Oils and fats are indispensable ingredients that shape taste, nutrition and culinary experience. Each oil has distinct functional and sensory characteristics. However, the choice of cooking oils made by both consumers and professional chefs tends to be subjective, based on the familiar oils we grew up with. For example, European chefs use mainly olive and sunflower oil, North American chefs are more familiar with canola and soybean, while the South East Asian chefs prefer palm and coconut oil.

But does the choice of oil really make a noticeable difference to the taste, smell, texture and appearance of a dish? To answer this Bunge Loders Croklaan collaborated with the Thailand Chefs Association to put 8 of Thailand’s top cooking oils to the test in the “Battle of The Oils”.

In the Battle of the Oils, Thailand’s top chefs used 8 Bunge FarmOrigin™ oils to prepare the most popular Thai dishes. A panel of professional chefs, food bloggers, and consumers were invited in a series of food tasting sessions to judge the 15 dishes cooked with the different cooking oils.

The panel rated the oils based on cooking performance, taste and sensory appeal they have given to each dish. Overall, rice bran, sunflower, coconut and corn oils won the highest appeal with consumers. Meanwhile chefs preferred palm, sunflower, corn and soybean oils based on cooking performance and food profile.

The event has sparked interest amongst Thai food industry players in the choice of cooking oils to further elevate the culinary potential of each dish.