Which FAT is the best?

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Lard vs olive oil vs groundnut oil vs butter vs the fat of the goose etc etc.

This is all Starry's fault.

― RickyT (RickyT), Thursday, 6 January 2005 10:16 (twenty years ago)

Duck/goose fat

― Stevem On X (blueski), Thursday, 6 January 2005 10:19 (twenty years ago)

The fat on parma ham. If you chew it for long enough, it's like chewing gum.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Thursday, 6 January 2005 10:19 (twenty years ago)

For versatility, olive oil. For bestness, LARD.

― Liz :x (Liz :x), Thursday, 6 January 2005 10:20 (twenty years ago)

Oh my god now this is a much harder thread.

I mean, SUET is grebt but frankly I only know how to use it in DUMPLINGS, which admittedly are the foods of the god. Apparently it is also used in STEAMED PUDDINGS too which are also godlike, but not things I make at home. So if we eliminate the suet, we are left with EVERYTHING ELSE O DERE LORD.

Goose fat = brilliant, but used specifically for roasting? Has anyone fried stuff in goose fat? I haven't! Why haven't I? OH MY GOD I AM A LAME HUMAN BEING.

Groundnut oil tho. Despite owning some and even using it, I object to it's flavourless state as being a bit of fannydangle and feel I should stop being a ponce and use veg/sunflower* oil instead.

Olive oil is THE HEALTHY FAT and therefore it cannot be the best although I admit to being rather a heavy consumer of it (HAW! heavy! see what I did there).

I think the best fat must be one that comes from an animal that you cook yourself.

YES!!!

*is there really a diff between em?

― Starry (hello chickens), Thursday, 6 January 2005 10:21 (twenty years ago)

Butter makes any food good and good food heavenly. It may be bad for you.

― robster (robster), Thursday, 6 January 2005 10:22 (twenty years ago)

Yes but butter has the SPREADABLE PROBLEM which means I often have butter AND a spreadable goo in my fridge (generally olive oil spread) - butter for cooking purposes and spreadable for TOAST/RAW TOAST purposes.

No I am not patient enough to wait the maybe 30 seconds it takes for your butter to melt on the hot toast.

― Starry (hello chickens), Thursday, 6 January 2005 10:24 (twenty years ago)

Has anyone ever bothered with walnut oil?

Possibly the worst oil is baby oil.

― Starry (hello chickens), Thursday, 6 January 2005 10:27 (twenty years ago)

Walnut oil is for gheye vinagrette, surely. Hence, not to be bothered with.

― Liz :x (Liz :x), Thursday, 6 January 2005 10:29 (twenty years ago)

they're all pretty crap, but FAT32 is probably the best one

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 6 January 2005 10:30 (twenty years ago)

Ken, is it absolutely vital that you make crap puns on every single thread?

― RickyT (RickyT), Thursday, 6 January 2005 10:33 (twenty years ago)

Butter is the best because I forgot that toast is the #1 carb and clearly you must have butter on toast. Or strawberry jam. Or orange marmalade.

― youn, Thursday, 6 January 2005 10:37 (twenty years ago)

Recently marmalade has disappointed me: I tried an orange and ginger preserve and it was lovely but then I tried the supermarkets own brand and it was foul. There you go. Anecdote city round my parts today, aint it?

Youn - how do you get around the problem is waiting for the butter to melt so you can spread it?

Does anyone here keep their butter in a butter dish and NOT the fridge?

― Starry (hello chickens), Thursday, 6 January 2005 10:38 (twenty years ago)

Don't melt the butter on the toast. You could put a pat of butter on the edge of your plate before you make tea or coffee or anything.

Soft-boiled eggs should count as a fat, too. #2 Soft-boiled eggs.

― youn, Thursday, 6 January 2005 10:42 (twenty years ago)

Lard is the best fat, without a doubt because it is only with LARD that you can make GOOD PIE (1 part lard, 1 part butter, 2 parts flour, I think)

― Johnney B (Johnney B), Thursday, 6 January 2005 10:59 (twenty years ago)

That would make extremely short pastry. More like 4 parts flour, I reckon. But yes, lard is teh pastry god. Also I have experimented with lardy dumplings, which turn out very fluffy and nice but not really worth the additional bother of cutting the lard into the flour.

― Liz :x (Liz :x), Thursday, 6 January 2005 11:01 (twenty years ago)

cream is pretty rocking. Does that count?

