These days, I find myself choosing my cooking oil not only by flavor profile, but also by smoke point. The smoke point is, of course, the temperature at which an oil will start to smoke up your kitchen. Extra Virgin Olive oil (EVOO), which we’ve been told repeatedly is the best oil for our bodies and also tastes great, has a frustratingly low smoke point, meaning it’s lousy for stir-fries and other things that need to be cooked quickly at high temperatures.

I know which couple of oils have a high smoke point and that EVOO’s is lower than I want it to be, but I can’t remember where various oils sit in the overall group.

So I made a handy cooking oil smoke-point chart, which I intend to print out and post in my kitchen. Here it is, in two versions, in case you’d like to do the same, or bookmark it on your phone. The first is by smoke point, from high to low, and the second is alphabetical, by oil type. Keep in mind that this chart is for cooking, rather than baking, where other characteristics come into play.

Also, I’ve included butter, because who doesn’t love the flavor in cooking? And margarine, for those afraid of butter. And bacon fat, for avid advocates of the flavor.

Updated 8/20/2022