Why does cooking oil make things taste better when it doesn’t taste good by itself?

Question

I get why sugar makes things taste better since it tastes good by itself but why does something like cooking oil which doesn’t taste good on its own make food taste better than it otherwise would be?

In: 734

Answer 1

The oil itself gets cooked a bit (changing its structure permanently), especially at higher temperatures. I’m not sure how so many other commenters failed to mention this, in addition to the other factors.