Five Reasons to Use Rice Bran Oil
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Label on Coles brand rice bran oil
As a mass-produced, cheaper, yet still healthy cooking oil, rice bran oil is now a very popular cooking oil. It is useful for salads, soups, baking, and all types of frying (such as sautéing) and is
particularly useful in vegan cooking. Hence what follows are five good reasons to introduce some rice bran oil to the pantry and meals.
1. Health Benefits
Rice bran oil is a healthy addition to diets. As seen on
WebMD, the oil lowers inflammation however, it can also lower blood pressure. Therefore, the use of rice bran oil is worth mentioning to a medical professional, but overall, in moderation, rice bran oil is a healthy addition to the diet. For further information, also see
Healthline's nine benefits of rice bran oil.
2. Price
A good reason to purchase rice bran oil is that it is very competitively priced. It was less than four dollars for half a litre a few weeks before writing this article and is currently on sale for $3.50 AUD Australian dollars according to
coles.com.au at the time of writing this article in October 2024. Crisco is selling the product for $14.00 at Coles for a two-litre bottle. Both items are produced in Asian nations near Australia, with the Coles brand made in India and the Crisco version produced in Vietnam. At Woolworths and Coles is the Thai-made Alfa One Rice Bran Oil for $13.00 for three litres. Harvest Rice Bran Oil from Malaysia is $15.50 for a three-litre bottle. Note that Woolworths and Coles generic-branded smaller half-litre bottles are both currently priced at $3.50 in October 2024.
3. Taste
Based on my recent use of rice bran oil, I have found it has a really smooth taste and in most of my cooking needs reminds me of a classic or extra light olive oil. It is also surprisingly effective in sweet cooking rather than just savoury. I could use it for sweet sauces and dressings, however, it was particularly harmonious with Asian or fusion cuisines.
In soup the taste of rice bran oil is so smooth, it has an amazing use as a blended soup emulsifier. I like to trickle a little bit of rice bran oil (about a teaspoon) in as I blend up my own carrot soup, blending the soup to perfection and creating a subtle buttery flavour unique to that dish. I have also linked a recipe for inspiration, as ginger is harmonious with rice bran oil in a
stockless carrot soup and the linked recipe would suit rice bran oil substituted instead of olive oil.
Rice bran oil is very useful in
low heat cooking as seen at
this Australian link , but overall, it is mentioned as useful in high heat cooking as well, dependent on the particular use. This
article shows some uses for the oil in cooking but does allude to it having a high smoke point.
4. Vegan
Rice bran oil is delightfully
vegan , being entirely manufactured from
oil from part of the rice plant known as
bran . It particularly complements fruit and vegetable dishes in East Asian and East-West fusion vegan cooking but can be quite useful in
Indian vegan cooking as well.
5. Olive Oil Substitute
Unfortunately, olive oil prices are high, so rice bran oil is particularly useful in that it is easy to maintain the supply ,hence, rice bran oil prices are comparatively low. The oil tastes similar to extra light pressed olive oil - especially when compared to other similar vegetable oils. I think where extra virgin olive oil is required, there is often no substitute, however, rice bran oil is definitely useful in most other uses of olive oil. It is safe to say rice bran oil tastes different to extra virgin olive oil but similar to less intense presses of olive oil, such as classic and extra light. As it is about half to a third of the price, if not cheaper, then rice bran oil is worth bringing into the pantry for that fact alone.
However, do note, that olive oil has much more monounsaturated fats and less saturated fats than rice bran oil as seen on
Wikipedia . Hence, it is best used in moderation and definitely should
not substitute olive oil for those who have a high dependence on olive oil's high occurrence of monounsaturated fats. This can be confirmed by reading the ingredients on bottles sold in Australia, where on the Coles half-litre bottle of rice bran oil, 21.9 grams per 100 grams are saturated fat, while approximately 43.8 grams are monounsaturated fats out of 100 grams.
Conclusively
Rice bran oil's strengths are that it remains poised to be consistently cheap, yet is quite smooth, subtle and flavoursome, especially when compared to other oils like vegetable oil. However, at least a fifth of nearly all marketable bottles consists of saturated fat, which is indeed quite high. Therefore, some caution on its health benefits is worth considering. Had rice bran oil had less saturated fat then I would have been a bit more enthused about it, but as of such I think when consumed in moderation it is a delightful and healthy treat to have in the pantry.
Close-up showing the colour of rice bran oil
This review's photos were taken by its author in 2024.
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#vegan 296200 - 2024-10-21 16:27:59