Oil Dilemma

[PennyP]

Money is really tight around here, but health is also important to me.
Because of that, I am never sure what oil and such to use for my family. No matter what I use, pretty much, I get guilt trips.

Olive oil- pretty darn expensive, has a strong taste, and is unhealthy once cooked, but has the plus that it doesn't harden when its cold, so I guess it's good for salads.

Soy oil- I do try to avoid soy because of all the health issues, but soy is so rampant around here (anything you buy that has any oil in it, including canned tuna, has soy oil, and most of the ground meat comes with tvp flakes in it, and humus is sold mixed with soy), -t doesn't even have to be labeled as containing soy where I live- it just says "vegetable protein" or "vegetable oil" so even when I try to avoid it, I can't avoid it entirely... so I sometimes feel why bother? This is really the cheapest oil, but I try not to use it no matter what...

Canola oil- I do get guilt trips whenever using this, because when I use it, I feel like I'm just poisoning my family and feeding them pesticides and bleach, not to mention major GME stuff. But this is also one of the cheapest oils that doesn't get solid when cold, and I've sometimes used it in foods that are fried and then chilled (like an eggplant salad made from fried eggplant), but felt very badly about it afterward, but don't really know what else to do, as I can't fry olive oil, but when I tried using coconut oil, it just hardened into an unappetizing lump once I cooled off the food...

Coconut oil- I can't afford organic or cold pressed or whatever, I just got "regular" coconut oil from a baking store, because that was the only thing that was affordable. Is it still healthier than the other oils if it is refined? I'm not sure if it was or wasn't- it didn't say on the package. But anyhow, this is what I use almost all the time, because it seems to be the least bad of the lot. It just doesn't work with anything where I need liquid oil that will be eaten/stored cold, like mayo or salads, etc...

Butter- I only have non organic available, this is very expensive, and it hardens when cooled, so I can't use it for most things...

Animal fat- I use rendered chicken fat for lots of things, but the chickens I can afford are not free range or organic, and since impurities in animals are stored in their fat, I'm not sure how healthy this option really is...


So basically, my question is- what oil should I be using? I can't afford high end specialty oils, and I realize that none of these choices of oil are terrific, I just want to know which is least bad.
And then what do I do when I need a liquid oil? Which is the best choice?

[PennyP]

At this point, I basically feel like I can't do anything right and might as well not use any oil, because no matter what, I'm either feeding them carcinogens, gmos, pesticides, hormones, bleach, etc....
But I do know the importance of fat in our diets...

[mbravebird]

Are you asking about an oil for sauteing?

I use lard (pastured) for that. It's cheap around here if you render it yourself, about $1.00 a pound. I use it just for frying/sauteing, so about $7.00 lasts me 2 or 3 months. It's got a great fat profile, is stable in heat, and is one of the few natural source of vitamin D if it's from pastured pigs. Plus, rendering is really easy.

I get it from a local farm that raises pastured pigs. It comes frozen as "leaf lard".

HTH!

Also, peanut oil is an OK choice for a liquid oil. And it's affordable.

[PennyP]

Not just oil for sauteeing. I never know which oil to use for anything.
I've never seen peanut oil where I live...

[Magelet]

I think maybe it's a matter of changing your expectations of the fat you use. Olive oil is liquid at room temp, and coconut oil is liquid at body temp. If you take your cold food out of the fridge a little while before you eat it and let it come up to room temp (particularly if it's warm out), the fat won't be solid. (chicken or other poultry fat also is pretty much liquid at room temp.)

I use olive oil, butter, coconut oil (unrefined but I'd be fine using refined as well. I just like the taste better of the unrefined.) chicken fat, and beef fat as my primary fats.

I use olive oil for salad (of course), low temp sauteing (because I know people say it's horrible for that but honestly, it doesn't smoke, and people have even fried in olive oil for about forever), mayo (it does have a strong flavor but I like it. people also use walnut or sunflower oil, or bacon fat or chicken or duck fat. bacon and chicken fat are solid in the fridge but I think the mayo is fine anyways because it emuslifies.), most cold salads, bread, and more.

I use butter on bread, for sauteing, and to add fat to dairy soups and other dishes, on rice, and pasta, in sauces, straight on veggies, for frying eggs and by the pat.

Coconut oil we use for stir fries (higher heat than sauteing), cooking meat, bread, and that's mostly it because it's our most expensive fat. (also for eating straight with peanut butter, or on bread with meat) but it tastes yummy, is healthy, and is great for stir frying.

