Canola oil or LEAR oil is low erucic acid rapeseed oil. Canola is the marketing name, for obvious reasons. Erucic acid is poisonous.
Despise such an unpalatable origin, this oil is one of the best. It has a high smoke point, which makes it suitable for high-temperature frying. It is also composed of mostly mono-unsaturated fat, […]
Olive oil is an oil derived from the fruit of the olive tree, which originated in the Mediterranean area. It is produced by pressing olives and has a very high content of monounsaturated fats.
Olive oil was traditionally produced by beating the trees with sticks to knock the olives off and crushing them in stone or […]
Ghee, or clarified butter, is butterfat that has been separated from the water, proteins, and salt in butter. This is accomplished by heating the butter at as low a temperature as possible. The butter will seperate into three layers: the casein, a frothy layer on top; the clairified butterfat in the middle; and the water, […]
Cottonseed oil is a vegetable oil extracted from the seeds of the cotton plant after the cotton lint has been removed. It must be refined to remove gossypol, a naturally occurring toxin that protects the cotton plant from insect damage. Cottonseed oil has no cholesterol and is very low in trans fatty acids. It is […]
Corn oil is oil produced from corn. (some kinds of corn have more oil than the type normally sold to consumers)
Corn oil has a medium-high smoke point, which makes it an OK choice for most high-temperature frying. Corn oil is composed of poly-unsaturated fat, which is considered reasonably good for human health. Corn oil tends […]
Strutto is reconstituted pork fat. Strutto is primarily used for frying, or to prepare crusts for savory pies. It is also called sugna.
Spek is the firm pork fat that is taken from just underneath the pig’s skin. It is often used in South African cuisine, particularly in sausage such as boerewors. It is also used in Dutch cooking, sometimes baked into pancakes.
Shortening is a fat used in cooking. Modern shortening consists of hydrogenated vegetable oil that is just barely solid at room temperature. Shortening has a higher smoke point than butter and margarine (it is less flammable), leading to its use in deep-fat frying and as a pan coating to prevent baked goods from sticking. It […]
Margarine is an unsaturated butter substitute—also made of at least 80% fat, except that the fat is made from vegetable oils. To make it taste like butter, some dairy flavorings are added to give it an authentic taste. This stuff works in baking as well, and is sold in stick or tub form. Margarine in […]
Lard is fat (meaning the thick oil, not the fat tissue) from a pig. Unlike normal shortening, which can be used as a lard substitute, lard is free of trans-fatty acids. Lard is also lower in saturated fat than butter, making lard one of the best of the well-known solid fats. Lard is slightly softer […]