Spray-On Cooking Oils Save Time - And Every Last Morsel Of Brownies

Each year, thousands of new products vie for a spot in your shopping cart and a bite of your budget. What's worth your money and what's not? Each month, Seattle Times Home Economist CeCe Sullivan shops local markets to find some of these new products.

It's been suggested that I must own stock in sprays, judging from the use they get in the recipes on these pages. Not so. But I no longer make a batch of brownies or bar cookies without first coating the pan with a butter-flavored spray. And that tedious dabbing of olive oil with a pastry brush onto bread crostini has given way to a light mist of an olive-oil spray.

Is it laziness or good time management that makes these sprays so popular? Probably a little of both, but they also keep foods from sticking to pans. Every bit of brownie comes out of the pan, and that's a pretty good reason for their use.

The forerunner of this expanding product array, Pam Original Canola Cooking Spray, has traveled a slippery path to a lightly flavored Olive Oil Pam and more recently into a line of natural-flavored sprays, including Garlic or Lemon. (Try coating a nonstick skillet with the lemon spray before sauteing a fish fillet or chicken breast for a citrusy tang.) Each 5-ounce can is $3.19.

Another good choice is Mazola Pro Chef Olive Oil Non-Stick Spray, which has a true olive taste. (When sauteing foods, be sure to coat cold grill pans or nonstick skillets before setting them over heat.) A 6-ounce can is $2.99.

Looking for a strong hit of flavor? Try Tryson House All Natural Flavor Sprays in Italian Mist, Mesquite Mist or Garlic Mist. The names are as appealing as the tastes. We experimented with the mesquite flavor by giving cut-up potatoes a light coat before oven-roasting. The aroma suggested a backyard grill and the flavor was smoky and intense. Each 6-ounce can is around $3.

Although Weight Watchers usually has a good product reputation, we can't recommend the Artificial Flavored Buttery Spray. It has a strong, offensive smell that reminds one of slightly rancid theater popcorn.

A better choice would be Mazola No Stick Butter Flavor Cooking Spray. Use this product for cake and muffin pans, as well as for that batch of brownies. The 5-ounce can is $2.19.