From the time I learned to cook—in Italy, the year I turned thirteen—I kept a giant bottle of olive oil next to the stove. I mixed it into salad dressing, tossed vegetables in it before roasting, and used it as a base—adding garlic first, of course—to pretty much everything I sautéed. But that might all be about to change: I recently learned that coconut oil may be a healthier choice for some methods of cooking.