What is cooking fat

That said, it too is an almost magical agent. It does everything for Jews that pork fat does for gentiles; and unlike lard and butter, both of which congeal and solidify at room temperature, schmaltz, as gold as a Krugerrand, pours clean and clear at the dinner table.

And, lest it seem that you can file it away under Judaica, consider this: There can be no chicken gravy, no chicken dumplings, no fried chicken without a goodly amount of the stuff dissolved into it. Rendered Beef Kidney Suet Never heard of this one? Welcome to the club.

Rendered beef kidney suet has traditionally been considered a secret and infallible elixir, an invisible, flavorless fat that holds within its ivory body the very essence of beef. Age it and a quick swipe can make commodity meat straight out of the Cryovac taste as if it had spent a month in the box.

Add a little to any hot pot, from pot-au-feu to sukiyaki, and the thing is twice as good. Truly well-marbled meat is rarely easy to find, and always expensive; a little of this stuff supplies nature's defect, and provides the most unskilled chef with a shortcut to greatness.

Lamb Fat Sometimes people ask me what my favorite meat is. Actually, I ask them to ask me. As soon as the question begins, I interrupt them with these magic words: lamb fat. I can't think of a single item on this list that I truly look forward to eating on its own. When salty and sizzling and brown, lamb fat has a piquant gaminess all its own. And when you add it to some roasted potatoes or hash browns, watch out! It's pure nitro. Lamb fat is one of the only reasons we can enjoy lean meats that have been frozen solid and flown halfway around the world; it's one of the only reasons we can enjoy lamb shanks, a cut which is—in every other animal—so bad that we don't even let it into soup.

Lamb fat is everything. For me; otherwise it would be higher on the list. Duck Fat Gourmands among Eatocracy readers may be surprised to find duck fat so low in the hierarchy of grease. Post comment.

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Types of Cooking Fat There are two primary types of dietary fats; saturated and unsaturated. Here is a quick review: Saturated Fats: Coconut oil, butter, ghee and animal fats.

Monounsaturated Fats: Olive oil, avocado oil, nut and seed oils. Polyunsaturated Fats: Canola oil, safflower oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil and corn oil. Butter Butter is a traditional cooking fat that simply got a bad rap. Ghee For people who are sensitive to dairy, ghee is a great alternative to butter. Animal Fats Animal fats are the most natural and traditional form of cooking fats, and although many people unfortunately fear them today, they are one of the best sources of cooking fat.

Olive Oil Olive oil is, in fact, a monounsaturated fat, and the only one on this list, as it does fairly well under medium to low cooking temperatures. Related posts. Macronutrients vs. September 21, Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Get a FREE meal plan right to your inbox!

Send it to me! If I'm making Chinese stir fry, it's typically vegetable or peanut oil. This is typically because the wok gets extremely hot, and I need an oil with a very high smoke point. If I used butter for this, it would burn.

Desserts and Baked Goods : As discussed above, butter is the most common fat used in baking desserts. Shortening is also commonly used to make pie crusts and other baked goods. Stir Fry : Because stir frying is typically done at very high temperatures, a fat with a high smoke point must be used.

Peanut oil, vegetable oil, sunflower oil, corn oil and grapeseed oil are all great options when stir frying. Personally, I like peanut oil for it's slightly nutty taste.

Try this stir fried Tangerine Chicken using any of these high smoke point cooking fats. Sesame oil is also used often in stir fries, but is typically added at the end of cooking for flavoring as it burns easily. Roasting done at lower temperatures can really be done with any kind of fat.

I personally love to roast meats and veggies with bacon, duck or goose fat like these Duck Fat Smashed Potatoes. Soups and Stews : Soups and stews commonly include the fat of any meat that may be cooked in them - for instance a chicken or beef stock based broth will likely have chicken or beef fat in it.

Check out this post for How to Cook a Roux , with step-by-step photos and instructions. Curry : Coconut oil and ghee are most commonly used when making Indian curries.

In addition to these, coconut milk, which includes the coconut cream is also commonly used in both Indian and other Southeast Asian style curries like this Thai Green Curry. You can even learn how to make ghee with this recipe from Cookbooks.

Rice : A more flavorful fat is desired when cooking rice since it tends to be slightly bland. This is really just my opinion, but I feel strongly about it! Try this Coconut Rice recipe. It's an oldie, but you get the point. Pasta : Olive oil is the most common fat used when making pasta dishes. Butter and cream are also used when a creamier sauce is the goal, like in this Creamy Shrimp Scampi Tortellini.

While different fats are used across all cuisines depending on the type of dish see above , some cuisines are know to use certain fats more predominantly in their cooking. American : All different kinds of fats are used in American cooking. The most common are butter, olive oil, peanut oil. Oils such as grapeseed, avocado, and flaxseed oil have been gaining popularity in the U.

Indian : Ghee and coconut oil are the two most popular fats used to cook food in India. Ghee is often used in making Indian flatbreads, as well as sauteing vegetables and meats for curries and other dishes. Coconut oil is also used in many curries and dishes for the nutty flavor it provides. Mexican : Lard manteca is the fat of choice in Mexican cooking.

Used to make refried beans, tortillas, carnitas, tamales, among many other dishes, lard adds a wonderful depth and flavor to Mexican dishes. Learn how to make lard in this recipe from Mexican Please. South American : Dende oil red palm oil is very popular in Brazil.

It is used much in the same way as olive oil is used. It tends to be a reddish orange color and has a very strong flavor.

Chinese : Lard, beef fat and chicken fat are commonly used in Chinese cooking for stir fries, soups and stews. Peanut oil has also become popular in recent years, as it has a wonderfully nutty flavor and a high smoke point for stir fries and deep frying.

In addition, sesame oil is commonly used to finish a dish or as an ingredient for dishes such as dumplings. Japanese : For fried foods like tempura, peanut oil is commonly used in Japanese cooking. Sesame oil is also used in Japanese cooking as a seasoning or a finishing oil. In Southeast Asian countries, coconut oil and peanut oil are the most common fats used for stir fries and deep frying.

In addition, coconut milk is widely used in soup and stews, as well as curries. Italian : It goes without saying that olive oil is the fat of choice for cooking Italian dishes.

French : French cooking is known for being very heavy handed with butter, but they commonly use fats such as goose or duck fat as well to add flavor and depth to a dish.

And don't forget about that heavy cream French cooking is decadence at it's best. Jewish : Schmaltz or rendered chicken fat is very commonly used in Jewish cooking to make dishes such as latkes, sauteed liver and onions, and matzah balls. African : Dende oil is a common oil used in African cooking due to it's strong flavor. It is also known to have health benefits and is a vibrant dark orange color.

A solid cooking fat is one that remains solid at room temperature. Common solid fats are butter, shortening, and coconut oil.

Generally speaking, solid fats tend to be higher in saturated fat than liquid fats. Olive oil, grapeseed oil and avocado oil are noted as some of the healthier cooking fats. To learn more about healthy fats , read this post from Healthline.