The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 1069

Highly saturated fats like lard or shortening are solid at room temperature and melt into a liquid when heated Because saturated-fat molecules are straight, they can stack together more tightly and efficiently, rendering most of them solid at room temperature That’s why fats with a high proportion of saturated fat, such as butter, shortening, animal fats, and palm oil, will be solid and opaque at room temperature, turning clear and liquid only when they are heated Highly unsaturated fats like canola or olive oil, on the other hand, remain clear and liquid at room temperature because their molecules have a tough time packing together in an organized manner It gets even more complicated when you take into account trans and cis fats, terms used to describe the geometry of unsaturated fats Trans fats are unsaturated fats in which the double-carbon bond is formed in such a way that the resulting fatty acid is straight A cis fat has its double-carbon bond formed in a way that makes the fatty acid kink, like a boomerang While both formations occur in nature (trans fats are commonly found in animal fats), trans fats are far more abundant in hydrogenated fats— manmade fats in which the hydrogen atoms have been forced to bond with polyunsaturated fats to increase their saturation Margarine and some types of shortening are examples of hydrogenated fats Current research indicates that trans fats have been positively linked to coronary artery disease As a result, artificial trans fats are banned in some areas Modern shortening products are manufactured in ways that minimize the amount of trans fat that makes it into the final tub Q: My mother used to keep a jar of bacon grease in her fridge that she swore was the key to the best fried chicken Anything to that? Indeed! Bacon fat is not only highly saturated (making for that extra-crunchy coating), but it also adds flavor of its own This can be a great thing for dishes like fried chicken or chicken-fried steak, as long as you don’t use so much that it becomes overpowering A ratio of 1:7 is ideal (that is, for every 4 cups peanut oil you use, replace ½ cup of it with ... in ways that minimize the amount of trans fat that makes it into the final tub Q: My mother used to keep a jar of bacon grease in her fridge that she swore was the key to the best fried chicken...account trans and cis fats, terms used to describe the geometry of unsaturated fats Trans fats are unsaturated fats in which the double-carbon bond is formed in such a way that the resulting fatty acid is straight... more abundant in hydrogenated fats— manmade fats in which the hydrogen atoms have been forced to bond with polyunsaturated fats to increase their saturation Margarine and some types of shortening are examples of hydrogenated fats