook them without adding oil?

winterschapel

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Oct 31 2013 08:04am

there are oils out there that are good for you, most FDA recommendations and the majority of physicians' dietary recommendations are based on decades old knowledge. of course, everything in moderation.

that said, i use coconut or olive oil a lot these days, and sometimes i finish with some sesame oil or chili oil. if you keep burning the veg there are ways to prevent that, like stirring more vigorously or lowering your heat. adding a bit of water or soy sauce towards the end helps steam it to a finish too.

khemist

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Oct 31 2013 11:25am

what kind of oil are you using? olive oil will only burn.

try using peanut, canola, or vegetable oil. they have a higher burn temp.

i usually use canola oil, some garlic, and veggies. cook until the green veggies get that bright green color, maybe an extra min after that.

ReturnFormer

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Oct 31 2013 04:13pm

use a non stick pan or wok so that youi dont need much oil. if your pan is turning black, youre probably cooking on too high of a heat. use a gentle medium low. season with salt pepper garlic ginger and a bit of soy sauce, or salt pepper garlic oregano and marjoram.

canola is bad for sauteeing. heat turns it carcinogenic. thisll happen to any oil if you overheat it but canola is worse than most. (ex virgin olive oil is also bad.)

winterschapels recommendation of adding water (or a more flavorful liquid like wine or chicken stock) is also a good one. add small amounts of liquid as needed to keep it from burning. you could also blanch the vegs in water/liquid first and then just finish them in the pan.

hofx2

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Oct 31 2013 07:40pm

Canola oil has actually a decently high smoke point temperature.. maybe not the highest, but really good enough for sauteeing. You can even use it for deep frying, we used to use regular canola oil for the fryer at one the place i use to work...
And canola is very low in saturated fat, so don't be shy to use it.

Peanut oil has a high smoke point also, higher then canola, but definetly not the most healthy option, as it is quite high in saturated fat.

Also you can totally use extra virgin oil for sauteeing vegetables, as you don't necesserly need a super high temperature like you would need for searing a steak for example.

I wouldn't recommend coconut oil at all if ur looking for healthy options... it's very very high in saturated fat, more then 10 times then canola oil i think...

ChefAndy

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Oct 31 2013 07:50pm

Also high quality olive oil is far less processed and therefore has a higher smoking point. Kind of a waste to use a really nice olive oil since you lose some of the flavour but it is very healthy.

ReturnFormer

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Oct 31 2013 09:16pm

Quote (hofx2 @ Oct 31 2013 08:40pm)

not all saturated fats are equal. coconut oil is actually viewed as one of the healthier oils now, even though its one of the highest in saturated fats. olive oil is also quite high in saturated fats if i remember right, but its been known for a while that its a healthier oil.

as for canola, while it has a quite high smoke point, when you start getting close to that smoke point it starts breaking down into carcinogens, much worse than most oils.

Quote (acyroma @ Oct 31 2013 08:50pm)

Also high quality olive oil is far less processed and therefore has a higher smoking point. Kind of a waste to use a really nice olive oil since you lose some of the flavour but it is very healthy.

do you mean extra virgin? extra virgin has a very low smoke point and shouldnt be used for high heat sauteeing.

hofx2

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Oct 31 2013 10:42pm

Yeah well it appears there's a debate around it (goodness of coconut oil), and not everyone agrees. Lots of MD are not convinced of their benefits... yes their saturated fat may not be as bad as other saturated fat, but some people say it's still saturated and you should eat too much.
Personally i wouldnt recommend to eat it too often but you guys can make ur own opinions about it...

As for canola oil breaking into carcinogens more then other oil, i'm not sure where u heard that... i couldnt find anything about it (every oil will turn into carcinogens past the smoke point)... most cons again canola is made from the hybridization of rape seed.. some people also don't trust the way its growned (you could use organic one if u prefer)

This post was edited by hofx2 on Oct 31 2013 10:48pm

ChefAndy

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Nov 1 2013 08:10am

Quote (ReturnFormer @ Oct 31 2013 10:16pm)

do you mean extra virgin? extra virgin has a very low smoke point and shouldnt be used for high heat sauteeing.

wrong, the normal storebought extra virgin has a higher amount of fatty acids in them which is what determines smoke point. Higher quality ones, such as the bottle I have in my cupboard right now, can stand up to temperatures above 400 degrees and will not smoke.

Code

A cooking oil’s smoke point depends on the amount of “free fatty acids” in the oil.

High-quality EVOO, by the way, has low levels of the acids.

“The lower the free fatty acid content, the more stable the fat, and the higher the smoke point,” food expert Harold McGee writes in his book, On Food and Cooking (Scribner, 2004).

To be certified as genuine EVOO, the International Olive Council’s guidelines require that an olive oil must have a free fatty acid content of less than 0.8%. The California Olive Oil Council’s standards are stricter, saying a true EVOO must have an acidity level of less than 0.5%.

“So pay more for a well made extra virgin olive oil with a lower acidity and it’ll reward you with significantly more degrees of heating potential,” says Australian olive oil expert Richard Gawel. “In fact, the natural preservatives called polyphenols you find in EVOO protect it from heat degradation.”

ShaCornett

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#10

Nov 1 2013 08:59am

Coconut oil is good to saute with, and it won't burn. It is also really good for you!

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