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Maybe a commercial high ratio shortening would do what you're wanting, without the danger of you having to try to make something yourself.
Crisco doesn't have trans fats anymore but the generic shortenings sometimes do, if you read the labels. I thought it made a difference for my buttercream frosting but it doesn't, other than a slight tendency for the shortening without the trans fats to separate from the icing when I add milk to thin it, and it's possible to add something else to get around that. I've switched to using all butter because of taste, except when the iced cake has to be out in the heat, because shortening stands up to heat a bit better than butter.
I don't think making pastry with margarine would yield satisfactory results. All margarine sticks seem to have been changed to a higher percentage of water in recent years, so that cookie recipes that used to do well with margarine no longer work.
Location: St Thomas, USVI - Seattle, WA - Gulf Coast, TX
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nep321
Does anyone know how I can make hydrogenated soybean/vegetable oil at home, safely? I saw videos on YouTube, but it seems like you have to be a chemist in order to do it, because of the heating and cooling process.
I would like to use it as an ingredient in my homemade pastries to enhance the taste and texture.
Any suggestions?
Are you concerned about using animal products? Hydrogenated soybean/vegetable oils are never going to enhance taste. Butter (specifically high-fat/low-moisture butter for the purpose of flaky texture in pastries) is always going to be the best flavor-enhancing fat to use with pastries.
Unless you are worried about shelf-life (or animal products), there is zero reason to use trans-fat oils instead of lard in your pastries. You will absolutely get the perfect texture that you seek, if using lard. Commercially, those hydrogenated fats are used/were used due to their stability (shelf life) NOT due to better texture or flavor than the old-school alternatives.
If you're okay with animal products and not looking to store your pastries for months before consuming them, use a mix of high-fat butter and lard. If, for some bizarre reason you've got your heart set on a solid-state, neutral, flavorless vegetable fat (which is what you are describing), there are lots of options out there that behave like trans-fats. Take a look at the "sanstrans" brand of vegetable shortenings. None of that stuff is going to give you the optimal flavor and texture that butter + lard will though...
Here's a safe and easy way to do it. There's an excellent explanation.
I agree about the explanation, from a chemical point of view it is really interesting. But it is more dangerous than it looks like. That's a lab procedure done with lab equipment by someone who is used to work in a chemical lab, it is not something you can do safely at home.
- He is using hexane as a solvent. Hexane is one of the components of gasoline, it is not something you would like to eat or to keep in your kitchen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexane#Safety
- He is using Palladium on carbon as a catalyst. Apart from the price of that catalyst (palladium is a noble metal), it will be really hard to remove it at the end of the process (in fact some carbon has remained in his final product). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palladium
- He is using hydrogen gas, from a tank. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_safety
Hydrogen is easily flammable, so to have a tank of high pressure at home is really dangerous. It can literally explode.
I agree about the explanation, from a chemical point of view it is really interesting. But it is more dangerous than it looks like. That's a lab procedure done with lab equipment by someone who is used to work in a chemical lab, it is not something you can do safely at home.
- He is using hexane as a solvent. Hexane is one of the components of gasoline, it is not something you would like to eat or to keep in your kitchen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexane#Safety
- He is using Palladium on carbon as a catalyst. Apart from the price of that catalyst (palladium is a noble metal), it will be really hard to remove it at the end of the process (in fact some carbon has remained in his final product). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palladium
- He is using hydrogen gas, from a tank. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_safety
Hydrogen is easily flammable, so to have a tank of high pressure at home is really dangerous. It can literally explode.
So my position remains:
don't try this at home
We did far more than this in my high school chemistry lab. People must learn beforehand then proceed carefully and prudently. However, trying to frighten peple is improper. Hexane is a common solvent. Hydrogen is in the stores of anyone using an oxyhydrogen torch. It's a common item in jewelry manufacture, even in the heart of major cities. Ordinary people have developed many processes for recoverng precious metals.
People can learn. Science is not the exclusive province of special beings.
We did far more than this in my high school chemistry lab. People must learn beforehand then proceed carefully and prudently. However, trying to frighten peple is improper. Hexane is a common solvent. Hydrogen is in the stores of anyone using an oxyhydrogen torch. It's a common item in jewelry manufacture, even in the heart of major cities. Ordinary people have developed many processes for recoverng precious metals.
People can learn. Science is not the exclusive province of special beings.
Differet countries, different attitudes maybe.
In here we would neither do something like that at the high school. For example I'm at the 4 th year of chemistry at the university, and I've done just a couple of labs with experiments like that one. And surelly no one who don't know chemistry would try it at his house in here.
Also, the product in the video is much less pure than how it looks like. I would never try to eat it without some evidence that it is safe. (The OP wanted to cook with his/her home made hydrogenated oil).
Last edited by Urania93; 05-19-2016 at 04:03 AM..
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