Does Vegetable Oil Go Bad?

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Vegetable oil is the fat that is extracted from the seeds of certain plants. The commonly available vegetable oil includes soya bean oil, sunflower oil, sesame seed oil, and canola oil. It is widely used for cooking purposes.

Have you have thought about what you would do if you had to prepare food without oil? Seems impossible. Vegetable oil is the primary ingredient. Without it, you cannot accomplish cooking. If you look from a health point, vegetable oil has several benefits on health.

It prevents heart diseases as they contain unsaturated fatty acids, which lower low-density cholesterol in the blood. Vegetable oil has a long shelf life, and usually, it doesn’t go bad. If vegetable oil is not stored well, it can turn bad. Usually, bacterial or mold don’t grow on oil; they only go rancid.

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How to store vegetable oil?

You use oil in almost every recipe being the most important part of your recipe. You need to store them properly. Otherwise, you can experience the tacky and awful taste if you have used rancid or bad oil. The following mentioned ways can help you out in storing vegetable oil.

Keeping vegetable oil in the pantry

In your kitchen, you will have a pantry cabinet, a perfect place to store all kinds of things. It’s recommended to keep your everyday cooking oil in the pantry in a fine, cool, and dark place.

After opening the sealed bottle containing cooking oil, it is better to transfer it into opaque or dark containers. An opaque container, by reflecting and blocking light, prevents the rancidity of oil.

Place the container at cool and free of moisture place avoid placing container near stove or oven.

Refrigerating oil

When it comes to oils like sesame oil, almond oil, or nut oil, you need to store them in the refrigerator. These oils can go bad much faster than the everyday use of cooking oil.

Looking at the price factor, they are a bit more expensive, so you need to treat them with extra care.

Storing the used vegetable oil

If you constantly cook with oil like deep frying foods tempuras, fried chicken, or French fries. You can reuse that oil as it is okay to save that oil.

You have to take a fine mesh strainer, line it with a paper towel. Pour the oil through the sieve. Once filtered, put the oil in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Suppose it is something like fish or any raw protein it is suggested not to reuse. Of course, you do not want your French fries to smell like raw fish.

Can you freeze vegetable oil?

You can store vegetable oil in several ways to make them last longer. If you are intended, extend the shelf life of vegetable oil, freezing is an option you can adopt.

Yes, you can freeze vegetable oil but believe that its consistency might change after freezing. Some oils don’t freeze completely because the ingredients and additives added to them while manufacturing has a low freezing point.

So they freeze relatively at low temperature, having a semi-solid, dense texture. One of the biggest privileges of freezing vegetable oil is that it stretches the life of cooking oil for two to three years.

If you are planning to store unopened sealed oil bottles, you can freeze them right away. In case of opening ones, you first have to transfer oil into an airtight container and then put it in the freezer.

How long does vegetable oil last?

The unopened and sealed bottle of vegetable oil can sit easily around two years in your pantry. Suppose stored at a cool and moisture-free place. If you have opened the bottle, it will remain good for one year or even more if you have frozen the vegetable oil.

Properly storing fat plays a significant role in making them last for a longer period. Another thing that can help you out is after opening the seal; it is better to transfer the rest in a tight air jar.

This will prevent spores and other microorganisms from getting inside the oil. Make sure you are keeping your daily use of vegetable oil away from direct light. Exposure to direct sunlight can increase the risk of rancidity.

If you don’t cook very often, it makes more sense economically to buy smaller-sized oil bottles as they will finish before getting spoiled. Big bottles with a bulk quantity of oil have a higher chance of deteriorating as you cannot use the whole lot within few months.

How to tell if vegetable oil is bad?

Vegetable oil, even though having a long shelf life, can go bad. Most of us keep oils for too long in our home kitchen. What happens is some of the cooking oils have longer shelf life than others.

Mostly animals-based fats products last longer than nuts and seeds oil. Rancidity is the main cause of oils turning bad. Using rancid vegetable oil can ruin your food. Before using, make sure you test oils in the following ways.

By smelling vegetable oil, you will notice that fresh cooking oil has no smell. If you sniff and it doesn’t smell quite right, toss it out and buy another container.
By examining the consistency, you can conclude whether vegetable oil is good to go or not.