The decanter is cute but it is a very bad way to store oil if you don't use it quickly, especially in warm weather and doubly so right next to the stove like that. A little bit of oil in a large clear bottle is going to oxidize very quickly, and oxidization means rancidity. Air, light, and warmth are enemies of all food oils. Rancid oils not only taste downright wretched, but are unhealthy to consume. IMO only the amount of oil that you're going to use within a couple of weeks should be stored at room temperature in such a way that it will be exposed to air and light. Food oils should be stored in the dark (or in a dark bottle), at cool temperatures (the refrigerator is ideal), and with a minimum of air space in the bottle. I use mainly grapeseed oil when a recipe calls for "vegetable oil" or "salad oil". I prefer grapeseed for general use because I think it just tastes better and has a nicer texture than other neutral oils like canola and safflower, and it's cheaper than apricot kernel or avocado. Although the unit price is higher I purchase smaller containers so I have a fresher supply - it's not a good value if half the jug goes rancid - since we do not use a great deal of oil in cooking, an average meal for the two of us might use two tablespoons of oil assuming we're not splurging on something like pesto! I absolutely loathe olives too, but we do use quite a bit of olive oil - many olive oils on the market taste nothing at all like olives, thank goodness. Look for the ones labeled "extra light"; that term has nothing to do with calories, it's a description of its color and flavor. Even some of the extra virgin olive oils we've tried don't taste like olives, they have very different flavors ranging from buttery to peppery. A couple of the fancy-pants food stores around me have olive oil tastings from time to time and that's a good way to try different ones out. (Never buy "pomace" olive oil. It's not fit for human food IMO and doesn't even really make particularly good soap.) Cold-pressed or expeller-pressed oils are the way to go whenever possible; the solvents and high-heat processing used to produce cheap oils break down the oil and are not good for you to consume as well as just plain trashing the flavor. We also like to use some of the many unrefined vegetable oils out there because they taste so good, but they must be stored carefully (refrigerator) and the shelf life is still comparatively short. Unrefined corn oil is one of our favorites, sweet and buttery, and especially good for baking. I think I have five or six different oils in the fridge now, because they all taste distinctly different. Spectrum is one of my favorite brands for a wide range of good quality oils and is comparatively easy to find. I find clouding and thickening under refrigeration to be a minor problem and primarily an issue with heavier-bodied and unfiltered unrefined oils like higher-end olive oils. The oil still pours, albeit more slowly, and it cooks just the same. If I'm making a salad dressing or something like that and need the oil completely liquid right this moment, I pour it into a small bowl and set that into a larger bowl of very hot tap water. I never leave the entire bottle out to warm up, but rather pour out what I need and return the rest to the fridge. When I want a butter flavor for sauteeing fish or veggies, I use half butter and half a neutral oil to improve the smoke point of the butter (since I'm too lazy to make clarified butter), and toss in some broth or wine to assist further cooking and boost flavor without using a ton of fat. I almost never cook savory foods with plain water, except for boiling pasta - why throw away that opportunity to augment flavors? We don't use up butter very quickly (DH has gotten me spoiled on Kerrygold butter from Ireland which comes in a half-pound block instead of the usual 1/4-pound sticks, but it can take us weeks to go through a block!) so it does turn in warm weather if left at room temperature. I won't have margarine in my house though, foul stuff... there are two things DH and I will not give up no matter what, we'll rearrange other dietary components to accomodate them but real butter and real mayonnaise are sacrosanct. Oh, here's a trick if your butter is rock-hard and you need it to soften to a malleable texture quickly without risking melting (as often happens if you try to soften it in the microwave or the oven)... grate it on the coarse holes of a hand grater and spread it out on a plate. Set the plate in a warm, but not hot, place. oakleyok, what the heck is "Crisco lard"? Crisco does not manufacture lard (meaning rendered pork fat, and lemmetellya it is dang hard to find unhydrogenated lard!). Do you mean solid vegetable shortening?

I have one (cheapo from local discount store) and it lasts about 3-6 months. I toss and replace as needed. But I usually chop veggies for roasting and put in a bowl, drizzle with oil and toss with my hands. Spread them on a baking sheet and sprinkle with seasonings. Yes, there's some oil left in the bowl and I have to wash it, but it achieves what I want. I use the sprayer for a quick shot in a non-stick pan to saute onions, fry eggs, etc. Things that I need very little. I haven't had good luck with cheap spray bottles. I saved a "Can't believe it's not Butter" spray bottle and filled with Canola oil. We'll see. Only going a week or so. Even so, if the bottle was free and I got another few weeks/months use out of it, that works for me!!!!! Deanna

rhome, I forgot you were cooking several batches - I probably would add a little more for each batch - depends on whether the wok looked oily or not. If not, then I'd add a little. Someone here, I'm afraid I don't know who, recommended "Breath of a Wok" and I got a copy for Christmas. Really helpful about technique, wok types and styles etc. Interestingly, the author makes it pretty clear that the inexpensive carbon steel woks are the best. I just heat mine until the oil begins to smoke a little. I've never timed it. I use Sclafani extra virgin olive oil. They are a local importer, in CT, and have been in the forefront of a campaign against 'adulterated' olive oils. The consumption of olive oil worldwide has skyrocketed, and the entire production of Italy cannot now possibly account for the amount being sold as "Italian". So CT is now testing oils, and discovered that several are only 10% olive oil, and the balance is groundnut oil - which is pretty serious for those with allergies. So, I'm confident with Sclafani, and their quality and flavour.

I'm very happy that I have a neighbor that taps his maples and makes syrup, he gives me the good dark stuff for baking. If he doesn't have any extra, or sells out, I have to go to other local "sugar bush" operations. Fat/grease/oil? Oh mercy. I have a vintage metal grease container, has that black Bakelite lid that says "grease", and it has bacon grease in it pretty much all of the time. I use that mostly for baking cornbread, it goes in the pan and into the oven to heat. I have olive oil, avocado oil, toasted sesame oil, chili oil, Criso that I use in ONE cookie recipe but that one has to have it, duck fat and chicken fat in the freezer which I skimmed when cooling broth, peanut oil for frying, lard that I render myself when we get pigs for the freezer and some suet that I keep for the birds. Oh, and butter, of course! I use more butter than any other kind of fat, it's in bread, biscuits and on my morning toaste. Olive oil is second because I use that when I roast vegetables, which is frequently and the butter dish and the olive oil spray dispenser are both sitting on the counter next to the cooktop. Annie