Cooking Oils, Salad Oils, and Dressings

Lipids used in food products have been conventionally divided into two classes based on their consistency at about 25°C (72°F): (1) liquid oils and (2) solid and semisolid fats. Edible oils can be further divided by their general usage in food, as cooking oil or as salad oil. These types of oils can be characterized by a wide variety of measures that assess attributes such as quality, stability, and nutritional value. Cooking oils are in considerable demand for use in applications such as deep-fat frying of many food products or in other uses where exposure to higher temperature is desired. However, salad oils are not generally used in applications where the oil is exposed to heat; rather this oil type finds application in foods that are shelf stable or refrigerated. One large food use of salad oils is for dressings. Oil-based dressings are divided into two broad categories by their texture: spoonable dressings (salad dressings, mayonnaise) and pourable dressings. Keywords: oil; dressings; salad