Cooking - Which type of oil?

By now you have noticed the heavy influence of Indian food on this site, the reason is simple, I love Indian food. You will notice that I commonly use olive oil, where most Indian recipes would call for ghee (clarified butter), vegetable oil, or mustard oil.

I choose to use olive oil because of its health benefits. The beneficial health effects of olive oil are due to both its high content of monounsaturated fatty acids and its high content of antioxidative substances. Studies have shown that olive oil offers protection against heart disease by controlling LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels while raising HDL (the "good" cholesterol) levels.

Recently I have discovered grape seed oil (which can be found in many supermarkets or health food stores) and found that it may have even more benefits than olive oil. Grape seed oil is higher in polyunsaturated fat, which is thought to protect against heart disease, lower blood pressure, and have many other health benefits. Read more about it here: http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/health-supplements/grape-seed-extract.htm

Because of its unique properties, you only need to use about half the amount of grape seed oil as you would with olive oil, canola oil or most other oils. Also, grape seed oil has a high smoking point (as high as 400° F) which means less smoking or burnt taste when frying or sautéing.