When people talk about cooking oils, the conversation often begins and ends with olive oil. But it’s not the only game in town. A host of other oils can be used to create sweet and savoury dishes – and these oils can often be easier to use and a lot healthier for you. One of the most versatile is macadamia oil.

Boasting a smooth buttery flavour, macadamia oil is great for roasting, baking and deep-frying, and can also be used as a base for salad dressings and even a substitute for butter when baking.

One of the most important characteristics of this oil is its high smoke point. Macadamia oil smoke point is between 210°C and 234°C. That’s important as an oil’s smoke point is the temperature at which it sends up smoke and gives your food an unpleasant, bitter taste.

Another key feature of macadamia oil is its high monounsaturated fat content, around 80% to 85%. Monounsaturates are good fats and have been shown to lower cholesterol levels and help the body burn fat more easily. 

How to use macadamia oil in your cooking

As a salad dressing

For a delicious salad dressing, macadamia oil makes a great base. Our macadamia salad dressing recipe is quick and simple to make, combine the oil, red-wine vinegar, caster sugar, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper and apply liberally.

As a marinade

Macadamia oil also makes a fantastic base for a full-flavoured marinade. Our Moroccan lamb with macadamia rice pilaf recipe is a hearty and healthy meal, sure to prove a hit with your family. Lamb backstraps are marinated with a flavoursome mixture of mac oil, garlic, cumin and sumac. 

In a stir fry

A hot wok and mac oil is the perfect starting point for your next stir fry. This chicken, mushroom and macadamia stir fry is a quick and crowd-pleasing mid-week family dinner.

Macadamia oil as substitute for butter when baking

Another smart way to use macadamia oil is as substitute for butter. In this decadent spiced chocolate fruit cake recipe, raisins, prunes, rum and chocolate feature alongside the secret ingredient: half a cup of Brookfarm’s Premium Grade Maca Oil. The cake is best enjoyed with a generous serve of vanilla ice cream or custard.

For roasting

Breathing new life into the Sunday roast, this roast chicken with macadamia couscous stuffing is a delicious twist on the classic roast chook. To impress guests, our roasted potato skins with macadamias, bacon, rocket and blue cheese is a tapas-style party winner.

Macadamia oil for deep-frying

This an be used for deep-frying, offering a healthier alternative to other frying oils. This beer battered fish with macadamia salt and pepper dust perfectly shows off the benefit of deep-frying with mac oil – the result is crisp and delicious battered fish.