Cooking Oil 101: Which to Use, Avoiding Splatter and What to Do with Used Oil

This article took me a while to put together. I didn’t want to just repeat what we’re so often told we should be using (there’s always a new headline telling us to swap this oil for that one, or overhaul our pantry overnight). Instead, I wanted to share what actually works in real kitchens – such as my own. For me, it’s not about stocking 10 different bottles. It’s about keeping it minimal and simple, and making a few oils work hard across everything I cook.

This is the oil that lives on my bench, in a pourer and spray bottle, decanted from a 3 litre (101 fl oz) can. I use it for almost everything – roasting trays of vegetables and meats, frying off onions and garlic at the start of a sauce, pan-frying when I just need a splash of oil, marinating, drizzling over salads, or finishing dishes.

Contrary to popular belief, extra-virgin olive oil holds up beautifully in everyday cooking – roasting, shallow-frying, pan cooking – it all works (because despite a “lower smoke point” on paper, in real home-cooking temperatures, it stays stable). It also happens to taste incredible with a lovely depth of flavour, is full of antioxidants and healthy fats, and is the one oil I’d truly struggle to live without.

When I do shallow-fry, deep-fry or stir-fry, this is the oil I want in my kitchen. It has a higher smoke point than extra-virgin olive oil, a neutral flavour, and it’s more affordable than avocado oil (another favourite). That makes it my go-to for shallow-frying schnitzels, fritters or arancini, deep-frying homemade fish and chips, as well as for Asian-style stir-fries or making homemade mayonnaise.

It gives me the same olive oil benefits I like day to day, just with a more subtle flavour and more stability at high heat.

I don’t keep this one stocked all the time – it’s pricier – but it does have its place. Avocado oil is completely neutral in flavour and very stable at high heat, so it’s perfect when you don’t want even the faintest olive note in delicate foods like tempura, doughnuts or light fish batters.

It’s the “special occasion” bottle – brilliant when you need it, but not essential for everyday use.

Canola oil isn’t something I keep as a day-to-day staple. It’s a refined seed oil, and at home I much prefer olive oils for their flavour, minimal processing, and the way they fit into my style of cooking.

That said, I know cost and consistency matter – especially if you’re frying in bulk. It’s why canola is often used in restaurants and takeaways. It’s reliable at high heat and much more affordable when you need litres of it for something like fries or fried chicken for a crowd. For me, it’s more of a “big-batch backup” than a pantry essential.

If you’d rather avoid it altogether, light olive oil will do the job just fine – it just comes at a slightly higher price.

Some splatter is inevitable, but these are the small habits that make the biggest difference for me:

• Patting meat dry – Moisture and hot oil don’t mix. If meat goes into the pan damp, the water turns to steam and sends oil flying. A quick pat with a paper towel saves you a lot of mess.
• Using a heavy, deep pan – I reach for my deep, heavy-based pan because the high sides act like a shield. It makes shallow-frying much less dramatic than using a flat, shallow pan.
• Heating the oil properly – I bring it up over medium heat until it’s shimmering, not smoking. That way, food seals quickly without the aggressive bubbling that happens when oil is either too hot or too cold.
• Not overcrowding the pan – When you try to fry too much at once, the oil temperature drops, food then steams instead of fries, and you get more splatter. Cooking in smaller batches is worth the extra few minutes.

Used oil is one of those kitchen leftovers no one really talks about – but we all deal with it. Here’s what works for me:

Reusing oil
I’ll reuse frying oil sometimes if it’s still clean – usually after a quick shallow-fry like schnitzels or wedges. If it looks good, I then:

• Let it cool completely.
• Strain it through a fine-mesh sieve or paper towel to remove crumbs.
• Store it in a clean jar or bottle with a lid, labelled if it’s picked up flavour (like “chicken oil”).
• I usually only reuse oil once or twice at most – if it smells burnt, looks cloudy, or smokes too quickly the second time around, it’s done.

Disposing of oil
If it’s no longer usable, I never pour it down the sink – it can cause major plumbing problems. Instead, this is what I do:

• Let it cool completely.
• Pour it into an old jar, tin, or bottle with a lid.
• Seal it and pop it in the garbage.

For smaller amounts, I’ll wipe out the pan with a paper towel and toss that in the bin.

Greener options
If you want to go a step further, check if your local council has oil recycling or drop-off points at waste centres. Some areas even recycle cooking oil for biodiesel. Small amounts of plant-based oil can also be added to compost, but avoid anything that’s been used to cook meat or batter – it attracts pests.

Oil doesn’t need to be confusing. You don’t need a lineup of 10 different bottles cluttering your pantry – just two or three good, versatile ones that cover almost everything.

For me, that means:

• Extra-virgin olive oil as my everyday hero.
• Light olive oil as my frying and stir-fry all-rounder.
• Avocado oil for the rare times I want a completely neutral flavour.
• Canola (rapeseed) oil as the big-batch backup, mainly for entertaining.

That’s it. Simple, minimal, practical. The goal isn’t perfection – it’s about making cooking easier, cheaper and less messy, while still keeping your food tasting amazing. Once you know which oils earn their place in your kitchen, the whole process becomes less about confusion and more about just cooking and enjoying the food.

I hope this helps cut through the noise and makes oil one less thing to stress about in the kitchen – because dinner should be about the food, not the fuss.

As always, I love hearing from you, so let me know if you have any questions or thoughts in the comments below.

Big love,
Nic x