What Is A Healthy Oil To Add To Cake Recipes?

[Michelle1234]

I only have olive oil in my pantry and it gives an odd taste to boxed cake mixes. What is a good healthy gluten free alternative that will make great tasting cakes?

Thanks!

Michelle (the non-cook so I apologize if this is a stupid question)

[GlutenFreeManna]

I use LIGHT olive oil (NOT virgin) in recipes and don't notice an off taste in anything except mashed potatoes. You can also try coconut oil. Very healthy and will not give a strong coconut taste in most things.

[pricklypear1971]

I use safflower oil but you'll probably get a zillion different answers to this.

Olive oil has a strong flavor...safflower doesn't.

[Coleslawcat]

I use canola oil. It is healthier than corn oil and vegetable oil and doesn't add any odd flavors.

[anitaj]

I use Canola or Grapeseed oil

Good luck

[mushroom]

Grapeseed, light olive oil.

[Ginsou]

I've had no "aftertaste" when using canola and safflower oil.

[Roda]

Canola or coconut oil.

[AVR1962]

I like canola.

[Juliebove]

Coconut.

[freeatlast]

light tasting olive oil

[sa1937]

Canola oil

[fantasticalice]

I use NOTHING but light EVOO for baking. I sure can't "taste" it and neither can anyone else.

[Skylark]

I don't consider canola healthy so I use light olive oil.

[Reba32]

remember too that olive oil can go "off" quite quickly, especially if it got too warm in the cupboard, or if it's past its "best by" date. This will give anything cooked with it an odd taste. Check the date *every* time you use your olive oil!

Coconut oil is good for baking too. Depending which brand you get, it may or may not add a coconutty flavour.

[Skylark]

remember too that olive oil can go "off" quite quickly, especially if it got too warm in the cupboard, or if it's past its "best by" date. This will give anything cooked with it an odd taste. Check the date *every* time you use your olive oil!

You don't need to check the date. Just sniff it! It's easy to notice when it goes "off" and I agree it can happen pretty fast.

[RiceGuy]

Coconut oil is great for cooking and baking, and since it is a solid at room temp, like butter or shortening, it is really great in place of those too. Wonderful on popcorn also, though the heat tolerance is a bit borderline for popping the corn in it. The best tasting coconut oil is centrifuge extracted, but if you don't like the taste of coconut, a cheaper brand may suit you more. Unfortunately, many taste roasted/toasted due to excess heat during processing.

Macadamia nut oil taste fabulous too, though even more costly than coconut oil.

Safflower oil has a very high heat tolerance and long shelf life compared to other oils. It also has little to no taste, so it won't mess up the flavor of foods. Plus it is generally much more affordable than the oils mentioned above.

From everything I've read about canola, I don't think it's healthy. I also found my body doesn't seem to like it, and researching this I read someplace that 50% of those with Celiac cannot tolerate it.

Always keep olive oil in the refrigerator of freezer, especially the extra virgin kind. The higher the quality, the shorter the shelf life. I find that a good quality extra virgin olive oil will smell and taste rancid after just 30 days at room temp.

[jerseyangel]

Light olive oil.

[Michelle1234]

Thanks to everyone for their input.

I just sniffed the three different bottles of olive oil I have. One is Colavita Extra Virgin from Italy, another is Napa Valley Extra Virgin from CA and the third is Kirkland Extra Virgin (from Tuscany). They were in my pantry, not the refrigerator. I've bought olive oil from Italy (while in Italy) and none of these holds a candle to it in terms of taste. I wonder if maybe the shipping process doesn't do well by the oil.

The Napa Valley from California seems to be the best of the bunch in terms of taste. I just opened the Kirkland two days ago and that is what I used in the cake. But it may be "off" based on the smell. I'm just not sure what it should smell like if it goes bad. Costco should take it back. The Colavita probably has been open the longest but doesn't have much smell. I haven't use it much as it doesn't seem to have the great flavor that I get when I buy oil personally in Italy which is why I bought the Napa Valley as I had read that there is sometimes some fraud with exported Italian olive oils where they mix in cheaper oils and I figured the Napa Valley company being in the US would be less likely to have that happen. The Kirkland is the only one with a production date and a best used by date. I can't find anything on the Napa Valley or the Colavita which is disappointing as I know olive oil is really only good for about a year from when it was made.

