Sioux City's Nick Gunn has worked with a whole lot of food.
In addition to owning the former McCarthy & Bailey's Irish Pub, where he also served as the chef, Gunn has won awards in state and regional cooking contests, taught culinary classes at Western Iowa Tech Community College and spent the past year as the general manager for Morningside University's food services.
As that program's director, Gunn's responsible for overseeing three locations, one of which, the Wikert Dining Hall, serves meals three times a day, Monday through Friday, and two on the weekends. When factoring in the university's "Mustang Grill" and "Spoonholder Cafe" fronts, Morningside sees more than 10,000 food transactions a week. The weekly grocery order for the whole property is about $20,000 a week, Gunn said. That includes protein choices, fresh produce, dessert options, beverages, cooking supplies and plenty more.Â
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When it comes to cooking oil, Gunn said Morningside probably goes through about nine gallons in a week. And that's just canola oil. If you're talking olive oil, the food service staff goes through four to five gallons. Specialty oils, such as sesame or coconut, are used when called for in a certain recipe.
"I have a big tank that holds like 1,300 pounds of oil. And next to the fryer, it looks like a gas handle pump, you take it and squeeze it just like you’re putting gas in your car," Gunn said.
Nick Gunn, director of food services at Morningside University, talks about the different oils they use to cook at Wikert Dining Hall.
Point being, Gunn knows a thing or two about cooking oil.
He said canola is the least fussy to cook with because the oil has a high smoke point and doesn't impart a lot of flavor onto what's cooking in it. It's possible to get up to 410 degrees before it starts smoking.
"Olive oil, you're talking 325 degrees," Gunn said.Â
And though olive oil can't stand the same heat as canola, and has a noticeable taste, Gunn said there aren't many better options when it comes to sauté work at a low or medium heat.
Nick Gunn, director of food services at Morningside University, compares the results after cooking chicken with canola oil, vegetable oil and …
There are some selections, your grapeseed and sunflower seed oils, that, unlike olive oil, have high smoke points and unmistakable tastes, according to Gunn.
"I don't always want that flavor in my food. I want it to be part of the dish and not the dish," he said. "So if that's not what you want, don't do it. But they're great on salads. I prefer them on cold salads, or as toppings to canapes or something like that. If I'm just finishing a dish off with something like a truffle oil or something like that."
A few other seed oils, Gunn said, can do wonders in a salad dish: Flaxseed, pumpkin seed and sesame seed, which is actually versatile enough to cook with for Asian dishes.
"I learned the hard way with flaxseed oil," Gunn said. "I cooked with it and I ate it and I about threw up all over the place. I got sick and I had to go to the doctor. (He said) 'Well yeah, you shouldn't cook with that.'"
Nick Gunn, director of food services at Morningside University, compares cooking chicken with canola oil, vegetable oil and sesame seed oil.
Similar to sesame seed oil, coconut oil works hot or cold, Gunn said.
"Coconut oil is great if you want to bake," he said. "Put that in your cakes. But then you're going to have a little bit of coconut flavor."
He said coconut oil also is relatively healthy and may help with joint inflammation.
It's not alone in terms of potentially offering health benefits.
"There are a lot of health benefits, for your heart, for olive oil," Gunn said.
Nick Gunn, director of food services at Morningside University.
Regardless of the choice, Gunn said most oils should be OK for cooking in the oven.
"You're not going to roast most things over 350 degrees in your oven. So a lot of those oils, even olive oil, all of those oils are still going to be pretty good for you," he said.
However...
"If you're using the broiler in your oven, that's where you're going to want to pay attention," Gunn added.
Nick Gunn, director of food services at Morningside University, demonstrates cooking chicken with different types of oil.
One other bit of wisdom Gunn had to offer?Â
"If you don't really know what you're doing with some of those oils, you may need to research a little bit better."
Nick Gunn demonstrates cooking chicken with different types of oil.
Fire can happen if you're not careful with cooking oils, according to Nick Gunn.