I think I’ve got this business about good fats and bad fats sorted out, but please let me know if I’m wrong.
The worst fats are animal fats--butter, the delicious crispy skin of fried chicken, lard, goose and duck fat. By “worst” I means least conducive to a prolonged state of good health, not bad tasting. I know Germans who gladly eat goose fat on rye bread.. These animal fats are most of the saturated fats.
In general, fats from vegetable sources--grains, nuts, and seeds--are healthier than animal fats, but there are some vegetable fats that are loaded with saturated fat, such as palm oil and coconut oil (which may have been used in preparing the last bag of popcorn you had at the movies).
Otherwise, vegetable fats and oils are low in saturated fat, and high in unsaturated fats. Unsaturated fats come in two basic types--poly unsaturated and mono unsaturated.
For cooking and for use on salads, it’s hard to beat extra virgin, cold pressed olive oil.
Although poly unsaturated fats are in general good, they become villainous when they are processed by hydrogenation or partial hydrogenation. This is done for many reasons suiting the purposes of the food industry, especially greater shelf life and hence lesser spoilage . Margarine is made by hydrogenation, transforming fats that are liquid at room temperature into fats that are solid at room temperature. A vegetable oil that has been hydrogenated and artificially colored resembles butter in appearance and uses. (Into the 1950s, because of legislation passed through lobbying efforts of the dairy industry, pre-colored margarine in stick form was illegal. You bought your margarine in a block, and then mixed a yellow dye with it on your own. The law was eventually changed because the corn lobby was more influential than the dairy lobby.) Unfortunately the hydrogenation process also loads the stuff up with transfats, substances that do not appear in nature and are probably highly deleterious to health.
Common vegetable oils besides olive oil are: corn, soybean, cottonseed, safflower, and a couple of others.
But there are also a number of much less common vegetable oils that I am gradually exploring: pumpkin, almond, avocado, walnut, and so on.
My favorite thus far is grapeseed oil, a light, slightly greenish liquid that is rich in antioxidants, vitamin E, and other good things. Some medical claims are made for this oil, such as this one, from a site that sells the stuff. “If you would like to enjoy a more vital life, making one small change can make a big difference. A regular program of reducing unhealthy fats from your diet, exercising regularly, and including at least two tablespoons of grapeseed oil in your daily regimen, could initiate a profound change. When you use grapeseed oil, you are keeping company with some of the world’s most renowned master chefs. Grapeseed oil has a high smoke point (as much as 485° F), which means no smoking, splattering or burnt taste when used for frying. Its flavor and emulsification properties are ideal for making truly healthful mayonnaise, flavored oils and salad dressings that will not cloud when chilled. Grapeseed oil has a non-greasy, slightly nutty flavor that brings out the flavor of the food. It averages 76% linoleic acid, also known as Omega 6, a naturally high antioxidant vitamin E content, and it is packaged in light reduction bottles that give it a shelf life of at least two years at room temperature.”
Maybe yes, maybe no. But I have found this oil to be delightful both in salads and incooking. I like olive oil, too, but it has a taste of its own—a taste that varies from producer to producer, soil to soil, climate to climate . Grapeseed oil is more neutral in character, sometimes an advantage.
It can also be used as a skin moisturizer.
A mail-order source that I have used for grapeseed oil (and other exotic oils) id
http://www.california-flavors.com/
This company also sells a number of unusual vinegars.
But here’s a confessional tidbit. My grandfather, my father, and his brothers were commodities brokers in Texas. What their brokerage dealt in was mostly hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Linear Mode
