Grape seed oil

Lately I have been looking at a liter bottle of Italian grape seed oil at Sam's club. It is priced under $6 and as I said for a liter bottle. Honestly, the reason I haven't purchased one is the price for that size bottle. I have never before purchased grape seed oil, so I have nothing to go on.

Sam's Club brand is labeled as Members Mark, as this is also labeled. I buy the Members Mark EVOO, and am extremely satisfied with it, and I use a LOT of EVOO. what do you use grape seed oil for that you couldn't just as easily use EVOO?

Grape seed oil seems to be the new olive oil. It is not as popular here yet, because we have an abundance of locally made olive oil, but the trend is growing. It is said to "be better for you by 20%", lighter tasting with a higher smoke point. I tried in a few years ago, but it was mixed with something else, and I did not care for it. I will have to hunt it down, and give it a try.

We use grape seed oil quite a bit in salad dressing. Mixed with lemon juice, a little mustard, a littler bit of honey, and herbs and seasoning; it goes great with a tossed salad.

As far a cooking with it, you need to have "high heat" on the label. We can get such at Whole Foods.

Got some at the Chicago Whole Foods. Not sure I like it but don't know if what I had was a good representative or not. Found it with an unusual, somewhat petrol taste and smell. Have not given up on it though and will try Carl's dressing.
I use olive oil exclusively except for deep frying [ peanut oil ] and sesame oil for some Oriental dishes.

We use it all the time, for cooking. Absolutely adore the stuff! Ours comes from Italy.

We use it all the time, for cooking. Absolutely adore the stuff! Ours comes from Italy.

Celia, what led you to it and did you make a switch from EVOO, or do you still use it, as well?

We use it all the time, for cooking. Absolutely adore the stuff! Ours comes from Italy.

"C" I do almost all of my cooking with EVOO. I do use some regular vegetable oil (soybean) such as for fish, or for anything that needs to have a largish amount of oil in the skillet. (It would be a waste of good EVOO otherwise) for my deep fryer I use peanut oil because of the neutral flavor/smell, and for the high temps it allows. I would probably just buy some of the Omaggio grape seed oil at Sam's Club as it is just a tad over $5 for a 1.5liter bottle. Might still buy some and make an oil and vinegar dressing from it just to compare to what I make using the EVOO. I have also seen walnut oil, but would imagine that it is not so neutral in either aroma or taste.

Bobby, we cook in grape seed, because of its higher heat tolerance. I find EVOO burns too easily, and wrecks our non-stick pans. I'm also not sure if it retains its health benefits at high heats. We do however use EVOO in all our breads, as they're such a lovely match in flavour!

[Robin Garr]

I find EVOO burns too easily, and wrecks our non-stick pans. I'm also not sure if it retains its health benefits at high heats.

Wise choice, Celia. Extra virgin is really best in applications where it's used for flavor - salad dressings, a flavor drizzle in plating, etc. I don't think I've ever seen a cookbook or chef recommend it for cooking. As you say, heat breaks it down, compromising both the flavor and anitoxidant profile. Use a good brand of regular olive oil for sauteeing, peanut or other relatively high-smoke-point oil for higher temperatures.

I have a bottle of lemon zest grapeseed oil from Hop Kiln Winery in Sonoma County that I plan to use in salad dressings. If I like the results I may have them ship an assortment to me when I visit Sonoma in October. As I recall, they have samples for tasting their various vinegars, oils, etc. at the winery.

Admittedly I am not a kitchen guru. But the choice of a cooking oil seems to have 2 dimensions: flavor and smoke point. EVOO definitely imparts its flavor to food whereas some other oils do not. As far as smoke point is concerned, it appears that not only does the type of oil make a difference, the degree to which it has been refined does as well.

http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/collecte ... points.htm

[Robin Garr]

Admittedly I am not a kitchen guru. But the choice of a cooking oil seems to have 2 dimensions: flavor and smoke point. EVOO definitely imparts its flavor to food whereas some other oils do not. As far as smoke point is concerned, it appears that not only does the type of oil make a difference, the degree to which it has been refined does as well.

http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/collecte ... points.htm

Mike, the problem is that when you approach the smoke point, the flavor is compromised, so in a way you're wasting the premium price of extra-virgin when you use it as a high-temp saute oil. That's the conventional wisdom, anyway, although I wouldn't question results for anyone who's satisfied.

A lot depends on what you're using the oil for. Is it a means to the end (as in high temperature pan or deep frying), or is it there as a flavoring ingredient? Peanut oil, canola oil, corn oil, lard, and beef tallow are all more or less neutral fats that have a high smoke point and don't contribute significant flavor to the foods fried in them. Olive oil (especially EVOO), butter, ghee, sesame, and most especially mustard oil all add their own flavors to whatever you cook in them. This can be good or bad, depending on what result you're after. For example, I'd never think of doing a traditional Chinese stir-fry using olive oil because the taste of olives would be distinctly unwelcome. But, conversely, I wouldn't fry a Greek or Italian eggplant dish in anything else. Similarly, there are Indian dishes that cry out for gingelly (sesame oil) or mustard oil, and just don't taste right if you use anything else.

And then there's pastry. Chinese curried meat pies just don't come out right if you use anything other than lard in the pastry. And French puff pastry just isn't the same unless it's made with real butter. My mother always used Crisco for pie crusts--vegetable oil just didn't work right. These days she'd probably use lard, given that Crisco is loaded with trans fats.

-Paul W.