Cooking Oils and Fats Compared: Saturated Fat, Uses, Storage

Choosing a cooking oil often starts from a slogan on the label. The questions that matter in a kitchen are more concrete: how the fats differ on paper, which one suits searing, baking or salad dressing, and how to keep a bottle from going rancid before you finish it.

This guide compares common US cooking oils and solid fats with USDA FoodData Central figures, shows the same fats per tablespoon, looks at fat in everyday foods, and ends with practical choices by dish.

Three columns worth reading on any fat

• Total fat — For oils, this is essentially 100 g per 100 g. Butter is lower because it contains water and milk solids
• Saturated fat — The column where oils differ most. It is also why some fats are solid at room temperature and others are liquid
• Cholesterol — Found only in animal fats. Plant oils show zero

Calories follow total fat, so pure oils all land in the same place.

Cooking oils and solid fats, 100 g each

• Calories are practically identical across the liquid oils. "Light" olive oil refers to color and flavor, not calories
• Canola oil has the least saturated fat in the table. Grapeseed, corn, olive, sesame and soybean oils sit in a similar middle band, with peanut oil a little higher
• Coconut oil is the outlier. Its saturated fat is far higher than butter, lard or beef tallow, which is why it is solid in a cool kitchen
• Butter, lard and tallow carry cholesterol; butter has the most
• "Vegetable oil" in US supermarkets is most often soybean oil or a blend. The ingredient list tells you which

Per tablespoon: what actually goes in the pan

Recipes use tablespoons, not 100 g. Here is roughly one tablespoon (14 g) of each.

A tablespoon of any oil carries a similar amount of calories, and butter about a fifth less. Regular mayonnaise is mostly oil, so a spoonful of it has roughly three-quarters of the calories of a spoonful of oil, with sodium added. Spreads with 60% fat contain water, so they carry fewer calories per tablespoon than butter and much more sodium than unsalted butter.

Measure instead of pouring

1. Use a measuring spoon for sautéing; a "glug" from the bottle is often two or three tablespoons
2. Try a pastry brush or oil mister for sheet pans and grill grates
3. Toss vegetables in a bowl with a measured spoonful before roasting, rather than drizzling on the pan, so the oil coats evenly
4. Use nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron for eggs and fish, which need less oil

Fat inside everyday foods

Most fat in a typical diet comes from food, not the oil bottle.

• Pork belly and cheddar cheese are high in both total and saturated fat
• Almonds, walnuts and avocado are high in fat but relatively low in saturated fat
• Salmon and mackerel have less total fat than 80% lean ground beef and much less saturated fat
• Eggs and firm tofu are moderate

"Low-fat" versions of products such as dressings or cookies sometimes replace fat with sugar or starch. Compare full labels rather than one line.

Choosing an oil by dish

Toasted sesame oil burns easily and has a strong flavor; it is used as a seasoning more than a frying oil.

Swapping one fat for another in baking

Recipes are built around a particular fat, so a straight swap changes texture and flavor, not just the numbers in the tables:

1. Butter to oil. Butter is part water and milk solids, oil is pure fat. Many bakers use a little less oil than the butter called for. Expect a moister, denser crumb and no browned-butter flavor
2. Oil to butter. Melt the butter and let it cool slightly before mixing it in, so it blends like oil. Cakes come out with more flavor and a slightly firmer texture once cooled
3. Butter to coconut oil. Solid coconut oil can replace butter in pie crust and cookies. Refined coconut oil tastes neutral; virgin coconut oil tastes of coconut
4. Flaky pastry is the hardest swap. The flakes come from cold, solid fat. Liquid oil cannot do this, so keep butter, lard or shortening for biscuits and pie crust

Reading an olive oil label

Olive oil has the most confusing shelf in the oil aisle. Words to know:

• Extra-virgin — the highest grade, extracted mechanically without chemical refining. It has the most flavor and the lowest smoke point of the olive oils
• "Olive oil" or "pure olive oil" — a blend of refined olive oil with some virgin oil. Milder, and better suited to higher heat
• "Light" or "extra light" — refined, pale and neutral in taste. As the table shows, not lower in calories
• Harvest date — more useful than the best-by date when it is printed. Fresher oil tastes greener and more peppery
• "Packed in" versus "product of" — a bottle packed in one country can hold oil from olives grown in several. The back label usually names the origins

Storage: block light, air and heat

1. Buy a size you will finish in a couple of months once opened. Large jugs are cheap only if you use them up
2. Keep the cap tight. Oxygen drives rancidity
3. Store away from the stove and sunny windows. A cabinet away from heat is better than the shelf above the range
4. Choose dark glass or tins for olive oil and other flavorful oils
5. Refrigerate delicate oils such as walnut and flaxseed. Olive oil may turn cloudy in the fridge; it clears at room temperature
6. Butter keeps longer in the fridge, and freezes well wrapped tightly

Hot oil safety

• Heat oil gradually and never leave a pot of frying oil unattended
• Dry food before adding it to hot oil to reduce spattering
• If oil catches fire, turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid. Never pour water on a grease fire
• Cool used oil before straining, and do not pour it down the sink; seal it in a container for the trash

How different countries cook with fat

• United States — Canola and soybean "vegetable oil" for everyday cooking, butter for baking, olive oil for salads and Italian dishes, and peanut oil for frying turkeys and chicken
• Korea — Toasted sesame oil and perilla oil (deulgireum) finish many dishes, while neutral soybean or canola oil is used for stir-frying and pan-fried dishes (jeon)
• Japan — Light vegetable oils for tempura and stir-frying, with sesame oil blended in for aroma. Many dishes are simmered or grilled with little added fat
• Spanish-speaking countries — Olive oil is the everyday fat in Spain. In Mexico, lard (manteca) has a long role in beans and tamales, alongside vegetable oils today

Each tradition matches local crops and dishes. Picking an oil for the job, measuring it and storing it well matter more day to day than any single "best" oil.