Which Oil to Choose- Filtered or Refined?

When you have a reason to choose between wheat bread and white bread, what reason do you have to choose between filtered and refined oil?

The advertising media gave refined oils a big hype which made most housewives think twice before grabbing their favorite filtered oil. Advertising as oils with no cholesterol and the presence of heart-healthy gimmicks did help the manufacturers achieve their profit targets in the market as the conventional filtered oils took a back seat.

Thanks to the lack of intellect in most consumers then, who nevertheless learned later that no vegetable oil contained cholesterol and any oil can be heart-healthy only if consumed in the right amounts. The confusion of choosing filtered oil over refined oil isn't clear yet. So let us give you an overview of both the faces of these types of oils.

Filtered oils

Filtered oils are subjected to processing at lower temperatures during extraction which keeps the fatty acid bonds, essential vitamins, and minerals intact, thus making them heart-healthy. As we all know, filtered oils promise better flavor and taste due to less processing. Filtered oils are of better quality as the oilseeds are carefully chosen to retain the flavor and taste. Filtered groundnut oil especially high in niacin also helps in stabilizing blood sugars and in turn aids in fat loss and also possesses anti-viral properties!

The disadvantage of filtered oil

The only disadvantage of filtered oils is that the smoking point of filtered oils is very low, which means they are unsuitable for deep frying. (Smoking point- the temperature at which fatty acid bonds break, bringing down the nutritional quality and flavor.)

Refined oil or Hot pressed oil

Refined oils, on the other hand, are processed at very high temperatures using a lot of chemicals for refining, deodorizing, and bleaching, which also refines the goodness that was present in the oilseeds. Refining oils is equivalent to refining whole wheat to maida or refining whole sugar to the white ones. Refined oils are less priced, have a longer shelf life, and have higher smoking points. Refined oils are preferred over unrefined oils especially for deep frying and also in processed foods where the aroma and the taste of the oils have to be masked.

The disadvantage of refined oil

High temperatures lead to the decline of nutrients in the process of refining the oil.

Also check out: Mustard Oil Vs. Refined Oil: Choose Wisely

Summary (Difference between filtered and refined oil)

'Kachi Ghani' or cold-compressed oil better than refined or filtered oils

Kachi Ghani simply means extracting oil from the seeds by a natural 'cold press' process. There is no extra heat and chemicals required to obtain them. Cold pressed oil preserves most of its natural properties and most primarily its original taste.

Conclusion

Clearly, filtered oil is better in comparison to refined oil because they retain more nutrients and don't have to go through the bleaching process.  However, you can prefer oils from nuts and oilseeds for cooking and choose refined oils for deep frying. Oils can be heart-healthy only if used in moderation and you could grab the goodness of different oils by using a combination of the right oils. Choose the right cooking oil every time.

FAQ

What is the difference between refined and unrefined oil?

As discussed above, refined oils are formed at a high temperature to make them edible. Unrefined oils are the oils which are not exposed to that much heat. In other words, these are the kinds of oils which require minimum heat for processing.

Examples :