I was introduced to avocado oil by Chosen Foods who sent me a sample of their spray and cooking oil. While I am an avocado fiend, I was honestly a Little reluctant to switch from olive oil initially. However, after trying it on a few different recipes I am completely hooked! While there are other advantages, the biggest single one is the higher smoke point, which means that my pans are cleaner and stuff is less likely to turn brown / black in the pan.
Chosen Food's avocado oil spray comes in two forms - a standard bottle of avocado oil ($13.95) and then also a spray bottle ($7.95). They also make a variety of other products ranging from an avocado / coconut oil blend, sesame oil, chia seeds and other similar products.
So, Why Do I Love Avocado Oil?
There are three reasons that I love avocado oil: smoke point is ~500 degrees vs ~400 for olive oil or (~220 for extra-virgin), good for the body, just as versital as olive oil.
Avocado Oil Smoke Point:
Why is smoke point important? Well nobody wants their oil to burn! In stir fry that leaves a black mess in the pan at best and ruined food at worst. When I tried baking with the spray, I discovered that unlike olive oil or butter, I didn't have an ugly brown residue on the ban after my muffins came out. That may be mostly cosmetic but it sure makes cleanup easier and while completely subjective - I felt like it made stuff less likely to stick to the pan too.
If you think about it ... a standard temperature for baking muffins is between 375 and 425, that means that your oil or butter is likely to burn. With avocado oil it wont!
Health Benefits of Avocado Oil:
Avocados are a miracle fruit. It's a great source of Oleic Acid and omega-9 EFA that is highly resistant to oxidation, it also has a very high concentration of beta-sitosterol, a type of cholesterol that helps our bodies convert less healthy fats into more usable and less damaging forms. Avocado oil is also a great source of Vitamin E that can help with the immune system, improve memory, mental acuity, and help support the digestive track. It's also a fantastic anti-inflammatory that can help lower the risk of heart disease. There are a ton more benefits too.
High smoke point isn't just cosmetic. In fact, when you cook with oils above their smoke points it actually can create trans fats. This means that not only is avocado oil more healthy for you than many other cooking oils ... it's even more healthy since you are less likely to push it past the smoke point. In addition to creating trans fats, this burned oil also creates toxins, radicals, and decomposed materials that are the result of an oil that has broken down into unhealthy components.
It Tastes Great and is As Versatile as Olive Oil:
While I LOVE my avocados, I was a little concerned initially that everything would taste like them by using this oil. However, I was pleasantly surprised that the flavor is very mild and honestly I wouldn't have immediately identified it being avocado. I've used it to completely replace Olive Oil in cooking and butter / cooking spray for coating a pan during baking. Though I have not tried it as a dressing or for dipping bread I've been told that it works great that way too.
