The variety of cooking oils on supermarket shelves can be overwhelming even for the experienced buyer: so many bottles, so many prices, so many claims on labels to decode.
There’s also a lot of information out there on the Internet about how some oils — like avocado oil and olive oil — are better for us than others. Considering all of this, it’s easy to look at soybean oil and think, “You know what, maybe I’ll go for something else.”
But should you? Is soybean oil a good oil for your kitchen and dinner table? We’ve done the due diligence for you and put this guide together, so you can focus on the part you love the most — the cooking. Read on below.
What Is Soybean Oil?
Soybean oil is a cooking oil made from soybean seeds. It’s an economic oil with a light color, neutral flavor, and high smoke point, making it suitable for high-heat cooking methods like searing, sautéing, broiling, and grilling.
Soybean oil contains mostly unsaturated fat, which can easily be verified by the fact that it stays in liquid form at room temperature. It contains a high amount of omega-3 fatty acids, which help build and maintain a healthy body. However, it also has a high amount of omega-6 fatty, which are generally good for us when consumed in moderation but are also believed to increase inflammation if ingested in excess.
The link between omega-6 fatty acids and inflammation is the subject of ongoing debate. Critics say that omega-6s should be avoided, while those who support their use contend that the real solution is to eat more foods containing omega-3s.
Overall, whether to cook with soybean oil is not is a choice you’ll have to make for yourself based on the information you have and the beliefs you hold about your food.
How Soybean Oil Is Made
Soybean oil comes from the seeds of the soybean plant (with the botanical name of Glycine max), a legume whose origins can be traced back to East Asia. The seeds are said to yield 18% oil by weight.
The soybean plants are harvested in the fall — when their leaves turn brown and fall off — revealing the mature pods. The seeds are separated from the plant. The seeds, after being washed, dried, and had the husks removed, are put through a mill for crushing. The pulpy material from the crushing is passed through an expeller press, which functions like a large screw to press out the oil from the solid matter. The material expelled from the expeller press is referred to as “soybean cake” due to its dry and crumbly consistency. Oil is still contained in it, and is extracted from it using chemical solvents like hexane.
At this stage of its production, the soybean oil has a golden hue and a potent flavor. It’s filtered, subjected to a bleaching process with a clay filter (it must be noted that despite this process’ name, bleach is not involved), and finally heated to a high temperature to lighten its color. The resulting, highly refined oil is bottled, labeled, and sent to distributors, wholesalers, and retailers.
Types of Soybean Oil
Depending on the method used for its extraction, soybean oil can either be unrefined or refined.
Unrefined soybean oil, also known as “first cold pressed,” “cold pressed,” or “virgin soybean oil,” is harder to buy online and not carried by most grocery stores. It’s the mechanically extracted oil that comes from the first pressing of the crushed soybean seeds. It’s golden yellow and, unlike its odorless and flavorless refined counterpart, has a potent aroma and distinct flavor.
Refined soybean oil is light yellow, with no smell and a neutral flavor. Because it has been processed to remove the natural pigments and flavor compounds that burn at low heat and spoil quickly, refined soybean oil has a higher smoke point and a longer shelf life compared to its unrefined counterpart.
Choosing the Best Soybean Oil
Like other cooking oils, 100% unrefined soybean oil, often labeled “first cold pressed” or “cold pressed,” is the purest oil with the most nutrients and richest aroma. Unfortunately, soybean oil that meets this description is expensive and hard to find on the market. Soybeans don’t yield a lot of oil, and most producers extract their oil with the help of chemical solvents.
From a practical point of view, if you’re shopping on a budget, refined soybean oil isn’t necessarily any better or worse than other refined oils at the store.
Don’t fall for the terms “pure,” “natural,” or “all natural,” which have no real meaning when it comes to the oil’s quality or content. Instead, look for organic, non-GMO soybean oil. “Organic” or “USDA Organic” means that no pesticides were used for growing the soybean plants — and “non-GMO” means that the plants were not genetically engineered in a lab.
Select soybean oil in dark-green bottles or tin cans. The thin, transparent plastic bottles that most producers use allow light to pass through, which can cause the oil to go rancid. Is it kept close to a window or entrance, which could let in heat in the summer? Do the bottles look old, dusty — the way they would if they were stored or put on display for a really long time? If yes, consider buying your oil from somewhere else.
As a general rule, larger bottles cost less per liquid once to buy than smaller ones. In other words, buying in bulk gives you more value for the money. But only buy as much oil as you can consume within 6 months from opening, or it may go bad prematurely.
