The flash point is the temperature at which a cooking oil will ignite — although not sustain a flame — when a flame or spark is introduced. Heated oil releases vapours; at the flash point those vapours are concentrated enough to catch briefly, flashing and dying. It sits below the fire point, where the oil would keep burning on its own, and above the smoke point, where the oil first visibly breaks down. Each oil has its characteristic flash point, a function of its composition and refinement. The concept belongs to fire safety and to oil testing: it marks the temperature where the oil’s vapours become a hazard, well before the oil itself burns. Kitchen fires start when forgotten pans climb past these points in sequence — smoke, flash, fire — which is why the thermometer matters more than the recipe.