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Infographic: All You've Ever Wanted to Know About Cooking Oil

By Linda Ly
July 1, 2015
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Photo:johnseb/Flickr/Creative Commons License

Oil. It's one of our most-used ingredients in cooking and perhaps one of the most controversial, as every person has an opinion on what's healthiest, what's the most flavorful, and even what's the most sustainable.

Olive oil is the old standby for its numerous health benefits, but coconut oil is having its heyday and avocado oil is starting to turn up more on menus.

If you've ever wondered how all the various oils on store shelves compare, this infographic from Information Is Beautiful breaks it all down by smoke point and flavor from avocado oil to fish oil (which, by the way, should not be used for cooking).

Included in the infographic are notes on what might help lower bad cholesterol (high-oleic sunflower oil) or is best used for massage (almond oil — but then again, that could apply to a number of these oils).

If you're in the market for a new oil, or want to know what you should use for the type of cooking you're doing, this chart is a good place to start.

Illustration by <a href="http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/oil-well-every-cooking-oil-compared/">Information Is Beautiful</a>
Click here for a larger version.

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