I use chicken and beef fats for frying eggs, cooking things that will go in meat dishes (like cooking taco meat or sauteing onions for a meat dish), and that's mostly it.

my fat choices are slightly more limited because I don't eat pork, and don't mix meat and dairy. if I ate pork, I would eat lots of non-hydrogenated lard.

Fat is expensive. We pay more for fat than for meat, and a huge portion of our food budget is fats. I think that non-organic butter if it's the best you can get, is still great. If you can't afford organic chickens, I'd still eat their fat. I know toxins are stored in the fat but it's still a lot better than canola or soy. I don't eat processed foods, partly because of the soy oil. I mean, if I'm at a party and someone brought storebought hummus, if the worst thing in it is soy oil, I'll have some but I would never buy anything with soy in it except fermeted soy sauce, or tofu (but that is very rarely bought). I also never buy anything with canola oil in it, or "vegetable oil". If I needed compromise oils, I would choose peanut and sunflower oils. Red palm oil (but not the white palm kernal oil) is also a good option, but I can't get it.

I hope that helps. Good fats are definitely the most expensive, and most important part of a TF diet.

[PennyP]

Thanks for that answer!
It can be pretty chilly here during the winter, so even if I took coconut oil out of the fridge, it would still be solid at room temperature and I can't use it for salads. One specific salad I make calls for deep frying eggplants, then cooling them off and mixing them with vinegar, peppers, etc... But when that is cold, the coconut oil is no longer good. What oil can I use both for sauteeing and then cold?

Can you explain to me the difference- what is the difference between white palm kernal and red palm oil, and is one bad and the other good? Because I do have some palm oil here, and I don't know which it is.

[swood]

How about online sources for oil? www.soaperschoice.com has every kind of oil you can imagine at the best prices that I know of, even after factoring in shipping. You can get organic, non-organic, extra virgin, refined, etc. The bottles are generally 3 lbs which is 7/8 gallon or 112 oz which you can use to calculate your final cost. You will save some on shipping if you can order multiple bottles. Coconut oil is good for at least 2 years and getting refined CO should be fine if you are primarily cooking with it anyways. You could try co-oping with friends or neighbors, and they don't have to be TF b/c you can get every kind of oil, so anyone who uses oil can find what they use.

I think I remember being troubled by the fact that most traditional oils are solid at room temp, but I guess I have adjusted. I use CO the most in baking, and when I'm going to use it, I just put hot water in my sink or in a bowl and warm up the CO. It only takes a few minutes to melt, then I can measure it easily. But I really only need liquid oil for salad dressings and it is more convenient for measuring. Other than that, why the the necessity for liquid oil?

Red Palm oil stays liquidy at room temperature, although it thickens in cooler temps. Even in the fridge it is the consistency of soft butter. I'd suggest transferring oil to containers that are easier to deal with, like wide mouth containers that you can get a spoon or knife into. And sometimes pourable containers like salad dressing bottles work better. I actually keep some CO in a narrow mouthed bottle with a neck for pouring (I still have to melt it most months of the year), and some in a wide mouthed jar.

Also, I really think any food that is fried is best when eaten hot. If you refrigerate leftovers, they are not going to be as good cold, no matter what kind of oil you use. Even olive oil gets solid in the fridge (it should, anyways, if it is pure!) The fried food still needs to be reheated IMO, and even then it's never as good as the day you made it (true with lots of foods though!)

Other than that, I'd agree that conventional butter is a good option b/c it is the least processed and refined CO is good too. It may not have as many "benefits" as extra virgin, but I don't think it has the same unhealthy factors that industrial oils do.

[mbravebird]

Peanut oil is at all your major grocery stores. At Wal-Mart they sell it in bulk amounts as well as regular. We use peanut for deep-frying, like when we make french fries, because it's relatively harmless and natural (as long as you're not allergic to peanuts)and affordable and I don't mind throwing it out after using to fry. But you could use it for the hot-to-cold recipes you mentioned, since it doesn't solidify when it's cold. You could also use regular, untoasted sesame oil for that; it's similar in properties to peanut oil. They both have high omega-6's, but are not overly refined and are good in high heat and are traditionally used oils.