― papa november (papa november), Thursday, 6 January 2005 11:03 (twenty years ago)

Eh, unless it's above 50% fat I don't think it should. Preferably over 70%, but I guess useless margarine should get a fair trial.

― Liz :x (Liz :x), Thursday, 6 January 2005 11:04 (twenty years ago)

Cream crosses the line from FAT into DAIRY which is sadly why cheese does not count for the purposes of this thread.

― Starry (hello chickens), Thursday, 6 January 2005 11:05 (twenty years ago)

Isn't ordinary margarine 80%? It's only the low-fat margs (the whole concept of which = INSANE) that are less, I think.

― RickyT (RickyT), Thursday, 6 January 2005 11:06 (twenty years ago)

gosh sorry i made a crap pun on a copycat thread!

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 6 January 2005 11:11 (twenty years ago)

It's not a copycat thread, Ken.

― Liz :x (Liz :x), Thursday, 6 January 2005 11:14 (twenty years ago)

well my pun wasn't bad.

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 6 January 2005 11:15 (twenty years ago)

god's sake.

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 6 January 2005 11:15 (twenty years ago)

Does anyone here keep their butter in a butter dish and NOT the fridge?
Me, I do! It's the way forward. Luvverly spreadable butter, only at risk of going off in the summer (when you just have to remember to keep it covered and in a cool press, not on a warm, sunny countertop).

Plus it gives the cats something to work towards. Cats be lovin' butter.

It's only the low-fat margs (the whole concept of which = INSANE)

This is true. There's nothing more depressing than watching your low-fat spread sweating on top of your bread. Little beads of water should not appear on top of toast.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Thursday, 6 January 2005 11:17 (twenty years ago)

I think low fat marge is ok if you then cover it in marmite/jam/chocolate spread but obviously can't be countenanced when what you really want is rockist hot buttered toast.

I keep my butter in the fridge in summer, out in winter.

Butter and olive oil are the best fats, don't like those meaty ones. Sesame oil is quite nice.

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 6 January 2005 11:27 (twenty years ago)

margarine is disgusting. i had a friend in college who would cook everything with it. i can still remember how revolting her pie crusts were - yellow and soggy and vaguely greasy.

― lauren (laurenp), Thursday, 6 January 2005 11:38 (twenty years ago)

starry and youn have all the tips and thus own the thread.

― marge (not entirely unhappy), Thursday, 6 January 2005 11:45 (twenty years ago)

Since Starry kindly asked about using goose fat for anything other than roasting, I have vast excesses of it in my fridge at the moment and I will start looking at ways of experimenting to answer this vital question.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Thursday, 6 January 2005 11:51 (twenty years ago)

Swim the Channel!

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Thursday, 6 January 2005 11:53 (twenty years ago)

You know I have never thought of keeping the butter outside in winter and inside in summer! My LIFE I am lame. This reminds me I need a butter dish.

TO EBAY!

Marg is kind of pointless though, isn't it. The only point of marg wz that it was spreadable and now EVERYTHING appears to have a spreadable format (apart from Yorkshire butter = HARDKORE) there's no POINT, especially as marg aint THAT cheaper, is it.

We have forgotten about GHEE too, which really makes a mean curry. Lovely ghee.

― Starry (hello chickens), Thursday, 6 January 2005 11:54 (twenty years ago)

Make meaty mayonnaise with it!

xpost ghee is just clarified butter.

― Liz :x (Liz :x), Thursday, 6 January 2005 11:55 (twenty years ago)

Liz theoretically this should mean it does not make a diff to a curry but MY LIFE it does!

― Starry (hello chickens), Thursday, 6 January 2005 11:57 (twenty years ago)

I think I am very odd, but I HATE butter on baked potatoes. Don't know why. So I keep both marge and butter around, just for that reason. (Also in a sad attempt to control what I eat, if I have a low fat spread on my toast I figure I can have some other fat later, like crisps.)

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 6 January 2005 11:59 (twenty years ago)

TO EBAY!

I looked yesterday. They don't have any nice cheap ones.

Archel, that is odd.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Thursday, 6 January 2005 12:04 (twenty years ago)

Isn't that amazing, that we'd both look on eBay for butter dishes!

I mean, what are the ODDS!

― Starry (hello chickens), Thursday, 6 January 2005 12:05 (twenty years ago)

Oh my word, a butter CHURN!

