What is meant by “neutral” oils?

Question

What is meant by "neutral" oils? Conversely, what would make an oil not neutral? When is it important that the oil be neutral (or not)?

Answer

Context would make me more sure, but I expect this is referring to neutral flavor.

If you need oil in something for purposes other than flavor, and want to make sure that the other flavors in the dish aren't affected or obscured, then you'd want a neutral oil. For example, for frying and sauteeing, we rarely use strongly flavored oil. (There's the additional problem that many flavors are destroyed at high heat; many more aromatic oils have lower smoke points.)

Oils like sesame oil, chili oil, and walnut oil are decidedly not neutral. On the other end, oils like canola oil, grapeseed oil, and peanut oil are neutral. Somewhere between there are things like olive oil, which has some flavor but isn't overwhelmingly strong.

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