The fats tag has no wiki summary.
38
votes
3answers
17k views
Why can applesauce be used in place of oil?
In many recipes, mostly desserts, it is suggested that you can substitute oil with applesauce to reduce the fat content. But why applesauce?
Is there something special about applesauce or are there ...
18
votes
3answers
2k views
What oil or fat to use for different purposes?
I understand that one of the main reasons to use different kinds of fat or oil is the temperature at which it burns, e.g. an extra-virgin olive oil to fry a steak wouldn't work. Taste is also a very ...
16
votes
3answers
3k views
What job is the fat doing when I prepare bread dough, and what to expect if I use the wrong amount?
I've been baking bread for years and no longer really measure the ingredients. But I'm no expert on the science of what I'm doing. I add fat (lard) because I've always added fat.
What job does the ...
14
votes
2answers
800 views
The science of confit
In recent weeks I have made both duck leg and pork belly confit with rich tasting and great texture results. I want to experiment with this technique further but to do so, and avoid wasting meat and ...
12
votes
1answer
22k views
Conversion rule: how to switch oil and butter?
Just a moment ago, I was making muffins. The recipe calls for 125ml oil.
As a footnote, it says that you can replace the oil with 125g butter.
Can you do so in every recipe (not just muffins or ...
11
votes
7answers
15k views
How do you properly drain the grease after browning ground beef?
Whenever I try to drain the grease from the pan after I have browned ground beef, I always end up spilling a little here and there. I usually just take a spoon and "spoon out" the grease into a bowl.
...
11
votes
4answers
931 views
Does preparation of food change the nutritional content with respect to fat type?
I apologize in advance for my lack of knowledge in how a fat comes to be saturated, and perhaps therein lies the answer to this question. However, due to my wife's gall stones I need to remove hard to ...
11
votes
2answers
3k views
What does to deglaze a pan mean?
A friend of mine described a recipe to me, and she said she deglazed the pan (I think I understood correctly). What does that mean?
11
votes
1answer
26k views
Can I always use butter instead of margarine when baking?
Some recipes says use butter or margarine, some say use butter and some say use margarine. My question is, can I always use butter or does margarine have some property that butter doesn't when baking?
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11
votes
2answers
1k views
Storage life for goose fat
When I roast a goose, I decant the fat, strain and freeze it. I typically get a pint or more. This seems to work well, I can chip off suitably-sized pieces from the frozen block and use them as ...
10
votes
7answers
1k views
Is bacon fat supposed to congeal at room temperature?
My grandma told me its a good idea to save the bacon drippings in a sealable container to cook with later. I remember when I used to watch her cook with it, it was always solid. I have started ...
8
votes
2answers
353 views
why is cooking in oil or fat considered dry heating?
Why is cooking in oil or fat considered dry heating, while cooking in wine is considered moist heating?
7
votes
2answers
825 views
Why wouldn't you strain hamburger grease after cooking?
So I've got a friend who makes many dishes involving hamburger but doesn't ever strain it. The grease is added to a dish like Shepard's pie which to me just seems very gross. I see alot of posts ...
7
votes
4answers
210 views
Removing fat from a recipe
If I see a recipe I like, and it includes a marinade or sauce in which butter or oil is a significant ingredient, is there any way to substitute that fat and preserve a similar taste and texture? For ...
7
votes
1answer
217 views
Storing and re-using rendered duck fat
I recently made duck confit in my slow cooker. I purchased a 2 lb container of rendered duck fat for that purpose, which I'd like to save. Is it possible to re-use the fat? If so, how should I store ...
7
votes
2answers
309 views
Fat content in homemade stock
First of all, I don't know the difference between stock, broth and bouillon in english (not my native language), but what I mean is when you cook for example a chicken carcass with vegetables for a ...
7
votes
2answers
541 views
Why does Béarnaise separate as opposed to crème brûlée or lemon curd?
When making creme brulees in the oven, they are heated to something like 100° C, or over. When making bernaise, heating it like that is a sure way of making it separate.
