Sunflower oil: Empty supermarket shelves - expert names alternatives
Created: 05/31/2022, 15:52
By: Stella Henrich
In many places there is a gaping void of sunflower oil on supermarket shelves.
There are good and inexpensive alternatives for baking, cooking and roasting.
Munich - Food manufacturers don't have it easy these days.
They are forced to look for alternative ways of preparing food instead of sunflower oil.
The liquid gold has meanwhile become scarce due to the Ukraine war.
But since customers have been increasingly buying rapeseed oil, this is also becoming scarce.
So much for the bad news.
The good news for consumers is that there are good, cheap alternatives that are even better for your health than the popular sunflower oil.
Harald Seitz, ecotrophologist at the Federal Center for Nutrition (BZfE), explains in a
radio broadcast by the BZfE
that refined rapeseed oil is a good example: The term describes the separation of unwanted substances, the oil becomes stable to heat and at the same time has an almost neutral taste.
It is therefore ideal for roasting, steaming, baking or as a dressing for salads.
At the same time, rapeseed oil contains more omega-3 fatty acids than sunflower oil and is therefore important for the metabolism.
Sunflower oil: Consumers can switch to refined oils for frying
In addition, the nutritionist recommends olive oil for frying.
However, Seitz advises not to heat it up too much, as the aromatic substances are lost with cold-pressed oil.
That destroys the taste experience.
Otherwise, consumers could switch to refined oils.
They are free of undesirable flavors and pollutants and also have a longer shelf life.
Another argument in favor of refined oils is that they can be heated to high temperatures, Harald Seitz continues.
Refined oils include peanut and safflower oils, as well as sesame and soybean oils.
A shelf that has been swept empty and is actually full of cooking oil.
This sight is currently available to many consumers in supermarkets and discounters.
(Iconic image) © Karina Hessland/imago
Butter and margarine are suitable alternatives to sunflower oil for baking.
But coconut oil also provides a delicious taste.
With a quark-oil dough, the oil cannot simply be exchanged.
But yeast dough is a good substitute.
And in the cold kitchen, native oils such as walnut oil, linseed oil, pumpkin seed oil or olive oil can be used as a substitute when preparing salad dressings.
The taste of native oils is very intense, their color is mostly yellow or green.
So that their quality does not suffer, they should be stored in a cool and dark place.
Sunflower oil: creative cooking with herbs and sour cream
In the Schwäbische Zeitung
, chef Herbert Brand advises
consumers in the kitchen to “simply get creative”.
"Alternatively, we are currently working a lot with fresh herbs and sour cream in the sauces," says the chairman of the Bodensee-Kochverein, who is also the head chef at the Schwedenschenke on the island of Mainau.
His other tip for cooking: Use oil for frying more sparingly than before.
And if you look very closely at the price when shopping, you can find margarine as an alternative to sunflower oil at discounters like Aldi and Co. from as little as 75 cents.
It can also be used for cooking, baking and roasting.
And according to Stiftung Warentest, good margarine does not have to be expensive either.
According to Öko-Test, consumers should only keep their hands off two cheap products.
