If you think former Great British Bake-Off judge Mary Berry was only good at baking recipes, think again. 

We love her fancy fish pie, her simple sausage casserole, and even her “posh” jacket potatoes.

In fact the chef and author had penned multiple cookbooks by the end of the ’70s, long before her GBBO appearance ― all included tonnes of savoury options.

This makes it all the more remarkable that the Cordon Bleu-trained cook only keeps three types of oil in her home (two of which are olive-based). 

Which oils does Mary Berry keep?

Speaking to Ebury, who published Mary’s 2016 recipe book Foolproof Cooking, the chef said: “I don’t have a lot of oils... walnut oil, almond oil. They often go rancid.”

She added: “The oils I keep are olive oil that is for salads, more reasonable olive oil for cooking, and then I have a sunflower oil. That’s all.” 

In other words, she’s got a posh olive oil for the times when you really need to taste the ingredient, a cheaper one for day-to-day, and good ol’ sunflower oil for heavier frying (sesame, peanut, and canola oils have similar properties).

“It takes up less space and it works better for me,” she added.

“If I only use them once, I’m not going to bother to have them at all.” 

Mind you, the telly legend said this in 2016 ― long before olive oil prices ballooned in the UK. 

Someone must have tipped her off about the cozzie livs...

Wait... doesn’t olive oil go rancid too?

Yes, though Mary’s point is that you can lower that risk by a lot if you buy oils you actually use. 

Good olive oil (the kind she’d use for salads and dips) is good for up to a year, while less fancy fare can last as long as 18 months.

The North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA) says that “Extra virgin olive oil may have aromas of freshly cut grass, fruit, or herbs among others,” while “Rancid oil smells like crayons, wet cardboard, sawdust or putty.”

Sunflower oil, meanwhile, is alright for a year or two after opening. 

But let’s be real with ourselves here ― you simply will not use enough of something like truffle oil (which both Gordon Ramsay and I abhor) to keep to their four-to-six-month expiry date.