Cooking Oils and Fats
The use of fats in cooking serves many purposes, depending on the foods being cooked. This category is for questions and friendus about the fats we use in cooking and how we use them.
Asked in Cooking Oils and Fats, How To
How to prevent rancidity in vegetable shortenings?

You can't prevent it entirely, but you can get the most for your
dollars by taking a few precautions:
1) Check the 'best if used by' date and buy the can with the
longest expiration date.
2) Buy only for your particular needs. Even though a smaller can
will cost more per ounce, you're not saving anything if you throw
out half of a larger can that's gone bad.
3) If you have the space, you can refrigerate to get a longer
shelf-life, but keep in mind that many recipes that call for
shortening perform better if the fat is at room temperature. Except
for perhaps pastry making, it may be best to measure what you need
and leave out on the counter about 30 minutes before you begin your
recipe.
Asked in Food & Cooking, Cooking Oils and Fats
Which is the least fattening oil to use?

All cooking oils have roughly the same energy content, about 120
calories per tablespoon. Palm kernel oil has 116, and Avocado oil
has 124. In terms of being fattening, these differences are
negligible.
Butter has somewhat less (102 per tablespoon), since it contains
small amounts of protein and water in addition to oil. Healthy
spreads can be much lower, since they are up to 50% water. However,
these cannot generally be used in frying or cooking in place of
oil.
Some oils are considered unhealthy due to their content of
saturated fats. However, this is not related to how "fattening" the
oil is. The fats with the highest levels of saturated fats are
coconut, palm kernel, cottonseed, lard or tallow. The oils with the
least amount of saturated fat are canola, olive, and sunflower
oil.
Asked in Cooking Oils and Fats
What additives would you add to thicken up canola oil to be used in pastry?

You can't use oil in pastry. You need solid shortening so that
you have layers of fat and flour. That is what makes it flaky.
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Oil can be used in making pastry, but as has been said, the
resulting pastry will not be flaky, but crumbly. One can
temporarily thicken some types of oil (especially pure olive oil)
by refrigerating it. But the oil warms and returns to liquid state
so quickly that it is not possible to produce flaky pastry with
it.
Asked in Cooking Oils and Fats
How many times can you use cooking oil?

In reality, you can use cooking oil more than once. But its not
recommended that you reheat oil. Reheating cooking oil causes it to
release toxins into the oil, toxins which aren't good for your
food, and IIRC in some cases the oil may also become bitter from
reheating, but I can't remember where I read that. If you want to
get maximum use from your cooking oil, consider cooking some
additional food to be frozen while the oil is still hot from its
first use.
Asked in Cooking Oils and Fats
Why cooking oil and water cannot be mixed?

Because water is a polar molecule and cooking oil has a
non-polar nature.
Also the molecular structure of oil shows a long hydrophobic
side chain.
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We know ,from the oil spillages into the sea from broken pipes
from oil wells under the sea, which floats on top of the water
causing tremendous damage to animal life and the environment.
Similarly if you poured cooking oil and water into a container,
whether the oil first or the water first, after a while the water
will have settled to the bottom with the oil floating on top.
If we are cooking chips in oil in a pan and the oil sets on fire
because the gas flame has heated it to its "flash point" causing
oil vapours to be produced and are easily set alight, the most
dangerous action to take is to pour cold water over it. That causes
boiling and spitting out of the burning oil which can set fire to
the whole kitchen. The correct action is to have a damp (not wet)
towel and to carefully place it over the chip pan. Then leave the
kitchen and phone the fire brigade
Asked in Bacon (food), Cooking Oils and Fats
What is the best way to clean bacon grease from an oven?

Allow the oven to cool down then using a spatula try to scrap
all the grease out of the oven you can or use a paper towel to soak
up the grease. Using degreasing dish soap put 2-3 drops of the soap
on the the greasy area and rub it around to cover. Let the soap sit
for 10 minutes. Take a sponge with hot water and squeeze the excess
water out. Starting at the back of the oven bring the sponge to the
front of the oven in straight rows. Each time you get to the front
clean the sponge and start on the next row. When you have finished
with the sponge use paper towels or a rag to wipe of the leftover
soap.
Asked in Cooking Oils and Fats
Can cooking oil be used instead of immersion oil?

Nope you can't. Despite the fact that both are oils, they have
different refractive indexes, which mean that they refract light
differently. That means what you'll see in the microscope would be
different. Cooking oil is made from purified fats of a plant
origin, while immersion oil is similar (or is the same) to mineral
oil. :)
Asked in Cooking Oils and Fats
How do you make bannock in the oven with no lard?

This recipe has instructions for baking...
Native Cree Bannock Bread
40 min | 20 min prep
SERVES 8 , 1 bannock
6 cups flour
3 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
3 1/2 cups water
In the bowl, mix the flour butter together by hand, and then
add the baking powder, salt
Next, add the water and work the ingredients into a
dough.
Now, you have two options: the camp fire or the oven.
To cook over a camp fire, divide the dough into four lumps
and firmly wrap each lump around the end of a four foot stick and
prop securely over the fire until golden brown.
To cook in an oven, spread the dough out into a 16" square
cake pan.
Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden
brown.
your welcome :)
0_0
Asked in Cooking Oils and Fats
Can you substitute a regular Crisco stick for a butter flavored Crisco stick in sugar cookies?

Yes. The cookie texture will be the same, although the taste
will not be as buttery. For a cookie with good flavor like oatmeal
cinnamon raisin or chocolate chip, you won't notice the
difference.
You could also use unsalted butter instead of Crisco if you
don't have any health concerns about butter. Butter flavoring
works, but is a substitute flavoring, and real butter as an
ingredient has better flavor than substitute flavorings.