As far as I've understood, it ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
Substitution for Suet in Christmas Pudding
I'm interested in making a traditional Christmas pudding but I've never seen suet available in the stores around here. Assuming I can't find any, what would be a good substitution?
7
votes
3answers
610 views
How can I efficiently render 100 lbs of suet into tallow in a home kitchen?
As I mentioned in another question, I'm about to undergo a 100 lb suet-to-tallow rendering process. The problem is, as much as I love tallow, I've never rendered suet myself before and I have a ...
6
votes
7answers
13k views
Which oils or fats make the crispiest roast potatoes?
Which oil or fat is the best option for crispy on the outside fluffy on the inside roast potatoes?
5
votes
8answers
7k views
Which type of oil/fat should I use for deep frying?
I just got my first ever deep fryer yesterday. Looking round in the shops, I found that I can get bottled frying oil, or a white solid block type of fat which I've never used before, I guess it may be ...
5
votes
2answers
720 views
How much of the oil will stay in french fries?
Is there a fixed percentage of how much of the oil used to frying french fries will stay in the served french fries?
I guess that it depends on things like dimension of the french fries, frying ...
5
votes
1answer
127 views
Why do fatty foods go with sour ones?
Why do fatty foods tend to go with acids?
Mayonnaise and hollandaise contain lemon juice, and fatty fish tends to be served with lemon. Barbecue pork and pork belly are sometimes served with a ...
5
votes
1answer
2k views
Can I store suet or home-rendered tallow at room temperature for a year?
This weekend I will be in possession of 100 lbs of beef suet (which I'll be getting from a butcher friend) and plan to render it into tallow. I can't even begin to imagine exactly what this amount of ...
5
votes
2answers
775 views
Substituting with Bacon and Bacon Fat in a Recipe
I've been thinking about throwing cooked bacon into various recipes like candy and bread. Are there any general guidelines for adjusting the recipes for handling this addition? For example, should I ...
5
votes
1answer
290 views
Does searing cause more or less oil to be absorbed than frying?
Let's assume that I have two identical pans, with equal amounts of oil in each, and two practically identical slices of tofu (or whatever else, but I'm referring to items that would be more spongiform ...
5
votes
1answer
281 views
Keep or remove skin when grinding poultry?
After reading this I made "burgers" with ground chicken thigh. (Didn't have turkey thighs handy.) I have the feeling chicken thighs have plenty of fat, so less likely to dry out than turkey, but it ...
4
votes
2answers
349 views
Is there a technique for making larger batches of roux?
Following along the approach of freezing roux, I would like to make some in bulk. I am also trying to do more batch cooking for freezing and making 8 quarts of mac and cheese ends up taking a lot of ...
4
votes
1answer
955 views
How does replacing some butter with shortening affect rising / leavening in cookies (biscuits)?
I have been replacing half (half a cup) of the butter called for by some cookie recipes with half a cup of shortening and have noticed that some of these cookies rise less than I expect.
Is there ...
4
votes
1answer
68 views
Is there any difference between a given cream and mix of different milks resulting in the same fat percentage?
Is there any difference between a given cream and mix of different milks resulting in the same fat percentage?
For example, is there any difference in a half-and-half cream, say 16% of fat, and a 50% ...
4
votes
2answers
4k views
Rendered pork fat vs lard vs bacon fat?
What is the difference between "rendered pork fat", lard, and bacon fat?
I've seen lots of references to rendered pork fat in the Momofuku cookbook, references to lard in one of my Schezuan ...
4
votes
2answers
44 views
Estimating the fat content of homemade chicken foot gelatin
I recently simmered a pot of chicken feet (including skin) for the first time and made an astonishingly gelatinous gelatin. It's clearly suffused with chicken fat, but I have no idea how much -- I ...
3
votes
5answers
4k views
Is all sausage considered a “Processed Meat”?
Over the years, I've read a lot of health information that says processed meats are some of the worst foods for you from a fat, sodium, and nitrate intake perspective. Then I read that Sausage is a ...
3
votes
5answers
4k views
What to do with the fat rendered when making beef stock?
I just made beef stock and after cooling the stock in the pot I skimmed the solidified fat off the surface and the walls of the pot. Since I often read 'keep duck fat' when making duck stock/broth and ...
