But according to Daniel Humm, plant-based chef and culinary director of the newly launched brand Algae Cooking Club, EVOO may soon be relegated to its place in my pantry. Yep, there's a new oil in town that promises to give you some fancy liquid gold for your cooking needs while offering more benefits than regular olive oil. It's seaweed oil.
I had the opportunity to try Algae Cooking Club's chef-grade algae oil, and I would say it's definitely heating up the competition when it comes to quality cooking oils. Here's why:
What makes algae oil so special?
Algae oil isn't exactly new, as brands like Thrive have tried to enter the cooking oil space before, but Algae Cooking Club is finding a permanent spot on your pantry shelves. And frankly, the high quality product builds a strong case for this.
From a home cooking perspective, seaweed oil has many selling points. Kas Saidi, founder of Algae Cooking Club, insists that the subtle flavors of seaweed oil are amplified but do not overshadow the flavor of the dish. This is not necessarily the case with olive oil, which can have a grassy, slightly bitter aroma that burns the back of your throat when you take a sip. This is a sign of high quality olive oil. Unfortunately, it can overpower the subtle flavors you want to taste instead.
If so, algae oil has a better smoke point. Can be heated up to 535°F without decomposition or smoke. This makes it ideal for baking at temperatures over 100 degrees higher than EVOO. Saidi explains that the uniquely high smoke point of algae oil is due to terrestrial microalgae, a special type of microalgae used to make Algae Cooking Club's products. These single-celled organisms live on land and soil and play an important role in capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Microalgae produce oil high in unsaturated fats, which are good for cardiovascular health.
“[Our algae oil has] “93% omega-9 monounsaturated fats ensure excellent oxidation stability and high smoke point,” adds Saidi, according to the study. Omega-9 fatty acids have powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.2 It's about promoting overall well-being.
On the other hand, other oils tend to have higher percentages of omega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids. “While we can't speak for other algae oil companies, our focus is to provide you with the purest and most stable oils for your cooking needs,” says Saidi. For comparison, avocado oil is more prone to oxidation (meaning it can break down more quickly when exposed to heat or sunlight) than algae oil.
Algae Cooking Club also claims that its product has a thinner consistency than other commercially available oils, making it easier to emulsify with other ingredients. (A vinaigrette dream.) Meanwhile, other oils have a higher viscosity and can separate more easily from the emulsion.
Lastly, Saidi claims that algae oil is more environmentally friendly than other oils because its production process produces less carbon emissions than canola and avocado oils. More research is needed to understand the full range of potential environmental impacts of algae oil compared to other oils on the market.
How is algae oil made?
Making algae oil at an algae cooking club requires a three-step process similar to brewing beer or making wine. First, feed microalgae (small, single-celled organisms) rather than macroalgae (such as kelp or seaweed). According to Saidi, that's because microalgae produce “unrivaled purity of omega-9, a fat that's great for cooking and good for you.” The microalgae are then fermented in large stainless steel tanks and fed with sugar to help them grow. The by-product is oil. (Think of it like yeast, a living organism that produces alcohol and carbon dioxide when fermented.)
After a few days, the algae will have converted to 80% of its weight in oil and are ready to be “harvested.” The puffy seaweed is then “expeller pressed,” a term commonly used in the olive oil industry. But in this case, the seaweed is pressed (instead of olive) to release the oil. Finally, the oil is ready to be packaged.
My review of Algae Cooking Club’s Algae Oil
Despite being a fine dining Not like that The fact that Algae Cooking Club was approved by Humm meant a lot to me. After all, the culinary legend best known as the owner of the three-Michelin-star restaurant Eleven Madison Park has been a huge advocate for plant-based eating at the fine dining level. So it has to be good, right?
The 16-ounce bottle, which sells for $25 on the Algae Cooking Club website or in select stores nationwide, is comparable in price to the same size commercially available high-quality olive oil (Graza's 'Drizzle' Extra Virgin Olive). The retail price of the oil is $21 per bottle of the same size. Plus, it's super sleek and cute enough to hang on your countertop without completely ruining the aesthetic. The off-white aluminum packaging boasts a minimalist design with a cheerful orange logo front and center that says “Algae Cooking Club” in a font reminiscent of the disco era. But of course, what's in it? really It's important.
Taste and appearance
When I first drizzled it, I noticed that the color of the oil was much lighter than I expected. It was especially noticeable when it was almost mixed into the clear glass ramekin I poured it into. It was light yellow and much lighter than canola oil. Unscented. As for the taste, I found it to be mostly neutral, light and slightly buttery, with a very mild yet pleasant taste. It doesn't taste like spicy, grassy olive oil here. That means unless you heavily season it with spices or drizzle it with aged balsamic, you probably won't see a freshly baked baguette being dipped in algae oil any time soon.
texture
What the product lacks in taste, it makes up for in texture. Although this product has a lower viscosity than most commercially available olive oils, it still has a luxurious, oily texture that will appeal to all palates. I find this texture to be especially useful when making vinaigrettes or other emulsions where you don't want to use strong-tasting oils. I haven't tested it yet, but I think seaweed oil would be a great neutral flavor competitor (canola oil replacement) in grilled food recipes.
High smoke point
In addition to its luxurious texture, algae oil has a very high smoke point, making it difficult to compete with. Surprisingly, the oil did not smoke even after turning the stove up to high for a few minutes. So, with summer quickly approaching, algae oil will be the go-to choice for all your high-temperature grilling, grilling, and sautéing needs.
Cooking method
To really get a feel for what oil feels like, I put the magic of oil into practice by making one of the simplest dishes possible: a fried egg. Sprinkle a tablespoon of algae oil into a small sauté pan over medium heat and swirl well until the bottom of the pan is coated. Because it has a slightly thinner consistency than olive oil, the algae oil had no problem penetrating into every nook and cranny and covering the surface without pooling on one side or the other. This really helped the fried eggs cook more evenly.
What is the final result? This is a perfectly cooked fried egg with no aftertaste or smoothness left on the tongue due to the cooking oil. Simply put, the flavor of the eggs was the star of the show, and the seaweed oil didn't overwhelm the dish, earning him the Best Supporting Actor award.
I've found that algae oil works just as well as any other cooking oil you normally use to get the job done, but it leaves no taste whatsoever. That said, the real test is baking at high temperatures using seaweed oil, which I haven't done yet. But on the face of it, the results should be equally promising.
conclusion
Overall, what I liked most about this product is its ability to take a backseat and let other flavors shine. As effective as olive oil can be in a variety of cooking scenarios, I find its peppery aftertaste to be iconic. Not like that There are always ingredients missing in the recipes I make. Sometimes a more neutral tasting oil can be exactly what I want. And this seaweed oil is so much more than that.
Well+Good articles reference scientific, credible, recent and robust research to support the information we share. You can trust us on your wellness journey.
- Xue, Zhaohui et al. (2018). Edible oil production from microalgae: a review. European Journal of Geological Science and Technology. 120. 10.1002/ejlt.201700428.
- Farag, Mohamed A, Mohamed Z God. “Omega-9 Fatty Acids: Potential Role in Inflammation and Cancer Management.” Journal, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology volume. 20,1 48. March 16, 2022, doi:10.1186/s43141-022-00329-0
- Werman, MJ, Neeman, I. Oxidative stability of avocado oil. J Am Oil Chem Soc 63, 355–360 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02546046
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