Sunflower oil sits on almost every kitchen shelf in Moldova. We fry with it, dress salads, bake and mix dough. Yet we usually pick a bottle out of habit or by price. Let us go through what the label actually says and which oil does which job best.

Refined and unrefined

This is the main difference, and everything else follows from it. Unrefined oil has only been pressed and filtered. It is golden-brown, smells of roasted seeds and tastes strong. Sometimes there is sediment at the bottom.

Refined oil is cleaned further: the smell, the colour and extra impurities are removed. It is pale, almost clear, with a neutral taste and smell. That is why it does not take over the flavour of the dish.

On labels you will often see the words "deodorised" and "winterised". The first means the smell has been taken out, the second that the oil was chilled and whatever clouds in the cold was removed. Both words belong to refined oil.

What cold-pressed means

Cold-pressed means the seeds were squeezed without strong heating. The oil keeps more aroma and flavour. It is always unrefined and usually costs more, because the same amount of seed gives less oil.

The word "cold" on the bottle is not a guarantee of quality by itself. Look at the colour, the smell, the pressing date and the producer. Good cold-pressed oil smells of seeds, not of dust or paint.

For frying or for salad

Fry with refined oil. It stands high heat, does not foam and does not turn bitter. Unrefined oil starts to smoke in the pan quickly, and the food gets a bitter edge.

Unrefined oil is made for cold dishes. Dress a fresh vegetable salad with it, or pickled cabbage, or beans, or stir a spoonful into porridge. A good example is a plain salad of tomatoes and cucumbers with onion and a spoon of fragrant oil. For that salad it is worth checking fresh vegetables.

If you deep-fry or make pan-fried plăcinte, take refined oil, and plenty of it.

Here is what the catalogues have on sunflower oil right now:

In the catalogues now: sunflower oil

All offers

How to read the label

Look at a few lines. First: the type of oil, refined or not. Second: the volume, given in litres or millilitres. Third: the bottling date and the best-before date. Fourth: the producer and the country.

If it says "hydrated", the oil is only partly cleaned and sits between the two kinds. It is worse for frying than refined oil and milder in a salad than unrefined.

Do not fall for big words like "natural" or "no additives". Sunflower oil is made only from seeds anyway, so that adds nothing.

Bottle and size

Oil is sold in plastic and in glass. Glass keeps the taste better, especially for unrefined oil, but the bottle is heavier and costs more. Dark glass shields the oil from light.

Compare the price per litre. A large container is often a better deal than five one-litre bottles, but only if you use oil every day. If a bottle lasts you for months, buy less: opened oil slowly oxidises.

The quickest way to see where oil is cheaper right now is to compare stores:

Where it is cheaper: sunflower oil

All offers

How to store oil

Oil does not like light, heat and air. Keep the bottle closed, in a dark cupboard, away from the stove and the window. Do not put the oil next to the oven, even if it is handy.

Unrefined oil is best used up within a month or two after opening. You can keep it in the fridge, where it may turn cloudy, but it clears again at room temperature. Refined oil lasts longer, but not forever.

Do not top up an old bottle with new oil. The remains go off fast and spoil the fresh oil too.

How to fry without spoiling the taste

Heat the oil on medium and do not let it smoke. If it has started to smoke, it is too hot and the food will taste bitter. Do not pour water into hot oil and do not add wet food: pat it dry with a paper towel first.

After frying let the oil cool and strain it. If it stayed light and does not smell burnt, you can use it once more for something simple. Oil left after fish or breading is better thrown out.

Do not pour used oil down the sink. Collect it in a bottle and put it out with the rubbish.

In short: the shelf checklist

  • For frying take refined, deodorised oil.
  • For salads take unrefined oil in a small bottle.
  • Check the bottling date and the best-before date.
  • Compare the price per litre.
  • At home keep it dark and tightly closed.
  • If the oil smells of paint or soap, do not use it.

It gets cheaper still if you look at the discounts in the catalogues ahead of time and stock up for a few weeks.