Seed oils in Switzerland
Of the 11 chains we track in Switzerland, none use real fats in the fryer and 6 use seed oils. That leaves 5 with something in between, no fryer or no answer. Below: what they fry in, how people cook there, how to read a label and what to say to ask about the oil.
What the chains fry in
These are the 11 chains we track in Switzerland, 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 Switzerland fries in real fats alone. These come closest: they mix real fats with other oils, or fry in palm or peanut oil.
All 11 chains
| Chain | Fryer oil |
|---|---|
| Burger King | Sunflower oil and vegetable oil blend (estimated) |
| Coop Restaurant | Rapeseed oil (estimated) |
| Five Guys | Peanut oil |
| Hiltl | Sunflower and rapeseed oil (estimated) |
| Holy Cow! | No fryer |
| KFC | Sunflower and rapeseed oil |
| McDonald's | Rapeseed oil |
| Migros Restaurant | No fryer |
| Starbucks | No fryer |
| Subway | Rapeseed and soybean oil (estimated) |
| tibits | Olive and rapeseed oil |
Same chain, different oil
A chain can fry in one oil at home and another abroad. Of the 4 chains we can compare with the U.S., 3 show a different fryer oil in Switzerland. Rows where the color changes come first. 1 more chain lists the same oil in both places.
| Chain | In the U.S. | In Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Burger King | Vegetable oil blend and soybean oil | Sunflower oil and vegetable oil blend (estimated) |
| KFC | Canola and soybean oil | Sunflower and rapeseed oil |
| McDonald's | Canola and soybean oil | Rapeseed oil |
The brands that state their fryer oil in many countries are compared in Same chain, different country.
How people cook in Switzerland
Switzerland is a butter and dairy country, so pan-frying in butter or clarified butter (Bratbutter) is common at home and in restaurants, with rapeseed oil (Rapsöl), sunflower oil and olive oil as everyday cooking oils. Rösti is fried in butter, oil or another fat such as lard, depending on the cook.
For deep frying, McDonald's Switzerland says its fries are cooked in Swiss rapeseed oil from Florin AG (we read this from search summaries of its pages, which blocked us), and a 2023 Swiss trade press report says its fries are fried in Florin rapeseed oil.
Other restaurants, bakeries and snack stands may use sunflower oil or blended fryer fats, and we found no Swiss survey of restaurant frying oils, so it varies and is worth asking.
Say it in German
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.
Language: German (Swiss German is spoken, Standard German is written and understood; French and Italian given in brackets for Geneva, Lausanne and Ticino)
| You want to say | Say it like this |
|---|---|
| Ask the kitchen | |
| What oil do you fry with? | In welchem Öl frittieren Sie das? (FR: Dans quelle huile faites-vous frire ça ? IT: Che olio usate per friggere?) |
| Can you cook it in butter or olive oil? | Könnten Sie das bitte in Butter oder Olivenöl braten? (FR: Pouvez-vous le cuire au beurre ou à l'huile d'olive ? IT: Potete cucinarlo con burro o olio d'oliva?) |
| Seed oils to watch for | |
| Sunflower oil | Sonnenblumenöl (FR: huile de tournesol, IT: olio di girasole) |
| Canola oil | Rapsöl (FR: huile de colza, IT: olio di colza) |
| Soybean oil | Sojaöl (FR: huile de soja, IT: olio di soia) |
| Vegetable oil (often a seed oil blend) | Pflanzenöl, or pflanzliche Öle on labels (FR: huile végétale, IT: olio vegetale) |
| Fats to ask for | |
| Olive oil | Olivenöl (FR: huile d'olive, IT: olio d'oliva) |
| Butter | Butter, or Bratbutter for clarified frying butter (FR: beurre, IT: burro) |
| Lard | Schweineschmalz (FR: saindoux, IT: strutto) |
| Beef tallow | Rindertalg (FR: suif de bœuf, IT: sego di manzo) |
| In between | |
| Palm oil | Palmöl (FR: huile de palme, IT: olio di palma) |
Tips for eating out in Switzerland
- Ask in the language of the region: German in most of the country, French in the west, Italian in Ticino. The phrases above cover all three, and staff in cities and tourist areas usually also speak English.
- Cheese fondue and raclette are melted cheese, not fried food, and rösti is pan-fried rather than deep fried, but ask what fat the rösti is cooked in (butter, lard or oil), since restaurants differ. Fondue bourguignonne is different: meat cooked at the table in hot oil.
- For Pommes frites and breaded items, ask which oil they use. McDonald's Switzerland names Swiss rapeseed oil, but other outlets vary, and butter or olive oil is a fair request for pan-cooked dishes.
- On packaged food, labels are usually in two or three of German, French and Italian (the law requires at least one). Look for Palmöl, huile de palme or olio di palma, and if you only see 'pflanzliche Öle' with no plant named, choose another product or check the maker's website.
Use the app on your trip
Seed Oil Tracker has local menus for 11 chains in Switzerland. Switch your country in Settings before you go.
Download for iPhone Get it on Google Play
Free to download. Want the full tour first? See what the app does.
Sources
The cooking, label and tip sections come from these pages. The chain fryer oils come from our own records.
More countries
Menus, recipes and rules change, so treat this page as a starting point and check the label or ask in the moment. Need a refresher on what counts? See what seed oils are and the full list. Back home, the eating out playbook covers restaurants in the U.S.