Butter Me Up - Cooking with Fats and Oils

Recently there has been much public concern about the amount of trans fats in our foods.  McDonalds has even switched its cooking oil in response to public awareness of the potential risks of trans fat consumption.  While I would still argue that McDonalds isn’t the place for anyone to eat if they’re serious about maintaining their health, the change is a good one given the number of people that feed themselves daily in this establishment.  They may die prematurely, but it certainly won’t be from the trans fats in the oil.

So what exactly are trans fats anyway?

Basically they are the type of fats that are created when liquid oils are converted, through a process called hydrogenation, into more solid forms to make margarines and shortenings.  They can dramatically affect cholesterol and leave the unlucky consumer at risk for stroke or coronary artery disease.  What’s worse is that margarine and shortening are often used for cooking, which actually increases the number of trans fats!  Always watch your nutrition labels for items listed as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils.  They are basically trans fats in disguise.

The Rules

To avoid trans fat consumption there are a few simple rules you need to know about cooking with fat.

RULE #1

Never, under any circumstances, should you cook with margarine or shortening.  These have trans fats before cooking and you’ll just be adding more when they’re heated.

As an interesting side note, consider that ants won’t even touch margarine.  Next time you see a bunch of ants outside draw a circle around them with margarine.  They won’t even go near it.

RULE #2

Avoid cooking with vegetable oil.  Despite not having much in the way of trans fats prior to cooking, you’ll create them when the oil is heated.  If you opt for a cooking spray, make sure it’s made of extra virgin olive oil and pay attention to rule number 3 below.

RULE #3

Since olive oil is predominantly a monounsaturated fat it is more stable when heated.  However, it is best to only use olive oil on medium heat as it may begin to break down at higher temperatures.  Instead of relying on store bought cooking sprays consider purchasing an olive oil pump.

RULE #4

For high heat cooking always use coconut oil or butter.  Both are predominantly saturated fats, which allows them to remain very stable even at high temperatures.  Be cautious that your butter does not turn brown.  If it does, you’ve burnt it.

Butter versus Margarine

If you’ve been alive for the past few years you’ve undoubtedly been exposed to the utter nonsense that butter is bad for you.  In fact, you’ve probably been told that all saturated fats are evil and that the best recourse available is to use margarine instead.

The truth is that people have been eating butter since we first domesticated cows thousands of years ago.  Given that the meteoric rise of cardiovascular health issues in North American only began within the last hundred years, it is more likely that the advent of margarine in 1867 had something to do with it than butter.  Even if margarine hasn’t been part of the problem, it definitely hasn’t helped much either.

Of course, the people selling you margarine aren’t going to tell you this.  Margarine is easier and cheaper to make than butter and profits are higher.  The selling of margarine to avoid the dangers of butter consumption was one of the best marketing ploys of all time and we bought it hook, line, and sinker. 

But what if my margarine doesn’t have trans fats?

This may seem amusing to you, but what they’ve basically done to your margarine is to make it more structurally similar to a saturated fat (the one you supposedly switched to margarine to avoid).  In the case of Becel, a popular Canadian brand, they’ve taken unhydrogenated sunflower oil and mixed it with tropical fats to make it more solid.  The trans fats have gone down, which is great, but you still can’t cook with it.

A Few Final Notes

If you’re convinced enough to start using saturated fats for cooking instead of margarine you should know a few things before you run to the grocery store in a trans fat induced frenzy.  Butter and coconut oil, like other fats, are high in calories and should not be eaten too liberally.  They can be used for cooking, but your foods shouldn’t be swimming in them.  Butter should also always be purchased organic.  According to some carcinogen researchers the two most important things to buy organic are butter and coffee.  If you’re ingesting either you might want to make the switch.

The bottom line is that to cook properly with oils you can use olive oil on medium and butter or coconut oil on high.  Anything else is just shortening your life span. 

Posted: March 7th, 2007 at 11:50am By: mark