The Trio Of Cooking Oils Mary Berry Can't Go Without

When you have a career as long and illustrious as Mary Berry, you learn a lot of cooking lessons, including which oils you need and which you really don't. Like so many other aspects of stocking your kitchen, the sheer number of cooking oils on the shelf can prove to be confusing and overwhelming. You've got varieties such as avocado, peanut, coconut, and the list goes on and on before you even get to old standbys like vegetable and canola. Unfortunately recipes and professional chefs don't always help, insisting that you NEED one or the other kind of oil in your pantry. Thankfully we have people like Berry, who made her name teaching people how to cook at home, and isn't here to fuss over every fad that comes around. And in her kitchen you'll only find three oils: two olive oils, and sunflower.

Berry explained her choices in a video for Ebury Reads while discussing how she stocks her pantry, and simplicity is the key. Olive and sunflower oils cover all her bases, and specialty products that she might only use once simply aren't worth taking up space in her home kitchen. This is particularly true because as she explains, oils that don't see much use will often go rancid before you can get through the whole bottle. Sorry walnut oil, you might taste great as a finishing oil drizzled over the occasional salad, but Berry has no time for you.

Mary Berry isn't messing around with too many oil choices, but why those three? The two olive oils come down to separate uses. She has a fancier olive oil on hand for things like dressings and drizzling, where the flavor of the oil is important. Then she has a more affordable option for cooking. That is because despite extra virgin olive oil's superior taste, it is unrefined and has a lower smoke point than standard olive oil. That means it can burn when being used in higher heat cooking styles like frying and sauteing. The lighter flavor of more affordable olive oil is also appreciated when you don't want the oil's flavor to overwhelm the dish.

Then there is the sunflower oil. Berry doesn't explain this choice as much, but sunflower oil is a popular choice for high heat cooking because of its high smoke point. It's also considered a heart-healthy alternative to some other cooking oils, although there is not actually much science backing that up. Either way sunflower oil is considered a good neutral cooking oil that is an alternative to options like vegetable oil, and that versatility is great in the kitchen. It certainly fits in with Berry's focus on using as little space as possible and not buying oils that will go to waste. And if there is anyone who's advice we are just going to trust, it's Mary Berry.