Try to find a harvest date printed somewhere on the label or bottle; it tells you the date on which the oil was extracted from the soybeans. The more recent the harvest date, the fresher the oil. If no harvest date is to be found, look for a best-by date instead. Fresher oils have a farther-out best-by date.
Storing Soybean Oil
To store soybean oil properly, keep it in a cool and dark place, such as in the pantry, inside a kitchen cabinet, or stashed away in a spacious cupboard. Do not put the oil atop the fridge or dishwasher, near the stove or oven, and close to an A/C vent or hot water pipe, or you’ll expose it to unnecessarily high heat.
If you buy your soybean oil in bulk and pour it out into smaller containers for daily cooking, use a dark-green glass bottle with a tight-fitting cap or a stainless-steel oil dispenser with a sealable spout. If you let air in, the oil will quickly oxidize and go rancid.
Soybean Oil’s Shelf Life
If stored properly, unopened soybean oil will keep for 1 to 2 years from the date of purchase. (The fresher the oil was when you brought it back home from the supermarket, the longer it’ll keep.)
Once opened, soybean oil begins to degrade until it eventually becomes rancid, at which point it should be disposed of. While rancid oil may not make you sick right away, experts warn that it might irritate your gut, and that’s never a good thing. Opened soybean oil keeps its best quality for 3 to 6 months, depending on the storage conditions. The cooler and darker the storage spot and the more airtight the container, the longer the soybean oil will be good for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where to buy soybean oil?
Soybean oil is carried by almost all grocery stores. If you prefer to do your shopping online, you can also find it at big natural retailers like Amazon, Kroger’s, and Walmart.
Why is soybean oil than other oils?
In terms of popularity, soy has been one of the fastest-growing crops for decades. And, according to the WWF, its production is expected to double by the year 2050. Due to soy’s availability and the cost efficiency of chemical extraction, soybean oil tends to be one of the most affordable cooking oils in the supermarket. (Other reasonably priced seed oils are sunflower oil and canola oil.)
What’s the smoke point of {product}?
Soybean oil has a smoke point between 400 and 450 °F (204 and 232 °C). The smoke point depends on the free fatty acid content of the fat. Unrefined soybean oil has a higher free fatty acid content, and therefore a lower smoke point. Refined oil has fewer fatty acids, so it has a higher smoke point. If the oil is reused, its smoke point will also decrease with each reuse.
Are soybean oil and vegetable oil the same?
Soybean oil is oil made solely from soybeans. Vegetable oil sometimes consists of 100% soybean oil. However, it may also be a blend of soybean oil and other seed oils. If in doubt, read the label.
Can you mix soybean oil with other oils?
Yes, you can mix soybean oil with animal fats or vegetable oils. By doing so, you can reduce the cost of cooking or increase the other fat/oil’s smoke point to make it more suitable for high-heat cooking methods.
Can you cook with soybean oil?
Absolutely yes, you can cook with soybean oil. In fact, soybean oil is the go-to cooking oil for many home cooks. It’s cheap, versatile, and it has a light color and neutral flavor, allowing the other components of the dish to shine through.
Can you deep-fry with soybean oil?
The short answer is yes — you certainly can. Most deep-frying is done at a temperature of 325 to 375 °F (163 to 190 °C). This is well below soybean oil’s smoke point, which means that the oil can withstand the heat without becoming bitter and smoking.
Can you sear a steak with soybean oil?
If you are about to sear a steak, soybean oil is a top choice. Just cover the pan with enough oil for a glossy finish, then crank up the heat to medium-high until it’s hot enough to sear. Once it’s there, slap the steak on the pan and leave it to hiss and sizzle for a few minutes on each side.
Is it okay to put soybean oil on burgers?
Yes, you can. Lightly coat your burger patties with soybean oil to keep them from sticking to the grill grate or pan’s bottom during cooking.
Do you count soybean oil calories when cooking?
If you’re tracking your calorie intake, then yes, you do count soybean oil’s calories when cooking. According to the USDA’s FoodData Central, 1 tablespoon (14 grams) of soybean oil will add 124 calories to your cooked dish.
Does soybean oil lose calories when cooked?
No, soybean oil’s caloric content stays the same after cooking. Heating cooking oils doesn’t add or subtract calories — and soybean oil is no exception.
My soybean smells weird when heated. What does this mean?
If you detect a weird smell or taste from your soybean oil, it has likely gone bad. Discard the oil (ideally, at a local recycling point that accepts used cooking oils) and do not use it for cooking.