If you’re looking for a healthy cooking oil alternative to use, you’ll stumble upon coconut oil sooner or later. It comes with a lot of health benefits and many people use it to put a healthy twist on their cooking, but here are a few things you should keep in mind before using it.
Fat Content
Many plant-based oils that became a huge hit in the past few years don’t have high saturated fat content, but that’s not the case with coconut oil. This type of oil contains a lot of saturated fats, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should avoid it, as long as you use it in moderation.
High Heat Cooking
Due to its high saturated fat content, you should tread lightly when using it for high heat cooking. Saturated fats have a high smoke point, about 350 degrees Fahrenheit in the case of coconut oil, and that’s why it’s recommended to stick to using it for low heat cooking only.
Salad Dressings
Using coconut oil as a salad dressing also isn’t the best idea, and not only because it will give your salad a coconut aroma. If you decide to put your salad in the fridge and save it for later, your coconut oil will harden in the cold and make your salad completely useless.