Honestly, though, I'd be using lard for the recipes you mentioned. We've seen skin health improvements since using lard for cooking, it's affordable, and it's good for you. It solidifies some when cool, but it doesn't get hard like coconut oil. It's got a very soft butter consistency when cool.

[PennyP]

I don't live in the US. I've never seen Peanut oil here even once. And lard also isn't available. Would other animal fats like rendered chicken fat also work?

[mbravebird]

Originally Posted by PennyP

I don't live in the US. I've never seen Peanut oil here even once. And lard also isn't available. Would other animal fats like rendered chicken fat also work?

Hmmmm. Beef fat (tallow) would work, but has a really strong taste. I don't think chicken fat has enough saturated fat to be shelf stable for very long, although chicken fat has some great immune boosters in it.

I don't know what country you're in, but are there any farmers raising beef or pork? Or any butchers in your town? Both of those are guaranteed sources of unrendered lard. You'd then take it home and render it, which is pretty easy -- I do it in the oven, and it takes about 15 minutes of my time, even though it stays in the oven for about five hours.

Sesame oil might be more available in some other countries.

What do the traditional cultures of the country you're in use for fats and oils?

[PennyP]

Originally Posted by mbravebird

Hmmmm. Beef fat (tallow) would work, but has a really strong taste. I don't think chicken fat has enough saturated fat to be shelf stable for very long, although chicken fat has some great immune boosters in it.

I don't know what country you're in, but are there any farmers raising beef or pork? Or any butchers in your town? Both of those are guaranteed sources of unrendered lard. You'd then take it home and render it, which is pretty easy -- I do it in the oven, and it takes about 15 minutes of my time, even though it stays in the oven for about five hours.

Sesame oil might be more available in some other countries.

What do the traditional cultures of the country you're in use for fats and oils?

The traditional cultures in this country use olive oil, chicken fat, and probably lamb fat as well.
I can get sesame oil, but its pretty expensive, not to mention really strong tasting, so its reserved for a few dishes only...

[cristeen]

Sesame oil has no flavor. Toasted Sesame oil however does. 2 totally different products.

Do you have any other nut/seed oils available? Walnut and sunflower are the 2 i use for cold applications i dont want to use olive for. Walnut for salad dressings and sunflower for mayo, usually. But both can be cooked with, also. Not ideal, but far better choices than soy or canola.

[mbravebird]

Oooh! Lamb fat sounds good to try. Can you contact a local farmer?

Yes on pp and the sesame oil. Toasted sesame is totally different from regular sesame, which has no flavor and does not cost as much.

[PennyP]

I can look into getting lamb fat and plain sesame oil. Occasionally I find nut oil around here, like walnut or macadamia or things like that. They're refined. Does that make a difference?

[PennyP]

Oh, and I think I saw sunflower oil around here as well. I'll have to try that. I just never knew what is healthy and what is not, so thank you for your answers!

[henny penny]

Sorry to hijack a bit here, but Mbravebird, could you tell how you render your leaf lard, please? Got some in the freezer waiting for me......

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by PennyP

I can look into getting lamb fat and plain sesame oil. Occasionally I find nut oil around here, like walnut or macadamia or things like that. They're refined. Does that make a difference?

Refined nut oil is going to be better healthwise than soy or canola.

I'm not a big fan of lamb fat. If lard doesnt work for you, lamb will be worse, it is much firmer at cold temps. It is also far more pungent IME.

[Snapdragon]

I use almond oil for cooking- it is expensive, but it is wonderful! Healthy and delicious.

[mbravebird]

Originally Posted by henny penny

Sorry to hijack a bit here, but Mbravebird, could you tell how you render your leaf lard, please? Got some in the freezer waiting for me......

I let it thaw just a little bit, then cut it into 1 inch chunks/cubes. I put a little bit of water (1/4 -1/2 cup?) in the bottom of my dutch oven, put the cubes of lard in, and put it in a 225 degree oven for 4 -5 hours, uncovered.

That's it! If I want very pure-tasting lard, I do an initial strain when the cracklings are still white and floating, closer to the 4 hour mark. Then I put the cracklings back in the pot and continue to roast until they're brown and all the fat is out. The longer the fat cooks, the stronger it tastes -- it's just a taste preference, depending on what you want to use it for.

I strain into quart jars and put in the fridge and/or freezer. Any water that's left separates out, and you can pour it off or just ignore it (it goes to the bottom).

[henny penny]

Oh, thank you, thank you mbravebird!!!