It's the hot new ingredient in New York and San Francisco — and now macadamia nut oil is trickling across the pond to London

So now we all know about coconut oil, which decided to smother itself over our hair, bodies and frying pans faster than we could say the words food and trend. But do you know about macadamia oil, which comes, as you might imagine, from pressing macadamia nuts? If not, that’s because it’s a bit less attention seeking than its tropical friend. New Yorkers and San Francisco-ites have been using it on the quiet, and now it’s trickled over here.

Most good quality mac-oil, which incidentally is often combined with argan oil and used as a hair mask too, is an off-white to light golden colour, with a rich, buttery flavour. As with olive oil, the best to buy should be extra virgin and cold-pressed.

Anna Hansen of the Clerkenwell restaurant and brunch spot The Modern Pantry applauds mac-oil for its flavour, being high in good fats and having “loads of vitamin B, vitamin E and protein”.

“I use an Australian brand which is really good and we get it in big amounts… the quality was so superior. Often it can be a bit rancid, which is not very nice.”

However, being expensive, mac-oil is not something most of us can afford to use liberally, as Hansen explains.

“When it gets to a certain temperature, it can also begin lose its flavour. I prefer using it for dressings and drizzling things rather than cooking in it. I’ve had it in dressings, mayonnaise and in desserts. I’ve actually, believe it or not, mixed it into a gravy, like a jus, which was really, really delicious. But you need to emulsify it. I once used it in a dressing with a reduction of Shaoxing, like a Chinese wine, over a ham hock salad, which was unbelievably delicious. I use it at home, too.”

Here are three oils to start playing around with.

Mokhado

Smells sickly sweet but this beige coloured oil from the Limpopo region of South Africa is also surprisingly light on the tongue. I’ve fried Brussels sprouts in it and used it at the base of a vegetable risotto, which gave both a lovely, gentle nuttiness. £6.99/250ml; Partridges Gloucester Road, Budgens Islington, Franklins Farm Shop, Panzers Deli or mokhado.com

Olivado

A shade darker than the Mokhado, this one from Queensland in Australia smells huskier and less sweet, and is marginally heavier in texture. Full of rich, butteriness, it worked well inside a pea and bacon soup. Mix a little with some olive oil and pepper and it’s nice to dip bread in. I like the elegant bottle too. £5.99 available from healthysupplies.co.uk

Emile Noel

Almost transparent, this is a Kenyan oil with a much toastier, slightly prickly flavour which means it’s probably better suited to heat than as a base for dressings, expensive though it is. £9.80/250ml from Planet Organic shops; planetorganic.co.uk

Follow Victoria Stewart on Twitter @vicstewart