Avocado oil VS Olive oil? - PaleoHacks.com

Avocado oil VS Olive oil?

2012-10-12T20:39:20Z

Which oil is better overall in smell, taste, texture, color, nutrients, antioxidants and cooking? Why is avocado oil not as well known as olive oil?

Answer by Joseph S. for Avocado oil VS Olive oil?

2012-10-12T23:37:46Z

I like both of them, but prefer avocado oil for taste most of the time.

The reason avocado oil is not as well known is because it is much more expensive. Compare (both of these are the same price, $20.99):

Avocado oil: http://www.amazon.com/La-Tourangelle-Avocado-16-9-Ounce-Tins/dp/B001PO7FIU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350084766&sr=8-1&keywords=avocado+oil (16.9 x 2 = 33.8 oz)

Olive oil: http://www.amazon.com/Kirkland-Signature-Virgin-Liters-Product/dp/B0027EOTKO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1350084780&sr=8-2&keywords=olive+oil (2 liters = 67.6 oz)

The avocado oil costs twice as much.

Answer by MathGirl72 for Avocado oil VS Olive oil?

2012-10-13T00:03:59Z

I like avocado oil when I'm making "fancy" mayonnaise, but it's too expensive to use as a daily oil. I like La Tourangelle's version of avocado oil and order it from Amazon on occasion.

Answer by jake3_14 for Avocado oil VS Olive oil?

2012-10-13T00:31:20Z

The answer depends on the type of cooking and your taste buds. From a health-safety perspective, saturated animal fats, such as lard, tallow, butter, and ghee (clarified butter), although they have a lower smoke point than olive oil (and much lower than avocado oil), are less likely to polymerize at higher temperatures (above 350 degrees F/177 degrees C, (fairly easy to reach on a stove top), and therefore less likely to create damaging free radicals in your body. In addition, animal fats are a mixture of various types of fats that the body can use easily, whereas olive and avocado oils are primarily mono-saturated fats, which the body has limited need for. The drawback to lard and tallow are that the commercial products are stabilized to prolong shelf life by turning them into trans fats. You have to make lard and tallow yourself to get a healthy product. Ghee is available in areas with Indian grocery stores at a reasonable price, but that and butter should be from pastured cows to avoid eating the toxins that mammals sequester in their fats.

This information is most relevant when you have a large amount of oil relative to the food cooking in it. When you mix an small amount of oil in another substance, say a tomato sauce, the mixture of the two creates a substance with a different behavior under heat, generally creating a smoke and polymerization point somewhere between the two substances alone.

From a taste perspective, my choice of oil depends on what I'm cooking. If I want a savory flavor, I use butter or tallow. For a lighter flavor, I use olive oil. If I want the taste of the fat to be almost unnoticeable, I use lard. I've never wanted to spend the money on avocado oil, so I can't offer an opinion on it.

I hope this information helps.

Answer by Jamie for Avocado oil VS Olive oil?

2012-10-13T14:14:45Z

Dunno, ive never had avocado oil, but hempseed oil, and avocado oil, like olive oil, are primarily mono-unsaturated fatty acids, and thus healthy for use as salad dressing, or low temp cooking.

I dont put alot of stock into plant "anti-oxidants" myself, but I am sort of interested in the nutrient profile. Seems olive oil is frequently rancid (not always, but its quite common for some brands), and the idea of some alternatives there is somewhat appealling. Then again, avocado oil is expensive.

I wonder how hempseed oil tastes?

Answer by Aughra for Avocado oil VS Olive oil?

2012-10-13T19:21:11Z

Avocado oil is a lot more expensive but I do like that it isn't a mafia owned business and therefore less likely to be contaminated with vegetable oils.