The Safest Cooking Oils to Use for 16 Different Types of Meals

Safest oil for vinaigrettes

When you’re not cooking with oil, you can disregard smoke point entirely and focus on flavor. “Extra-virgin olive oil is obtained from the first pressing of the olives and is cold-pressed, meaning it’s not heated or treated with chemicals during the pressing process, for the most flavorful, healthiest, broad range of flavors,” explains Kelly Toups, MLA, RD, LDN, director of nutrition at Oldways, a nonprofit food and nutrition education organization. “Few foods can rival the decades of health research on extra virgin olive oil, and it’s perfect for vinaigrettes.”