Seed oils in the Dominican Republic

What the chains fry in

These are the 9 chains we track in the Dominican Republic, with what each one fries in according to our records. Open any chain for its full report card. See the full country index.

• Real fats: beef tallow, lard, butter, olive oil or coconut oil.
• In between: palm or peanut oil, a high-oleic grade, or a mix of real fat and seed oil.
• Seed oils: canola (rapeseed), soybean, sunflower or corn, or a "vegetable oil" blend.
• No fryer: the chain does not deep fry. It can still cook with oil elsewhere in the kitchen.
• Unknown: our records do not say what the chain fries in.

(estimated) means our note on that chain is hedged, so read the oil as a good guess rather than a confirmed fact. How we read these notes.

Cleanest picks

No chain we track in the Dominican Republic fries in real fats alone. These come closest: they mix real fats with other oils, or fry in palm or peanut oil.

• Little Caesars Butter and vegetable oil blend (estimated)

All 9 chains

Same chain, different oil

A chain can fry in one oil at home and another abroad. Of the 7 chains we can compare with the U.S., 5 show a different fryer oil in the Dominican Republic. Rows where the color changes come first. 2 more chains list the same oil in both places.

The brands that state their fryer oil in many countries are compared in Same chain, different country.

How people cook in the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic has a local edible oil industry led by soybean oil and palm oil: Ministry of Industry figures reported by elDinero put 2021 exports at US$36.4 million for soybean oil and US$9.1 million for palm oil. A 2013 US Soybean Export Council note mentions a major Dominican soybean oil refinery and exports of US crude soybean oil to the country.

So soybean oil (aceite de soya, often sold as aceite vegetal) is probably the most common cooking and frying oil, but we found no survey or chain disclosure saying what street vendors, pica pollo shops or fast food chains fry in, so treat it as likely, not confirmed.

Tostones, yaniqueques, quipes and pica pollo are probably fried in that vegetable oil; chicharrón is often cooked in its own pork fat, and butter or margarine are common in baking.

A Ministry of Industry sector profile says coconut oil is made locally from copra and used in some seasoned dishes and desserts, but we found nothing showing it is a common frying oil.

Say it in Spanish

Read these out loud or show your phone to your server. The first two rows are the questions to ask. The rest are the oil names you will see on menus and labels.

Tips for eating out in the Dominican Republic

• Ask '¿En qué aceite fríen esto?' at pica pollo shops, street stalls and restaurants; if the answer is just 'aceite vegetal', ask to see the bottle or can to learn the plant (soybean oil is the likely one).
• Learn the menu words: 'frito' is fried, 'asado' is roasted or grilled, 'guisado' is stewed, 'hervido' is boiled and 'a la plancha' is griddled; pick those over fried foods (frituras), though they may still be cooked with some oil.
• At all inclusive resorts, ask grill or made-to-order stations to cook your meat or fish with butter or olive oil instead of their default oil.
• On packaged snacks, 'aceite vegetal' without a named plant could be any plant oil or a blend; look for 'aceite de soya', 'aceite de palma' or 'aceite de girasol' in the ingredient list (Dominican label rules were not checked here).

Sources

The cooking, label and tip sections come from these pages. The chain fryer oils come from our own records.

1. elDinero (13 Oct 2023): oils and fats industry in the Dominican Republic, from Ministry of Industry data
2. US Soybean Export Council news item (June 2013): soybean oil refinery and US soy fats in the Dominican Republic
3. Dominican Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs: profile of vegetable oils and fats production (2024)

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