Learn when to use butter, oil, or lard from a professional chef with 24 years of restaurant experience. Understand smoke points, flavor profiles, and the science behind cooking fats.
Restaurant Reality
At Paragary's in Sacramento, we had different fats for different stations. Clarified butter for sautéing fish. Canola oil for deep frying. Whole butter for finishing sauces. Olive oil for vegetables. Duck fat for potatoes. Every fat served a specific purpose based on flavor, smoke point, and cooking method. New cooks would grab whatever fat was closest and wonder why their food burned or tasted wrong. Understanding which fat to use when isn't pretentious—it's fundamental technique that determines whether food succeeds or fails.
Home cooks use fats randomly—butter because it tastes good, olive oil because it's "healthy," vegetable oil because it's cheap. Then they wonder why their steak didn't sear properly (butter burned) or their cookies spread too much (liquid oil when recipe needed solid fat) or their fried chicken tastes wrong (olive oil smoke point too low).
Different fats have different properties, and those properties determine what they're good for. This isn't complicated chemistry—it's practical kitchen knowledge that immediately improves your cooking once you understand the basics.
Examples: Butter, lard, bacon fat, duck fat, beef tallow, chicken schmaltz
Characteristics:
Examples: Olive oil, canola, vegetable, coconut, avocado, peanut, grapeseed
Characteristics:
Nutrition Note
This guide focuses on cooking performance, not nutrition. All fats have 9 calories per gram—butter isn't "worse" than olive oil calorically. The health debate around fats is complex and beyond this guide's scope. We're talking about which fat works best for specific cooking applications.
Smoke point = temperature at which fat begins to break down and smoke
Why it matters:
| Fat | Smoke Point | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Avocado Oil | 520°F | High-heat searing, frying |
| Refined Peanut Oil | 450°F | Deep frying, stir-fry |
| Clarified Butter/Ghee | 450°F | High-heat without losing butter flavor |
| Canola Oil | 400-450°F | All-purpose cooking, frying |
| Lard | 370°F | Frying, baking, medium-high heat |
| Extra Virgin Olive Oil | 375°F | Medium heat, dressings, finishing |
| Whole Butter | 350°F | Low-medium heat, finishing |
The practical takeaway: Match smoke point to cooking temperature. Searing steak at 500°F? Use avocado or peanut oil. Sautéing vegetables at 350°F? Butter or olive oil works great.
Composition: 80% butterfat, 15-18% water, 1-2% milk solids
Smoke point: 350°F (milk solids burn easily)
Flavor: Rich, complex, sweet, buttery (obviously)
Best for:
Not good for:
What it is: Butter with milk solids and water removed—pure butterfat
Smoke point: 450°F (much higher without milk solids)
Best for:
Scott's Professional Tip
In restaurants, we'd clarify pounds of butter at once and keep it ready for high-heat applications. At home, I keep clarified butter in a jar in the fridge—it takes 10 minutes to make a cup, and it lasts for months. When I want to sear fish with butter flavor, clarified butter is the answer.
Source: Rapeseed plant (bred to remove toxic compounds)
Smoke point: 400-450°F
Flavor: Completely neutral
Best for:
Why professionals use it: Cheap, versatile, high smoke point, neutral flavor lets other ingredients shine.
Source: First cold press of olives
Smoke point: 375°F (lower than refined)
Flavor: Fruity, peppery, complex (varies by region/olive variety)
Best for:
Not good for:
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Best: Avocado oil, refined peanut oil, grapeseed oil
Good: Canola, vegetable
Never: Butter (burns), EVOO (smokes and tastes bitter)
Pro move: Sear in oil, add butter at very end just for flavor
Best: Butter (if medium heat), olive oil, canola
Good: Any neutral oil
Special: Bacon fat (for savory vegetables), duck fat (for potatoes)
Best: Peanut oil (flavor and high smoke point)
Good: Canola, vegetable (neutral, cheap, reusable)
Traditional: Lard (fried chicken), beef tallow (McDonald's original fries)
Never: Butter, EVOO (both too low smoke point)
Cakes and cookies: Butter (flavor and texture)
Pie crust: Butter (flavor) or lard (flakiness) or combination
Oil-based cakes (carrot cake, some muffins): Canola or vegetable
Never substitute: Don't swap oil for butter in recipes that need solid fat—completely different texture results.
Q: Is butter really unhealthy compared to oil?
A: The science is complex and evolving. Both are pure fat (same calories). Butter has saturated fat, oils have unsaturated. Moderate amounts of either are fine for most people. Focus on overall diet quality, not individual ingredients.
Q: Can I substitute oil for butter in baking?
A: Sometimes, but not always. Liquid oil behaves differently than solid butter—affects texture, spread, and rise. Recipes designed for one don't always work with the other. Follow recipe specifications unless you're experienced with substitutions.
Q: Why does my olive oil taste bitter after cooking?
A: EVOO's delicate compounds break down at high heat, creating bitter flavors. Either use refined olive oil for high heat, or use EVOO only for low-medium heat and finishing.
Q: Can I reuse frying oil?
A: Yes, strain it after use, store in cool dark place. Good for 3-4 uses if oil doesn't smell bad or look dark. Discard if it smokes at lower temps than originally.
Q: What's the best all-purpose cooking fat?
A: Canola oil for high-heat, butter for flavor. Having both covers most needs. Add EVOO for finishing and you're set for 95% of recipes.
After 24 years of professional cooking with every type of fat imaginable, here's what I want home cooks to understand:
There's no single "best" cooking fat—only the right fat for specific applications.
Stop overthinking the health debate and focus on cooking performance. Use high smoke point fats for high heat. Use flavorful fats when you want their flavor. Use neutral fats when you don't. That's it.
The simple kitchen fat setup:
Those three cover 95% of home cooking. Add specialty fats (duck fat, lard, bacon fat) when you want their specific flavors.
Match the fat to the technique and stop trying to make one fat do everything.
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Professional Chef • 24 Years Professional Kitchen Experience
Professional chef with 24 years of restaurant experience including Pizzaiolo at Purple Café, Kitchen Manager at Mellow Mushroom, and line positions at Feierabend, Il Pizzaiolo, and Paragary's. A.A.S. Culinary Arts from Seattle Central College, B.S. Business Administration from University of Montana. Every product tested through real professional kitchen use or extensive long-term home testing.
Read more about my testing methodology →