4 Best Oils For Frying in a Restaurant Kitchen

What Are The Differences Between Frying Oils?  

When browsing for the right type of deep frying oil, you’ll want to keep three predominant factors in mind:  

• Smoke point 

• Taste 

• Price 

These are the three factors that will help you decide which oil is best for your deep-frying needs. 

Smoke Point 

An oil's smoke point is the temperature at which it starts to break down and burn. It’s important to pay attention to the smoke point because when oil begins to break apart and smoke, it adversely affects the flavor of your food. If you try using a low-smoke point oil for a high-temperature recipe, you’re going to have subpar outcomes. 

Oil with a high smoke point is considered more stable than oils with a low smoke point. Stable oils that are great for deep frying include: 

• Peanut 

• Canola 

• Vegetable 

Each of these has a smoke point north of 400°F. Most deep frying occurs between 350°F and 400°F. That makes these oils optimal for deep frying. 

Oils with a low smoke point include 

• Coconut 

• Olive 

• Some corn oils 

These oils will not fare well in a deep fryer if you tend to fry in large quantities. Stay away from them. 

Taste 

All oils taste different. And when you deep fry, that taste will leach into your final product. 

Some oils have a strong flavor while others are considered neutral. For example, olive oil has a strong and distinct taste. Because of that, it’s often used in dishes to have the oil heavily dictate the food’s taste. 

On the other hand, peanut, canola, and corn oil are all neutral-flavored oils. This makes them hard to taste in the food’s final product. 

Taste comes down to what you want to achieve from your dishes. Neutral flavored oils make better dishes that want to highlight the original taste of the ingredients. If you want to add some flavor via oil, you can choose oils with a distinct taste. 

Price 

Inventory is expensive. As the push for petroleum fuel alternatives like biofuel intensifies, the price of cooking oil has also increased. 

A quick glance at market prices will show that peanut oil tends to be more expensive than other oils like canola. Canola and vegetable oil tend to be closer in price. Peanut, canola, and peanut oil are considered the three cheapest deep-frying oils you can choose. 

Other oils like grapeseed and olive oils are much more expensive but can create some interesting dishes. Think about the dishes you will be making most often and consider the price of oil for those recipes. 

The 4 Best Oils For Frying 

Choosing the best oil for frying based on your menu, clientele, and processes can help your restaurant save money while sizzling its way to culinary greatness.​ Here are the 4 best fryer oils and what makes each of them so special. 

1. Best Overall Frying Oil: Vegetable Oil 

The term “vegetable oil” isn’t specific - and that’s for good reason. The ingredients of vegetable oil consist of several different oils that have been emulsified together to create a low-cost oil blend. 

This mixture usually contains soybean, corn, sunflower, canola, and palm oil. Vegetable oil has a smoke point of 400°F making it a stable, neutral tasting, and affordable, option for frying. 

Vegetable oil is a solid candidate for any deep-frying need. 

4. Cheapest Frying Oil Overall: Canola Oil 

When comparing prices, canola oil comes out on top.  It does offer a slightly lower smoke point than other oils, but at 400°F it’s hard to complain. 

Canola oil also features a very neutral flavor that guarantees several foods can be cooked in it. 

There’s not much else to say about canola oil. There’s a reason it’s a staple in so many restaurants - it’s the most “bang-for-your-buck” option out there. 

 Another Option: Blending Fryer Oil 

Soybean oil is a popular choice for deep frying on its own, but when blended with peanut oil or canola oil, it becomes a particularly useful choice. 

When peanut (or canola) and soybean oil are blended you end up with an oil that has a decently high smoke point, but a slightly cheaper price thanks to the soybean oil. A blend of canola and soybean oil will greatly decrease the cost of frying oil and will reduce flavor transfer thanks to the collective composition of those two oils. 

You can always try various combinations to see what works best for you, but you should always try these things in smaller batches first. 

Choosing The Best Oil Option For Your Commercial Kitchen 

While it’s easy enough to understand the merits of each frying oil, it’s hard to know which one you should invest your time and money into. 

The first thing to consider should be the smoke point. If you plan on making dishes that require a high smoke point then you should choose either corn or peanut oil. And if you’re worried about allergens, then corn oil is a great option for you. 

If you’re looking for nothing fancy, you can’t go wrong with canola oil. 

Don’t Forget About How You’ll Deal With Used Oil 

Used cooking oil is a harmful waste product created when cooking oil becomes spent through use. If it gets poured down the drain it can clog pipes, cause sewage issues, and leave you with hefty fines. Putting used cooking oil in a dumpster is also unsafe because it leaches into the soil and causes environmental harm as well as leaves you with hefty fines 

Before opening your kitchen, you need to have a plan for how you’re going to dispose of used cooking oil. The best way to do this is to partner with a full-service used cooking oil collection company. 

Dar Pro Solutions equips businesses with state-of-the-art automated used cooking oil containers. We’ll also set up a pickup schedule that matches your restaurant’s used cooking oil output. Worry less about your used cooking oil and let us handle it. 

Contact our sales team to start the process of getting used cooking oil equipment and a schedule that matches your business's unique needs.