What oil is healthiest for baking?

[2sunshines]

What is your go to oil to use in baked goods?

[Singingmom]

Coconut oil. And lately I've been using avocado oil where I would have used canola oil in the past, because it has a very mild flavor. In the winter when coconut oil is hard, it feels like extra work to melt it and wash an extra pan, so it's nice to be able to just pour your oil. The strong flavor of olive oil will ruin many baked goods imo. Then there's always organic butter, but my ds is allergic so I don't have the luxury of baking with butter very often.

[bananacake]

Grapeseed oil is also a good option is you need something more neutral. But I stick with EVOO, EVCO, and the Spectrum non-hydrogenated palm shortening.

[Aerynne]

I use applesauce instead of oil.

For all the talk about "healthy fats", oil is not a whole food because it has to be extracted out of food, leaving behind the things God put there to be with it. Healthy fats come from whole foods including whole nuts, coconut, avocado, etc.

If you want to use something with some fat in it for baking, and you want it to be healthy (as mentioned in your title, so I figured you did )you are better off using something made from a whole food like peanut butter (yes, it is ground up but it has all the things God put in there) or another nut butter, sun butter [from sunflower seeds] mashed avocado if it works in the recipe, etc. It doesn't work exactly the same as oil (if I need a straight-up substitute, applesauce is better), but if you want to get some fat in there and are willing to play with the recipe, I would try some of the healthy whole food fats like I mentioned, or start with a recipe for something like a peanut butter cookie and you can substitute applesauce for the oil without missing much because the peanut butter has fat.

I try not to use any oil at all and do not eat any myself, though I eat healthy fats that are whole foods like nuts, seeds, avocado, etc.

But if you really have to have an oil for something (some things you really cannot make without it), a good rule of thumb is to get oil from something that is high-fat because it is high-fat to begin with so less has been removed. So oil from olives, avocado, and coconut (all high-fat foods) is going to be healthier than oil from corn. While canola oil is from a seed, which should normally be high fat, the extraction process is so involved that I cannot recommend it. I really don't recommend using oil at all, or if you do as little as you can (sometimes if a recipe won't work with a cup of applesauce substituted for a cup of oil, it will work with a tablespoon of oil and a cup minus a tablespoon of applesauce).

[Singingmom]

Yes, I use Spectrum palm oil sometimes too.

Erin, you make good points. Have you ever subbed mashed avocado for oil?

[HomeWithMyBabies]

Coconut oil or ghee (if I can't use pasture butter).

[mamacat]

I use coconut oil for fam - I dont do well with it and sunflower oil for me but also try and void oils.Also use Some olive oil if high heat not involved

[Aerynne]

Originally Posted by Singingmom

Yes, I use Spectrum palm oil sometimes too.

Erin, you make good points. Have you ever subbed mashed avocado for oil?

I haven't because it's more expensive than peanut butter and/or applesauce. I bet someone has tried it, though, and maybe you could find a recipe.

[2sunshines]

Excellent information! Thanks!

All of our baking is gluten free, as my 12 year old dd cannot have gluten. Would that affect any of the oil recommendations?

---------- Post added at 10:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:46 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Singingmom

Coconut oil. And lately I've been using avocado oil where I would have used canola oil in the past, because it has a very mild flavor. In the winter when coconut oil is hard, it feels like extra work to melt it and wash an extra pan, so it's nice to be able to just pour your oil. The strong flavor of olive oil will ruin many baked goods imo. Then there's always organic butter, but my ds is allergic so I don't have the luxury of baking with butter very often.

Originally Posted by bananacake

Grapeseed oil is also a good option is you need something more neutral. But I stick with EVOO, EVCO, and the Spectrum non-hydrogenated palm shortening.

I too use coconut oil as our primary cooking/baking oil. However, my 12 year old does most of the baking, and because of its high melting point, she is finding it difficult to work with. Even if it's melted when adding to the recipe, because the other ingredients are usually cold, it hardens up again very quickly. So I was trying to find something that was a little easier for her to work with.

Sounds like avocado or grapeseed might be worth trying.

Bananacake, I know absolutely nothing about non-hydrogenated palm shortening. The word "shortening' sends me running scared, but I admit that I am completely ignorant. What's the basis of it?

Butter is another good option. Most of her pre-gluten free days baking was done with butter. Right now she has had to eliminate both gluten AND dairy, thus eliminating the ability to use butter, but shortly we can reintroduce dairy and see if she reacts to it and if not, butter becomes an option again. Having multiple options is always beneficial tho.

---------- Post added at 10:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:50 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Aerynne

But if you really have to have an oil for something (some things you really cannot make without it), a good rule of thumb is to get oil from something that is high-fat because it is high-fat to begin with so less has been removed. So oil from olives, avocado, and coconut (all high-fat foods) is going to be healthier than oil from corn. While canola oil is from a seed, which should normally be high fat, the extraction process is so involved that I cannot recommend it. I really don't recommend using oil at all, or if you do as little as you can (sometimes if a recipe won't work with a cup of applesauce substituted for a cup of oil, it will work with a tablespoon of oil and a cup minus a tablespoon of applesauce).

How would I know (apart from trial and error) whether a recipe would substitute applesauce for oil well?

The primary things we bake (all gluten free) are muffins, cakes, cupcakes, cookies, bread, etc. Do these things in general accept the applesauce substitute well?

[Singingmom]

Some people who are allergic to dairy can tolerate butter because it has no milk protein, which is what many are allergic to, so you might introduce it again before you do other dairy just to see.

[2sunshines]

Did not know that! Thanks!

[MaybeGracie]

I use olive oil, or 1/2 olive oil and 1/2 applesauce, in my baking (muffins, cakes, quick breads, etc). I don't find the olive oil affects the flavour in a negative way.

[tempus vernum]

Originally Posted by Singingmom

Some people who are allergic to dairy can tolerate butter because it has no milk protein, which is what many are allergic to, so you might introduce it again before you do other dairy just to see.

Butter is lactose free
it's casein that is still in butter.

We bake with coconut oil when we bake (which is rare) we are also gluten free and refined sugar free so we use honey in cooking as well.

Olive and coconut oil can be extracted naturally through a press -- in fact you can purchase a coconut oil press for about $120 I believe you can process nuts and seeds for oil through it as well but I'm not positive

[ViolaMum]

Spectrum vegan shortening is palm oil. I'm not sure of the process for extracting it. From a traditional baking perspective, it's the easiest and probably most familiar-tasting substitute for butter, especially in terms of texture. For example, it makes a fantastic pie crust - much better than CO because of the melting point. Any other substitutes usually take some trial and error to really get them to taste good.

I bake a LOT. Different substitutes work better with certain other ingredients. For example, I make olive oil cakes a lot in the winter with EVOO; they are wonderful combined with citrus juice and zest as flavoring. (They are very traditional in southern France and Italy.) EVOO also works in biscotti, but try using that same EVOO in a chocolate cake, and it's just yucky! In that case, avocado oil is a milder, and better-tasting choice. Grapeseed and sunflower would also be fine. Coconut oil might be a little too strong, unless you want that taste.

[Singingmom]

Originally Posted by SonshineMama

Butter is lactose free
it's casein that is still in butter.

Oh! Sorry to pass on misinformation, 2sunshines! That's what I've been told numerous times, but I don't think I ever researched it on my own. My ds does react to butter.