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Ask the Expert: Maggie Gilbert
Oils and Vinegars – UHC TV
This question is about oil and vinegar. There are so many choices at the grocery store. Where do I even begin?
And I will tell you, you want a few of each, as sort of the building blocks of your pantry. First place I would start is some good olive oil. I always say, get the best olive oil you can afford. Taste some different ones if you have a chance, and see what you like. Olive oil is fabulous for things like dressings. You can sauté in it as long as you don’t go to too high a temperature. You can marinate. It’s really a great all-purpose oil.
Now, for things where you don’t want as much flavor, I suggest you get a nice neutral vegetable oil. Canola is a good one that I use, but there’re other blends you can find. If you find yourself actually frying things, you may want to consider peanut oil, which smokes at a fairly high temperature, or even something like grapeseed oil, which smokes at an even higher temperature. Those are really nice things to have if you’re planning on cooking things fairly high (temperature).
So, let’s move to vinegar. I think of vinegar as a cook’s best friend. I think it’s an amazing flavor, and you want to have several kinds in your house that can be used for all kinds of things. You may just want to start with plain, white vinegar. It’s a good thing to have as a base. You can use it when you want very little flavor, you just want the tartness of vinegar. Then, I would get either a red or a white wine vinegar and I love red wine vinegar. I use that a lot. It’s a nice base for dressings and marinades. And it’s even something that, if you make savory – say a beef stew – and you taste it, and it isn’t quite right, if you splash in a little red wine vinegar and you stir it in, you’ll be really surprised. It will add just a little zing, a little something. You don’t know what it is, you don’t really taste the vinegar – it just adds. So that’s the beauty of something like vinegar. It’s got a little splash of acid that really, really is fabulous.
The last one I want to talk about is balsamic (vinegar). I use this constantly. I love balsamic vinegar. It’s wonderful in dressings. You can drizzle it over summer salads, and by itself, it’s perfect. It has a sweetness to it, and a little bit of thickness, so it’s really, really nice just to use alone, or to use with a little olive oil, of course. So I love balsamic, I love red wine, and I love a plain vinegar in the house. That’s your starter. Experiment. Try some different flavors if you want to. But if you have this group in the house, you’re going to be just fine in the oil and vinegar department.
Ask the Expert
Decoding Oils and Vinegars
Question: There are so many oils and vinegars at the store. How do I know what to buy?
Answer from: Maggie Gilbert, cooking expert
Oils and vinegars are important ingredients for many dishes. But choosing can be tough because there are so many options. Maggie Gilbert offers her advice on a good basic assortment.
The content of these videos is for information only and is not intended to be medical advice. Refer to your health plan benefit guide for coverage details, and consult with your doctor to determine what is best for you.
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