― Starry (hello chickens), Thursday, 6 January 2005 12:06 (twenty years ago)

IKEA dudes. Pretty sure I've seen a good butter dish there.

― Liz :x (Liz :x), Thursday, 6 January 2005 12:07 (twenty years ago)

The Little Bay on Farringdon Road (which does excellent 6-7 early doors menus - 6 quid for a main - do chips fried in goose fat. God, they're good.

― Dave B (daveb), Thursday, 6 January 2005 12:10 (twenty years ago)

That means going to cocking IKEA whereas eBay means I don't even have to leave my desk. eBay totally wins my purchasing power.

xpost: Dave fancy after work chips and pint?

Soon?

Curse my lack of immediate proximity to Farringdon!

― Starry (hello chickens), Thursday, 6 January 2005 12:11 (twenty years ago)

I do indeed. However, our office boiler is knackered and we're all working from home. Huzzah!

― Dave B (daveb), Thursday, 6 January 2005 12:25 (twenty years ago)

they're all pretty crap, but FAT32 is probably the best one

I knew someone would beat me to the joke there. Damn.

― caitlin (caitlin), Thursday, 6 January 2005 12:29 (twenty years ago)

"Joke"?!

Dudes: BEEF DRIPPING!

― Starry (hello chickens), Thursday, 6 January 2005 12:34 (twenty years ago)

Well, it is a joke if you're rather geeky and enjoy making puns about the names of filesystem formats

(raises hand sheepishly)

My gran used to give me beef dripping on toast when I was little. It's NUM NUM NUM.

― caitlin (caitlin), Thursday, 6 January 2005 12:39 (twenty years ago)

mmmmmmmmmm, dripping on teh toast...

we looked for AGES for a butter dish without success, even in charity shops and stuff, and ended up buying some poncy normandy butter as it came in a little earthenware jar which nicely fits half a block of butter in.

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Thursday, 6 January 2005 13:26 (twenty years ago)

I keep my butter on a plate that's supposed to hold sushi. It is a rectangular plate and I find it does the job very well. When I don't want dirt and cats getting on my butter, I put it in the breadbin. Job done.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Thursday, 6 January 2005 13:31 (twenty years ago)

cream is pretty rocking. Does that count?

Sour cream, definitely.

― j.lu (j.lu), Thursday, 6 January 2005 14:15 (twenty years ago)

count yourself lucky you didn't make that joke caitlin.. or people might discover the shock horror that it isn't VITAL that you post to any thread??!!!

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 6 January 2005 14:37 (twenty years ago)

I'm sorry, are you trying to claim that SOUR CREAM is a FAT?!

― Starry (hello chickens), Thursday, 6 January 2005 14:39 (twenty years ago)

Sour cream is something you dip nachos in dahn t'Wetherspoons!

― Starry (hello chickens), Thursday, 6 January 2005 14:39 (twenty years ago)

Skipping 7 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Hm, what is the relationship between dipping something into a substance, and spreading something with a substance?

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 6 January 2005 15:00 (twenty years ago)

In both cases the more plastic substance is a condiment; the difference is only in the amount and the means of application. *polishes old pedantry badge*

― j.lu (j.lu), Thursday, 6 January 2005 15:02 (twenty years ago)

but if you keep the butter in the fridge in summer, why not in winter as well? isn't your house the same temp. inside year round? and even if it is a bit cooler, surely not cold enough to be sanitary unless you eat the whole stick of butter in a few hours. please don't tell me you leave milk out as well!

― Emilymv (Emilymv), Thursday, 6 January 2005 15:08 (twenty years ago)

sour cream is most certainly not to be eaten straight.

― lauren (laurenp), Thursday, 6 January 2005 15:10 (twenty years ago)

I've left butter out for as long as three weeks in the summer. Here I stand before you, a testimony to spreadable butter.

― lawrence kansas (lawrence kansas), Thursday, 6 January 2005 15:12 (twenty years ago)

Haha Emily my house is definitely not the same temp in winter. I only wish... But no I don't leave milk out. Butter doesn't go bad nearly as quickly though.

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 6 January 2005 15:25 (twenty years ago)

okay.. another question... is GHEE supposed to be kept in the fridge?? i've left mine in a cupboard in that little tin for like a year and had been eating it.. (it's finished recently though) have i just survived a major leap of faith in food inhygene or does ghee have some special property that makes it not go off??

and how comes ghee smells so much nicer than butter?

