Palm Oil

[gk10002000]

Have been to Thailand nine times, sometimes staying as long as 30 or 50 days. Love it. Love the food. It all tastes great. However, I have been noticing how much is really pan fried there. All the pork fillets with garlic, or any of the stir fries etc. I like the taste of things cooked using palm oil, but I am having doubts about how compatible it is with me. I love the german restaurants in Pattaya and the food tastes great, but of course they use Palm Oil.

Anybody notice any difference when cooking with Palm oil versus other vegatble oils? Within two days of being back in the states I feel fine. I love olive oil (greek descent). Peanut oil for chinese food and other vegetable oils.

Does Palm oil go bad before others do? Is the reuse of old palm oil in all the woks or deep friers in Thailand bothering me? Does the fact it is usually sitting around in the warmth or the sun a bad thing?

I can't quite isolate it, but I am getting convinced that is the only part of the cuisine that bothers me a bit. Any readings on Palm Oil and digestability or breakdown issues?

Thanks

[Ulysses G.]

Palm oil is saturated, so stays fresh much longer than most oils. The newest wiadom says that palm and coconut oils are much healthier than most oils if not hydroginated.

[pTh]

...

I love olive oil (Greek descent). Peanut oil for Chinese food and other vegetable oils.

...

Does anyone know where to buy peanut oil for cooking in Pattaya? It is hard to find, even in Bangkok (I had to go to Chinatown to find it).

I have tried supermarkets (T-L, BigC, C4, FoodLand, "Chinese" market on Pattaya Tai, etc.) - no joy. Only Villa had it, imported for 240 B/liter - outrageous! I got it in Bangkok for about 40 B/liter.

I have tried many small market shops, several open air markets & some distributors - no joy.

Any other ideas or suggestions?

Thanks.

pTh

[GungaDin]

...

I love olive oil (Greek descent). Peanut oil for Chinese food and other vegetable oils. ...

Only Villa had it, imported for 240 B/liter - outrageous! I got it in Bangkok for about 40 B/liter.

pTh

Hi pTH.

Can you remember the location of the peanut oil shop in Chinatown? or roughly where it is?

thanks

gd

[suegha]

Palm oil is saturated, so stays fresh much longer than most oils. The newest wiadom says that palm and coconut oils are much healthier than most oils if not hydroginated.

That is a fact UG.

[edwardandtubs]

Palm oil is saturated, so stays fresh much longer than most oils. The newest wiadom says that palm and coconut oils are much healthier than most oils if not hydroginated.

The newest wisdom doesn't say that at all. Cranks have been claiming magical health benefits of coconut oil for decades without any proof. It's true that hydrogenated oils are the most unhealthy. The most healthy oils are low in saturated fat and high in monounsaturated fat, olive oil being the classic example.

[T_Dog]

My better half cooks both Thai and European food with olive oil, and we both think the Thai food tastes better this way. It is certainly a lot more healthy. The only drawback is that olive oil is expensive, but it seems a small price to pay for a more healthy meal.

[londonthai]

Within two days of being back in the states I feel fine. ... I can't quite isolate it, but I am getting convinced that is the only part of the cuisine that bothers me a bit.

not all food is good to everybody all the time - if you believe it makes you sick definitely order foods with the other oils.

But I would think that different kitchens/restaurants are using different oils - it's just matter with burning it too long. In the west pressure fryers are used in the restaurants and even in take away shops, which extend life of oil - in thailand there are not known with the exeption of the best restaurants

[cathyy]

I thought my digestive issues were caused by meat that had sat at room temperature too long, or vegetables not properly washed, and now you tell me it's just the oil they use to cook it in? I'll make a note of that.

[suegha]

Palm oil is saturated, so stays fresh much longer than most oils. The newest wiadom says that palm and coconut oils are much healthier than most oils if not hydroginated.

The newest wisdom doesn't say that at all. Cranks have been claiming magical health benefits of coconut oil for decades without any proof. It's true that hydrogenated oils are the most unhealthy. The most healthy oils are low in saturated fat and high in monounsaturated fat, olive oil being the classic example.

No, the latest wisdom does extol the virtues of palm and coconut oil. There's a book, can't remember the exact title but something like 'The miracle of coconut oil' which will tell you the facts about these oils. The fact is that 'cranks' will tell you that these oils will increase your colesterol, etc. Rubbish! Only animal oils will increase your colesterol levels. Think about the empirical evidence, cultures that use these oils are slimmer and live longer. It's when they start eating Mcdonalds and KFC that they get fat and unhealthy!!!

[thailandlover]

Cooking oil is often used, reused and reused again, so it could very well be old oil making you sick.

[pTh]

...

I love olive oil (Greek descent). Peanut oil for Chinese food and other vegetable oils. ...

Only Villa had it, imported for 240 B/liter - outrageous! I got it in Bangkok for about 40 B/liter.

pTh

Hi pTH.

Can you remember the location of the peanut oil shop in Chinatown? or roughly where it is?

thanks

gd

Hi, gd,

Sorry, I missed your question.

The problem is I can't remember where I found it in BKK - I have been back a few times & tried to find it but no joy!

It was somewhere west of Charoen/Mittra Phan intersection - 3 - 400 m? ?? On some (generally) E-W street? I don't think I was west of Chak Phet/Maha Chai. A distributor - had lots of oils & other foods - I bought a (10 liter? 3 gal.? ???) square tin that lasted about a year. I could have bought a box of a dozen plastic one liter bottles.

Anyway, since then, I have wandered all over around "Chinatown" without finding it again, so I bought "Flying Deer", at ThB 180/2 liter clear plastic jug of "Vergin Peanut Oil". I found this in several shops at prices ranging up to ThB 250 for 2 liters

Oh, well.

Enjoy!

pTh

(edited to add info)

Edited October 13, 2009 by pTh

[jazzbo]

My personal truisms:

When any book is entitled "The Miracle Of..." it isn't.

When any book or article is entitled "The Truth About...", it has nothing to do with the Truth; it is just what they conveniently want you to believe.

The accepted science (AHA, USDA, NIH, CDC, etc.) is that saturated fat is saturated fat; it makes no difference the source is animal or vegetable... had this discussion in Chiang Mai forum a few months back. WHO data does not validate healthy coconut eaters contention.