Questions tagged [fat]
The fat tag has no usage guidance.
38
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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 ...
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2
answers
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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 ...
- 1,199
22
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2
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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 ...
- 13.3k
18
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14
answers
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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.
Are there any other ways to remove excess fat without standing there and spooning out or ...
- 7,052
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4
answers
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At what temperature will the fats on meat render?
I am expectantly awaiting the arrival of a sous vide circulator. I saw a clip where someone cooked a duck breast sous vide, finishing it off in a frying pan to crisp the skin. That simply makes no ...
- 1,809
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2
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What limitations are there to sauteeing with water?
I was recently helping with some recipes and was instructed to use water for "sauteing" onions, celery, garlic, etc. in place of oil (scare quotes on "saute" since it involves frying in oil or other ...
- 11.7k
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2
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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 ...
- 13.1k
19
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4
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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?
- 560
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7
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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 ...
- 8,446
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2
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Why does the fat on my chicken broth sometimes solidify, sometimes not?
I've been making chicken broth pretty much the same way for decades. I cut up a whole chicken, cutting through the bones of all but the breast and thighs (to release marrow). I pretty deeply brown the ...
- 58.5k
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19
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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.
...
- 1,010
6
votes
2
answers
6k
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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 ...
- 11.7k
20
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2
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13k
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Is it safe to cook with food grade mineral oil?
There is a thing such as "food grade mineral oil". Does "food grade" means it is safe to cook with?
I know it is used widely for oiling cutting boards. Also, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (...
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2
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3k
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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 ...
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3
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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 ...
- 4,170
15
votes
11
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Can ghee be used instead of butter in dessert recipes?
Butter is an inevitable ingredient in most of dessert recipes. By definition, ghee is just clarified butter, but to me, the taste is completely different. The taste of butter is more close to heavy ...
- 1,232
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4
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3k
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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 ...
- 11.7k
12
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2
answers
18k
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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?
- 7,052
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8
answers
3k
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Is “ghee” clarified butter or beurre noisette?
Reading the Wikipedia pages on “Ghee,” “Clarified butter” and “Beurre noisette” has left me somewhat confused as to what ghee is. Some statements on the pages seem to suggest that it's always ...
- 2,672
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11
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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 ...
- 1,072
9
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4
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What can I do with the fat skimmed from chicken stock?
Two days ago I prepared some chicken stock. During the preparation, I took care to skim the grayish foam (as per procedure) and all went well. I usually freeze it for future use but this time I didn't ...
- 819
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8
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What can I do with the meat and fat trimmed from the top of lamb ribs?
I'm making rack of lamb tonight. I got the rack at a local farmer's market and it was a bit less butchered than I expected. I can (and did) trim it myself, but there seems to be a lot of meat embedded ...
- 191
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4
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537
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Removing fat from a recipe
If I see a recipe I like and it includes a marinade or sauce where butter or oil is a significant ingredient, is there any way to substitute that fat and preserve a similar taste and texture? For ...
- 1,770
5
votes
1
answer
779
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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 ...
- 1,234
5
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2
answers
1k
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Are there reasons to use olive oil when roasting food at high temperatures?
I see many times chefs choosing olive oil as the fat for cooking recipes that undergo heats of 400f+ (very much above the smoking point of refined olive oil) for 30 minutes, and its virgin olive oil ...
- 5,845
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votes
1
answer
4k
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How does fat affect gluten development in strudel/phyllo dough?
I'd like to prepare a strudel/phyllo dough from scratch,
and I have noticed that the recipe calls for about 10%-12% of olive oil mixed into the strudel dough.
I have learnt that oil and/or fat ...
- 51
5
votes
5
answers
26k
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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 ...
- 1,083
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votes
5
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How do you get gelatin from rendering cow fat?
In this answer to another question, someone mentioned that they got gelatin out of rendering cow fat. I'm about to render a bunch of cow fat in a few days, and I was wondering how to get gelatin from ...
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1
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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 ...
- 7,930
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5
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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 ...
- 575
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5
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How to mix cream to increase its fat percentage?
In my area the typical type of cream you can get is the one for whipped cream. It contains a fat percentage of about 35%. Some recipes call for higher fat percentages like 50% and up, so I'd like to ...
- 3,001
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votes
2
answers
2k
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How do I render large quantities of fat?
Suppose I have many pounds of fat to render. (Sometimes people have 100 pounds!) How can I do this efficiently?
Should I use a pot on the stove, a slow cooker, or the oven? How many pounds should I ...
- 58.2k
2
votes
2
answers
19k
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Substitues for Vegetable Oil -Spread-
A cake recipe of mine calls for ½ cup of Vegetable Oil Spread (Specifically stating 70% fat), which I don't currently have.
I found questions that deal with substituting either Butter for Oil, Oil ...
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2
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3k
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Should rendered pork lard be melting at only 85° F?
I recently rendered a bunch of pork fat into lard.
Some of it I froze (after solidifying in refrigerator), whereas the rest I put in mason jars and vacuum sealed. I just left these on a pantry shelf ...
- 383
1
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1
answer
6k
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How fast does pork fat spoil?
I have a mini-oven with a tray I use to fry my bacon for breakfast.
Quite a bit of fat leaks out from the bacon onto the tray. It sits there, in room temperature for a day or two, then I put more ...
- 3,013
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4
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3k
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Are there low-fat substitutes for shortening in baking?
My husband has just had stints put into his heart and is now on a fat/salt/sugar diet. I do all the cooking and enjoy making things from scratch. I am trying to adjust my recipes for his new diet. ...
- 21
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1
answer
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Grilling duck - How can I get the fat?
I'm going to grill a whole duck tomorrow. I am going to steam the duck before so the fat will render off. When that's complete, I am going to have a pot full of duck fat and leftover water.
What'...
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1
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How does meat nutritional profile change in freezing?
My teacher said that you cannot stop fats going bad with freezing. So fatty meat is not good idea to freeze over a long time. Are there other factors to consider in freezing meat?
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