I think I will pick up a bottle of Safflower oil for my next cake. I appreciate all the input. Based on all the great replies I looked up this article that may be useful to others like me who don't have any idea in the kitchen.

Open Original Shared Link

Michelle

[Skylark]

Olive oil that's just starting to go rancid has a weird "dusty" smell to me. Once it's really oxidized you can't miss the distinct smell of old vegetable oil. Fresh oil smells of olives if it's dark, and like any other vegetable oil if it's light. I used to refrigerate mine but a professional chef told me it changes the flavor? It also tends to get thick and hard to pour so you have to put it into a widemouth jar.

RiceGuy, I had some virgin coconut oil. It yelled "COCONUT" very loudly when I baked with it. Sometimes the flavor is good, but sometimes it doesn't blend in very well.

[tarnalberry]

coconut, light olive, canola, or a nut or seed oil.

[Jenny (AZ via TX)]

I like Grapeseed oil and have been using it in place of Canola.

[Wenmin]

If you are looking for a 'Healthy' alternative use apple sauce in place of oils. I buy the small single serving size and it equals 1/4 cup of oil. Does not give a 'bad' taste to baked goods...

Wendy

[Reba32]

applesauce will add quite a lot to the sugar content to the end product, so if you're controlling how much sugar is in your diet, you may not want to try this. Though I do remember my babysitter when I was a kid used applesauce in cake recipes, and they were very moist. Personally, I'm afraid of sugars, but not fat, so I'll use oil any day!

Skylark, I mentioned to check the date, because a friend of mine who never even thought that cooking oil of any sort *had* a best by date, until I pointed out to her that hers was most definitely rancid, and past its prime.

I think olive oil and peanut oils are the trickiest as far as going rancid quickly. Coconut oil apparently never goes "off", but it's never in my cupboard long enough for me to find out! I use it a lot.

[RiceGuy]

Olive oil that's just starting to go rancid has a weird "dusty" smell to me. Once it's really oxidized you can't miss the distinct smell of old vegetable oil. Fresh oil smells of olives if it's dark, and like any other vegetable oil if it's light. I used to refrigerate mine but a professional chef told me it changes the flavor? It also tends to get thick and hard to pour so you have to put it into a widemouth jar.

RiceGuy, I had some virgin coconut oil. It yelled "COCONUT" very loudly when I baked with it. Sometimes the flavor is good, but sometimes it doesn't blend in very well.

What rancid olive oil smells like to me is sorta "acidic". There's what I call a "sharp" note to it. For those unfamiliar with the difference between fresh and rancid olive oil, smell a really good fresh one, then smell a cheap old one.

Not sure if freezing olive oil changes the flavor, but I think if you're going to buy more than a 30 day supply, refrigerating or freezing is better than having it spoil.

Since I really like coconut, I'll use it in all sorts of things. But I'm sure it's not what everyone wants or expects in many foods, so in those cases it would probably tend to stand out. But never had a really good tasting coconut oil except the centrifuged kind. Most people don't know how good and fresh it can taste until they try that. What brand was it? For a very short time, Nutiva had a centrifuged one, which was pretty good, but not quite as good as it can be. Apparently their supplier wasn't able to continue delivering it though. It also had a relatively short shelf life compared to what it should be. Probably due to moisture content. Thus far, the only truly good one I know of is Open Original Shared Link. They have a sample size too.

applesauce will add quite a lot to the sugar content to the end product, so if you're controlling how much sugar is in your diet, you may not want to try this. Though I do remember my babysitter when I was a kid used applesauce in cake recipes, and they were very moist. Personally, I'm afraid of sugars, but not fat, so I'll use oil any day!

Skylark, I mentioned to check the date, because a friend of mine who never even thought that cooking oil of any sort *had* a best by date, until I pointed out to her that hers was most definitely rancid, and past its prime.

I think olive oil and peanut oils are the trickiest as far as going rancid quickly. Coconut oil apparently never goes "off", but it's never in my cupboard long enough for me to find out! I use it a lot.

Unsweetened applesauce won't add nearly as much sugar as the sweetened one, but will still provide the moistness.

Coconut oil most definitely will spoil if allowed to sit long enough. The shelf life depends on the quality, but is usually from 1-3 years for a sealed, unopened jar. The shelf life of any oil is reduced notably once it is opened. The more air is in the container, the quicker the oil oxidizes. So as you use it, it is essentially spoiling faster and faster.