Culinary oils: Inspirational cooking with better tasting ingredients

Inspirational cooking has taken over many home kitchens. As home cooks experience with culinary oils, better tasting ingredients are here to stay.

Cooking is part of life. While some people still view cooking as a chore, more home cooks are seeking inspirational cooking. Whether a spark comes from a recent vacation, favorite restaurant or celebrity chef, cooking inspiration is everywhere. Even with that cooking inspiration, the home cook needs the best tools to create memorable dishes. Cooking with culinary oils can add the desired flavor and highlight better tasting ingredients.

While many home cooks are familiar with olive oil, this oil isn’t the only cooking oil. From avocado oil to coconut oil, these oils offer health benefits as well as enhanced flavors for cooking. Using these types of culinary oils changes the oil from just an ingredient to a culinary partner. The oil infused an enhanced flavor to a particular dish. Without that culinary oil, the dish wouldn’t taste the same.

As the home chef becomes more confident in the kitchen, she will feel more comfortable experimenting with culinary oils. Chef driven dishes can lead the way. While the famous culinary chefs may have years of experience and training, their recipes aren’t always overly complicated. But, their recipes and dishes are always flavor forward.

Culinary oils: Chef Marcus Samuelsson cooking photo provided by Spectrum® Evolve Beyond Olive

Recently, awarding winning chef, author and restaurateur, Marcus Samuelsson, partners with Spectrum Culinary Oil on its new Spectrum Evolve Beyond Olive program. This program is designed to introduce the home cook to innovative ways of cooking. While the home cook may be familiar with olive oil, this program hopes to expand their oil experience. By experimenting with oil, the home cook can create a chef inspired meal at home.

According to their partner, Chef Marcus Samuelsson, “The right oils are essential to making a great dish,” and “culinary oils can be a partner in their cooking rather than just an ingredient.” Some of Samuelsson’s recipes highlight that way of thinking.

With the holidays approaching, Chef Samuelsson’s smashed sweet potato recipe is a perfect example of highlighting taste through quality ingredients. As more cooks focus on natural, healthier and allergy friendly recipes, this particular sweet potato recipe complies with all of those factors. More importantly, the dish focuses on flavor. The coconut flavor offers a lovely balance to the natural sweetness of the yams.

Coconut Smashed Sweet Potatoes, Recipe by Marcus Samuelsson for Spectrum Oils

"COCONUT SMASHED SWEET POTATOES(Serves 6)Recipe by Marcus Samuelsson for Spectrum OilsIngredients:• 10 lbs. Yams• 5 cups Coconut milk• 1 cup Spectrum Organic Virgin Coconut Oil• 2 oz. Maple Syrup• Salt to tasteMethod:1. Wash all of the yams and place them on a sheet tray.2. In an oven preheated to 400 degrees, cook the yams for 30 mins.3. Once the yams are cooked, remove the flesh from the skins.4. In a medium pot over medium heat, warm up the coconut milk.5. Place the sweet potatoes in a food processor and add some coconut milk to make smooth6. Add Spectrum Organic Virgin Coconut Oil and season with salt. Continue this process until all of the yams have been incorporated.7. When this process has been completed, add to a container cool down and reserve for service."

With this recipe, the home cook can see the flavor difference by using oil. The hope is to spark a desire to continue to explore the flavors of each type of oil. As the home cook become more comfortable, the recipes and experimentation can grow.

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More information on Spectrum Culinary Oil and Spectrum Evolve Beyond Olive program can be found at the company’s website. The culinary oil can be purchased at Amazon, Target and other retailers.

Start a culinary journey in the kitchen. Let your curiosity lead your culinary exploration. Culinary oils offer better tasting ingredients for your inspirational cooking journey.