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 6 January 2005 15:28 (twenty years ago)

http://www.zingermans.com/zimages/product/opet.jpg

Olive oil! I don't know how I could cook without it.

― Leon the Fatboy (Ex Leon), Thursday, 6 January 2005 15:35 (twenty years ago)

Eg (altho I wd like to try it) one does not tear bits off blocks of lard/goose fat or drink olive oil. Therefore they are fats.

I have friends-of-friends who are hikers, who - they claim - have settled on LARD as their ideal munching-whilst-walking snack. Raw lard. Straight out of the packet.

― caitlin (caitlin), Thursday, 6 January 2005 16:33 (twenty years ago)

You are all mad.

― Starry (hello chickens), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:02 (twenty years ago)

That is clearly fucking disgusting caitlin, you should tell them. Though they'd obviously get on well with my sister.

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:03 (twenty years ago)

i thought this is a popular hiking practice actually.. cos lard is like high energy and light? or am i thinking of those dudes who cover themselves in lard to keep warm?

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:07 (twenty years ago)

It's not that light! Compared to say, Kendal Mint Cake.

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:08 (twenty years ago)

I once ate a bit of lard straight from the packet. It was revolting. Left my mouth feeling claggy for ages after.

― RickyT (RickyT), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:08 (twenty years ago)

but it's supposed to have more NRG or something (i am still not certain whether i have this correct btw)

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:14 (twenty years ago)

cos lard is like high energy and light?

Not exactly light, but calorically dense. Is lard solid at room temperature?

― j.lu (j.lu), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:15 (twenty years ago)

sick! lard as a snack? and since when did lard come in an easy to carry while hiking type of packaging? i only see it in giant buckets at the grocery. is it now on convenient store shelves next to the slim jims and fritos???

― Emilymv (Emilymv), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:22 (twenty years ago)

Lard Poppers

― Leon the Fatboy (Ex Leon), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:23 (twenty years ago)

You can get it in 250g blocks here. Still wouldn't want it in my rucksack though, superfood or not.

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:24 (twenty years ago)

pardon me, young convenient store clerk, but i need ten dollars worth on pump 2, this coca-cola, a pack of camels, and these tasty lard lumps. thanks!

― Emilymv (Emilymv), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:27 (twenty years ago)

Well, what is the nutritional profile of pork rinds?

― j.lu (j.lu), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:31 (twenty years ago)

maybe they could package the lard as a yummy dip for your pork rinds.

― Emilymv (Emilymv), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:34 (twenty years ago)

I only saw one of this year's Royal Institution Lectures about Antarctica; they had a bit about 'what should you eat to give you the energy you need to cross the ice?' and they said 'fat'. And then showed some venture scouts eating butter and drinking half-pints of vegetable oil. I nearly vommed.

― Dave B (daveb), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:40 (twenty years ago)

I just realized that I never put any fat in anything. I do not have butter at home, nor margarine for that fact -- and no oil with the exception of olive oil which I use approximately once every 2 months. I AM LO-FAT, and I didn't even know it!

― jill schoelen is the queen of my dreams! (Homosexual II), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:40 (twenty years ago)

Horselover Fat!

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:45 (twenty years ago)

maybe they could package the lard as a yummy dip for your pork rinds.

Just the thing for low-carbers! (While googling I saw a reference on a low-carb board to a snack of pork rinds topped with cream cheese. I think I speak for many of us when I say "Ew.")

― j.lu (j.lu), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:46 (twenty years ago)

mmmmm, lardo.....

http://www.pabsas.com/upload/lardo%20al%20rosmarino.jpg

― Vicky (Vicky), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:46 (twenty years ago)

obv, being boring for a minute, it depends on what you want the fat for, innit.

sesame oil is great for dressing asian style foods, duck/goose fat is delicious for frying/roasting potatoes, risotto is a completely different dish without olive oil (see also pasta, etc) lard totally makes pork pies (but you need lots of pork back fat in your sausagemeat and/or fatty pork belly, too)

― Vicky (Vicky), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:49 (twenty years ago)

have you guys not heard of french butter dishes! hygenic and your butter's always soft!

