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When I was growing up in the 80's, 90's and 00's, my mother always used butter to fry foods. However, knowing that butter is very fatty, as an adult, I always use olive oil cooking spray, because I believe it is healthier.
Lately however, I have been researching other cooking fats, such as vegetable shortening (Crisco), margarine, olive oil and lard. Apparently, lard was THE standard fat base to use for cooking for hundreds of years up until the early 1900's when people started switching over to vegetable shortening and butter later on. Nowadays most people seem to use some sort of cooking spray or just butter.
I have heard that margarine is terrible for your health, because it's entirely composed of chemicals. But now, apparently, they say that lard is not nearly as bad for you as people once thought it was. Apparently, the fat content in lard is approximately the same as butter and it's rich in vitamin D.
Also, there are alleged benefits to using lard for cooking. For example, it has little to no flavor, so it doesn't alter the flavor of the food you're cooking. And it doesn't cause smoke, because it burns at a higher temperature than butter does.
What kinds of fat bases do you use to cook? And what is your experience with using lard, if any?
Does the solid Crisco sold in the 70's/80's count as lard?
That is what my step-mother fried things in and it tasted GOOD. I might actually try it again.
Yes it is true saturated fats were once thought to be the devil. Now they say no it's trans-fats. But heart patients are still told to stay away from saturated fat, so honestly I don't know the final answer on that.
I think that we used to NEED animal fat and it's overall better for us but most of us get too much.
PS McDonalds french fries used to be made with beef tallow and that is why they were SO SO GOOD.
I use canola (also called rapeseed) oil for frying, because of its high smoke point. I use olive oil or sunflower oil for salad dressings. Sunflower oil has a high smoke point too but it's way more expensive than canola.
I use coconut oil sometimes, particularly for popcorn. I use canola oil as a general, inexpensive cooking oil. I use virgin olive oil for salad dressing and pesto, and hot pressed (cheaper) olive oil for some cooking. I find olive oil is best for distributing herb flavors in sauces. Hot pressed oil also has a more neutral flavor than virgin oil, and I prefer it for mayonnaise. I sometimes use sesame oil for Asian dishes. Lard is best for pie crusts, biscuits and deep frying donuts. Bacon grease is best for frying eggs. A cooking spray that contains lecithin is best for non-stick use, and lecithin is underrated as a nutrient. I also add lecithin to bread, because it keeps the bread fresh longer. It metabolizes to acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter.
When I was growing up in the 80's, 90's and 00's, my mother always used butter to fry foods. However, knowing that butter is very fatty, as an adult, I always use olive oil cooking spray, because I believe it is healthier.
Lately however, I have been researching other cooking fats, such as vegetable shortening (Crisco), margarine, olive oil and lard. Apparently, lard was THE standard fat base to use for cooking for hundreds of years up until the early 1900's when people started switching over to vegetable shortening and butter later on. Nowadays most people seem to use some sort of cooking spray or just butter.
I have heard that margarine is terrible for your health, because it's entirely composed of chemicals. But now, apparently, they say that lard is not nearly as bad for you as people once thought it was. Apparently, the fat content in lard is approximately the same as butter and it's rich in vitamin D.
Also, there are alleged benefits to using lard for cooking. For example, it has little to no flavor, so it doesn't alter the flavor of the food you're cooking. And it doesn't cause smoke, because it burns at a higher temperature than butter does.
What kinds of fat bases do you use to cook? And what is your experience with using lard, if any?
I might start using more
recent studies has found that saturated fats aren't as bad as they once thought the were
especially when it comes to meats (yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyy!!)
A recent article in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) puts to rest a decades-old myth: Saturated fat is NOT bad for the heart. [1] This is news I've long suspected! And we now have science to support it. Fat is not the enemy when it comes to cardiovascular disease, weight gain, brain health, and so many other issues. It turns out that sugar -- in all its many guises -- is the real culprit for making you fat. What it also means is that because sugar causes inflammation throughout the body, it increases your risk of cardiovascular disease -- and just about everything else!
We've all been sold a bill of goods about so-called healthy low-fat foods like cookies and muffins. When you begin to read labels, you'll quickly see how much sugar is added to just about everything, especially to low-fat foods. When the fat is removed, so is the flavor. To make it more palatable, sugar, sugar substitutes, and salt are added in its place. And as you continue to read labels, I think you'll be surprised by how much sugar is also in so-called healthy foods, like yogurt, tomato sauce, many fruit juices -- even some salad dressings.
so, go out and eat some lard, some burgers, steak, and ribs
....But now, apparently, they say that lard is not nearly as bad for you as people once thought it was. Apparently, the fat content in lard is approximately the same as butter and it's rich in vitamin D.....
Also, there are alleged benefits to using lard for cooking. For example, it has little to no flavor, so it doesn't alter the flavor of the food you're cooking. And it doesn't cause smoke, because it burns at a higher temperature than butter does.
What kinds of fat bases do you use to cook? And what is your experience with using lard, if any?
My Great aunt and grandmother were raised in the Appalachians. Born i 1892, My great Aunt lived to a ripe old age of 97. What did she cook with until, oh, about 1980? LARD. Didn't hurt her any.
My grandmother, born in 1899, lived to be 94. AND she, too, cooked with lard most of her life. Lard likewise didn't hurt her any much. In the Appalachians, they didn't have modern indoor plumbing until the 70's either!
I'd cook with lard if I could find a good old big bucket of it, as I think food has so much more flavor after cooking in it.
But *sigh* I default to either olive oil {EVOO as Rachael Ray would say} or BUTTER, I am trying to find a farm here that will sell raw milk since it can be done now, so I can make some good old Hand churned butter! FResh from the cow! YUM! YUM! There are plenty of dairy farms around here but to get one that will sell raw milk {now legal} is another story.
I DO save rendered fat from the likes of bacon to use as schmaltz.
Oh the flavors of yesteryear, when food had flavor before it go so unhealthy to use anything to cook with!
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