Every fat used in cooking has three critical properties: its smoke point (the temperature at which it begins to decompose and produce acrolein, a harmful compound with an acrid smell), its oxidation stability (how quickly it develops rancid off-flavours when exposed to heat and air), and its flavour contribution (neutral or specific). Selecting the wrong fat for an application — using extra-virgin olive oil for deep frying, using a neutral oil to finish a sauce where flavour is intended — produces inferior results that technique alone cannot correct.
Modernist Cuisine