3
votes
2answers
705 views
Minimum amount of fat in Roux
Most (all) recipes I know talk about 50/50 butter/flour for roux. However, at home I'm using something like a 40/60 butter/flour mix. It's thicker, but it works.
Does anybody know what the absolute ...
3
votes
5answers
9k views
How can I remove excess fat from stews or soups without refrigerating?
I've read that adding cork (from wine bottles) absorbs the fat. I'm not sure if this works or not.
Is there a way to remove excess fat without standing there and spooning out or refrigerating and ...
3
votes
2answers
144 views
What oil/fat is best for basting sunny-side-up eggs?
I've recently gotten into sunny side up eggs. I definitely like the top to be set up a bit, so I baste them in the hot cooking oil. I'm wondering what oils and fats people find best for this. So far ...
3
votes
1answer
336 views
What limitations are there to sauteeing with water?
I was recently helping with some recipes and was instructed to use water for "sauteeing" onions, celery, garlic, etc in place of oil (scare quotes on "saute" since it involves frying in oil or other ...
3
votes
2answers
265 views
What is the source of the very strong flavour in some bad fats (or dairy products?) that only some people can taste?
It's a very, very strong flavour (like hot chili peppers in potency and ability to linger).
It tastes nothing like any food I know - I've thought of it as kind of "chalky" (not sure why I know what ...
3
votes
1answer
97 views
What's the correct way to store fats?
What are the decision parameters, when you have rendered fat to store? Glass or plastic? Refrigerated or not? I'm not looking for long-term storage; just what's the best-practice way to store it for ...
3
votes
1answer
520 views
Should I pour off the liquified fat while cooking bacon?
At home, I'm likely to cook bacon stovetop in a cast iron skillet. In commercial kitchens I've worked in, bacon goes on sheet pans in the oven. In each case, I usually pour off excess fat once or ...
3
votes
1answer
268 views
Proper grease for a meat slicer blade
I just found an old hand cranked meat slicer which I can use to slice homemade lunch meats. It was free, but it obviously hasn't been used awhile. Inside there are two gears, and a bearing on which ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
How can I determine fat content in beef?
I'm looking to determine with as much accuracy as possible (without buying specialized equipment) the fat percentage of ground beef. Is anyone aware of a method that will get me reasonably close?
I ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
Are roasted nuts nutritionally different from raw nuts?
If I roast a selection of mixed nuts, does it significantly change their nutritional content?
Also: Are there any potential food safety issues around roasting nuts (e.g. does it damage the oils)?
3
votes
2answers
140 views
Why would I want to use the creaming method in waffles?
All good chemical leavened waffle recipes I have had (the ones from New best recipe, Bittman, etc.) instruct me to melt solid fats before adding them to the waffle batter. I only once tried a recipe ...
2
votes
2answers
180 views
What are the benefits of making butter at home?
I've recently realized how easy it is to make your own butter at home (thanks, SA!). Are there any significant benefits to this as opposed to buying butter in the grocery store?
I do not have access ...
2
votes
3answers
154 views
Replacing cream and butter in a carrot casserole/pie
Casserole from pureed carrot (it may be a "pie" rather than a "casserole" though - my footing in Anglo cooking terms isn't very strong, feel free to edit) is a traditional Finnish recipe.
...
2
votes
3answers
509 views
Blow torching meat after sous vide - add fat or not?
After I pull the meat out of the sous vide and then use a blow torch to sear it, should I use a fat on it or not? Will that get a better crust on it?
2
votes
3answers
135 views
Will flavors marry in compound butter if given sufficient time to rest?
Edit: I plan to actually do a blind taste test to put this question to bed and satisfy my curiosity. If anybody wants to beat me to it, please feel free.
If you make a salsa (for example) and store ...
2
votes
1answer
228 views
Why isn't the beef fat in my chili melting?
I'm making some Texas-style chili ("beans optional" :) for the second time, and the fat on my brisket just does not want to melt. As the recipe instructs, the chili sits on the stove for 4+ hours at a ...