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:56 (twenty years ago)

What on earth is GHEE? Is it a brand name? And what sorts of dishes do you use lard for? Pie crusts I gather from above posts, but why? Does lard make the pie crust taste of pig? Or does it do something to the texture of the pie? Do you use lard in, say, apple pie as well? This is so interesting, I have only ever used oil and butter and margerine, I barely even knew there were other kinds of fat!

― Hanna (Hanna), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:56 (twenty years ago)

haha it has its own website: http://www.frenchbutterdish.com/

ghee is clarified butter, butter with the solid bits taken out.

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:58 (twenty years ago)

http://www.food-india.com/ingredients/i001_i025/i007.htm

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 6 January 2005 18:00 (twenty years ago)

There is coconut fat as well, to be considered!

Ghee - aha, I see, thanks for the info.

― Hanna (Hanna), Thursday, 6 January 2005 18:03 (twenty years ago)

lard makes pie crusts flakier than butter or margarine crusts

― laurence kansas (lawrence kansas), Thursday, 6 January 2005 18:28 (twenty years ago)

yeah butter and mrgarine make the cake too short

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 6 January 2005 18:30 (twenty years ago)

Eastern Europeans are STEALING our LARD!

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 6 January 2005 18:31 (twenty years ago)

I tend to use olive oil for regular shallow frying, extra virgin olive oil when the oil has to be raw (or in risotto), and butter in meat-based pasta dishes.

― Markelby (Mark C), Thursday, 6 January 2005 18:33 (twenty years ago)

i've got it!! hikers take lard with them on long journeys because it's so foul, that you'd only eat it when you're REALLY dying of hunger and so you'd be better at rationing your food, rather than yummy yummy kendal mint cake GRUBBGRUBB oh no it's gone!

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 6 January 2005 18:33 (twenty years ago)

Antartic explorers used to carry big tins of pemmican with them on expeditions. For years I never knew what pemmican was until I saw some in the maritime museum in Greenwich. It's a big flat tin with a layer of mince on the bottom, covered on top by LARD. The proportions appeared to be one third mince to two thirds LARD. The explorers would heat the tins over a fire and eat their yummy pemmican.

And then their toes would drop off. Ha ha.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Friday, 7 January 2005 09:32 (twenty years ago)

Unless they were Roald Amundsen, who played about with the proportions of his pemmican, including a bunch of meat and vegetables, so that he and his chaps remained perfectly healthy during their entire time in Antarctica. Also they ate a lot of seals and penguins. And some dogs.

― Liz :x (Liz :x), Friday, 7 January 2005 09:39 (twenty years ago)

I remember an episode of Northern Exposure in which Rob Morrow's character found himself on some Russian airliner and the passenger next to him offered him a bite of his bear lard bar. He managed to choke one bite down to be polite.

I'll vote for olive oil, as it's versatile and relatively healthy. When I buy a bottle I decant most of it to a jar for storage in the fridge, where it becomes semi-solid and can therefore be conveniently spread on bread for making garlic bread, etc.

― nickn (nickn), Friday, 7 January 2005 20:58 (twenty years ago)

imagining the taste of butter in wine has made me realize that it is gross.

― youn, Saturday, 8 January 2005 16:58 (twenty years ago)

Possibly the worst oil is baby oil.

Yes, how do they extract that?

― MarkH (MarkH), Saturday, 8 January 2005 17:00 (twenty years ago)

All it takes is a good stump grinder.

What?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 8 January 2005 17:02 (twenty years ago)

Salo is the perfect snacking fat. Probably the least healthy food I've ever had...

Has anyone ever tried chocolate covered salo? It seems like a heart-stopping dream.

― Augustine (Augustine Bearse), Saturday, 8 January 2005 21:35 (twenty years ago)

a trip to the FCKF has reminded me that the best fat is indeed Southern Fried Chicken

― ken c (ken c), Saturday, 8 January 2005 23:18 (twenty years ago)

If olive oil is expressed from olives, and soybean oil from soybeans...where does motor oil come from?

― j.lu (j.lu), Sunday, 9 January 2005 00:42 (twenty years ago)

sand

― Bernard the Butler (Lynskey), Sunday, 9 January 2005 01:12 (twenty years ago)

dudes,
if you are in america, there is a great new product.

spreadable butter in a tub. its fucking fantastic.

its by land o lakes.

― t0dd swiss, Sunday, 9 January 2005 01:29 (twenty years ago)

six months pass...

butter

― youn, Tuesday, 19 July 2005 01:19 (nineteen years ago)

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