Vegetable & Rapeseed Oil

Vegetable oil in the UK is usually rapeseed oil, sometimes blended with other seed oils, refined to a light, neutral fat. Rapeseed oil is pressed from the yellow flowered crop grown across Britain, and it has a high smoke point and a clean taste that does not compete with spices. Both sit in our oils and ghee department for everyday cooking.

Extended life oils are made to resist breaking down under heat, so they can be reused for several rounds of deep frying before they darken. They are the oils takeaway kitchens use for bhajis, chips and samosas, and they suit a home that fries often. KTC is the name most families know for these larger bottles and drums.

Use these oils for tadka, shallow frying, roast potatoes and deep frying alike. For a more pronounced flavour, choose groundnut oil or mustard oil, and for a lighter seed oil see sunflower oil.

Store large drums in a cool cupboard and decant a small bottle for the hob, so the bulk of the oil is not warmed and cooled every day. Discard frying oil once it foams, smokes at normal temperature or smells stale, and never pour it down the sink.