Uncommon Oils for the Modern Pantry

A cook with only one type of oil in the pantry is like a painter who works only with red. You can get the job done, but cooking is a lot more fun, and the results more impressive, when you have a broader culinary palette to work with.

Beyond stocking olive oil for Mediterranean cooking and peanut oil or a neutral vegetable oil for Asian cooking, an adventuresome cook will want to explore some of the newest options in specialty stores. Pistachio nut oil, anyone?

If you’ve hesitated to build up your pantry because you weren’t sure how to use these uncommon oils, steal these ideas.

For use as a finishing oil, not for cooking:

• Citrus oils: The best are made by crushing the fresh fruit (lemons, Meyer lemons, mandarin oranges or blood oranges) along with the olives. These oils have a seductive citrus scent that would be diminished by high heat. Use as a garnishing oil, in small amounts. Drizzle orange oil on a beet salad; lemon oil on an avocado, fennel and radicchio salad; blood orange oil on grilled asparagus. Or add a little citrus oil to a vinaigrette or mayonnaise for fish.
• Walnut and hazelnut oils: Not new, but still underutilized given the heavenly roasted-nut flavor they add to vinaigrettes and butters. Add to melted butter for Brussels sprouts, green beans or asparagus. Add to vinaigrettes for winter salads. Try escarole, shaved Gruyère, chives and hazelnut oil vinaigrette. Keep these oils refrigerated; they oxidize quickly at room temperature. For the best flavor, look for cold-pressed oils from roasted nuts. .
• Pumpkinseed oil: An Austrian specialty, it has a khaki-green color and an intense aroma. Drizzle it on a corn or cauliflower soup, or whisk with sherry vinegar to make a vinaigrette for grilled fish and fall salads. Keep it in the refrigerator and use within three months.
• Pistachio oil: With its gorgeous emerald-green color, nutty aroma and high price, pistachio oil is a special-occasion condiment in most kitchens. Use some in a mayonnaise for chicken salad, in a vinaigrette for grilled halibut, as a drizzle on potato soup.
• Sesame oil: A staple for Chinese and Japanese cooking, sesame oil deserves a place in the Western pantry. Add a few drops to mayonnaise for steamed asparagus. Brush some over roast chicken when it comes out of the oven. Drizzle on green beans with roasted sesame seed. The most aromatic sesame oil has a dark caramel color and is pressed from roasted nuts.

For use in cooking:

• Avocado oil: A neutral oil cold pressed from avocados, avocado oil has a high smoke point (above 500°F), which makes it a great choice for sauteing and frying. Use it when you make herb or spice infusions as its neutral flavor won’t get in the way. It’s monounsaturated, so it’s a healthy choice, too.
• Grapeseed oil: Pressed from those tiny pips inside grapes—yes, there’s oil inside—grapeseed oil is polyunsaturated and has a relatively high smoke point, so it is a healthful choice for deep frying and sautéing. It has a neutral flavor and emulsifies well, so many cooks use it to replace some of the olive oil in mayonnaise to yield a lighter taste. For the best quality, look for cold-pressed grapeseed oil.