mmm...fat.

on the advice of the originally intended recipient, i'm going to be lazy and post this here:

Wizgeneric's Quick Guide to Cooking with Fat:

Fat is a requirement for all cooking. Not only can it add flavour of
its own, it also acts as a flavour transporter for the other
ingredients in the dish and helps them to blend.

1. Butter - milkfat. 100c/T
pro: tastes great. adds a creaminess to dishes other fats can't. adds a fluffiness to baked goods. less calories than other fats.
con: cholesterol and saturated fat. low smoke point, burns easily.
best for: eggs, potatoes, anything milk-based, baking, vegetables.

2. Extra Virgin Olive Oil - the first pressing from the olives. 120c/T
pro: tastes great, high in "good fats."
con: expensive, low smoke point.
tip: for frying in european dishes, and when flavour really matters, combine olive oil with butter. the flavour is phenomenal, and the olive oil will keep the butter from burning.
best for: tomato sauce, pan-fried chicken, potatoes (with butter), finishing steamed vegetables, cold in dressings.

3. Virgin Olive Oil - early pressings, but not the first. 120c/T
pro: still good flavour, high in "good fats," cheaper than extra virgin.
con: still retains low smoke point, not as rich flavour as extra virgin.

4. "Light" Olive Oil - later to last pressings. 120c/T
pro: cheap, high smoke point compared to other olive oils, still retains the "good fat" benefits of olive oil, essentially flavourless.
con: won't give you the flavour of the higher quality pressings.
best for: frying, stir frying, baking, anywhere you want a healthy oil without the flavour of ripe olives.

5. Canola Oil - also called Rapeseed. 120c/T
pro: nearly flavourless, cheap, high smoke point.
con: not entirely flavourless.
best for: deep frying, industrial uses. i personally don't use it at all, but it's used all up and down in restaurants and packaged foods.

6. Sesame Oil - pressed from roasted sesame seeds. 120c/T
pro: great flavour, a must for asian cooking
con: expensive! difficult to handle, low smoke point.
tip: add it in the beginning of stir fry to get it fully heated before adding the vegetables. sesame oil has a weird temperature range where it tastes burnt, but heated above that, it just gets nice and nutty. because it is so expensive, i usually do 2 parts light olive oil or peanut oil to 1 part sesame oil
best for: asian cooking or dressings.

7. Clarified Butter - aka ghee. ?c/T
pro: good flavour.
con: either expensive or labour intensive
best for: a must for authentic indian cooking. also really, really good for baking if you're feeling indulgent.

8. Other "vegetable oils" - corn, sunflower, safflower, soybean. 120c/T
pro: cheap and flavourless, really high smoke points. sunflower is getting attention for the same "good fats" in olive oil.
con: flavourless, most lacking of the "good fats" in olive oil.
best for: deep frying at temps over 400F. corn oil is traditional for latin american and caribbean cooking.

9. Margarine/shortening - solidified vegetable oil. 120c/T
pro: cheaper than butter, essentially flavourless.
con: trans fats!!
best for: well, given the research about trans fat recently, i'm not sure it should ever be used. no one's come out with a shortening vs. lard comparison, so i still use it for pie crusts and biscuits...any shortbread. some companies are coming out with trans-fat-free versions, which i have yet to try, but are probably healthier than lard.

10. Lard - pork fat. ?c/T
pro: adds an incomparable flakiness to pastries, shortbreads, and pie crusts.
con: saturated fats, cholesterol. personally, not a fan of the flavour.
best for: traditional pastries or pies.
tip: if i'm going to cook with pig fat, i'd rather choose a recipe that has bacon or sausage in it and just render the fat out of that.


11. Schmaltz - chicken fat ?c/T
pro: cheap, easily accessable.
con: saturated fats, cholesterol,limited use.
best for: traditional eastern european cooking, especially jewish.

12. Peanut Oil - 120c/T
pro: also good for asian cooking, cheap, high smoke point.
con: some people are allergic to it, not as much flavour
best for: deep frying, asian stir fries, combine with sesame oil.

13. Gourmet Nut oils - walnut, pecan, etc. 120c/T
pro: high in good fats, tend to retain flavour of nuts.
con: severly expensive, very low smoke points
best for: dressings. finishing steamed vegetables. don't even bother heating these.