Couple of questions, nuts and oils

[MamaLea]

First anyone know of a good source for raw nuts? I currently buy mine from whatever store I am at but now that I feel like I am good at soaking and dehydrating them I want to invest in better quality Online is best I guess so we don't have to worry about commute.

Also, I've been using canola oil as my light oil for high temp frying and in baking and such. But though I know it is better than the regular veg oil (read soybean oil) but I still think I can do better. But I don't know what kind of light oil is good for you and good for high temp cooking and baking.

Suggestions? Thank you!

[Millie Ivy]

Good idea toswitch from Canola, it's pretty icky stuff. Anything high temp, I use saturated fats, like lard, coconut oil, tallow, or sometimes butter depending on the heat and what I'm making. Ghee, bacon grease, and schmaltz are all good choices too!

Do you have a Costco nearby? I get some good nuts there.

[MamaLea]

So would I be able to stove top fry potatoes, like hash browns, in bacon fat? I have a lot and not many uses for it, so far i pretty much just add it to beans and veggies. If that would work, that would be perfect!

[ltlmrs]

We use bacon grease, chicken fat, lard, butter & olive oil for day to day frying (like eggs) and lard for deep frying. We don't deep fry very often, but when we do lard is great!

[ltlmrs]

Oh and for nuts we love Higher Power. Everything is presoaked and ready to eat

[mbravebird]

I vote for lard for frying/sauteing. We started using home-rendered lard from pastured pigs this year, and it is very affordable ($1 a pound). It also is one of the only food sources of vitamin D -- as long as the pigs were pastured. The vitamin D is what sways me to use it over the other traditional fats.

[JMJ]

mmm... dreaming of hashbrowns cooked in bacon grease. Sounds good to me! Canola oil is polyunsaturated, and polyunsaturated oils denature easily, which may make them carcinogenic, so they should never be used for any type of cooking, especially high heat. Omega 3's (like fish oils) are the most unsaturated, so you have to keep them in the fridge and use them within several weeks to keep them from going rancid. Canola oil is largely omega 6's, so it is safe for a longer period of time and at room temperature (though fridge is better), but it really should never be heated.

Also, a traditional diet usually tries to keep as close to a 1:1 ratio of omega 3's to omega 6's (and is careful about not getting too many polyunsaturated fatty acids period), so any canola oil in the diet would need to be balanced by eating more omega 3's. It's really easy for the ratio to get off or to eat too many polyunsaturated fatty acids when polyunsaturated oils are in the diet, so most TFers use saturated fats in cooking and olive oil on salads and avoid all vegetable oils as much as possible. If you make sure to have some flax (ALA omega 3) and fish oil (DHA and EPA omega 3's) in your diet, you'll get enough omega 6's by eating seeds, nuts, vegetables, and meats that all contain a small amount.

[Drummer's Wife]

We use olive oil, coconut oil, and bacon grease. What I need is to find a cheaper source for coconut oil - I pay $8 for a jar that doesn't last very long at all. I also need to find cheap raw nuts - mainly almond to grind into flour. Will have to check out the link posted above.

[CherryBomb]

Where do you all get your lard? The only lard at Kroger's and WalMart (the only local places with food here) have partially hydrogenated lard in them