Since I was born and raised in the south, I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying many fried delicacies.
French fries, fried pork chops, fried chicken, and one of my personal favorites as a kid, fried bologna.
My grandmother would fry bologna for me in a small cast iron skillet with bacon grease.
The bacon grease was kept on the top of the stove in a mason jar.
I can see her as I write this…pouring the bacon grease into the skillet and waiting for it to start popping then placing the slab of bologna in it.
When the bologna was near done, it would rise into a dome and she’d cut two slits in it on both sides and shovel it out the skillet onto a piece of bread waiting with lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise.
Ah..the memories of a fried bologna sandwich…there’s nothing like it!
As I transformed from a wide eyed bologna lovin’ kid into a fast food fiendin’ teenager, the bacon grease disappeared and was replaced by a can of Crisco.
Crisco came in a tin can with a small plastic lid.
The experts and the advertisements on tv said vegetable shortening was heart healthy and better for our cholesterol.
Was it really or was it a small cog in an even bigger wheel?
It’s no secret now Crisco was the mother that gave birth to higher cholesterol, arteriosclerosis, and heart disease.
Once Crisco challenged and won the victory over animals fats and butter for cooking, the landscape of health changed drastically.
How did Crisco win the battle and give way for other vegetable oils to enter the market?
Secondly, why are these oils so harmful?
Hmm…
These Oils Ain’t Right
Few if any of us know the process of taking corn, cotton seed, or rapeseed (canola) and turning it into oil.
What we do know, is at any given time we can walk into any grocery store and pick up a clear plastic bottle of it.
I’ve said this before and I’ll repeat it, convenience in most cases is the quickest route to bad health.
Vegetable oils are convenient and there is a big reason why.
The process of how vegetable oils are made is one of using heat and chemicals to produce the end product.
Here’s the kicker….even though these oils undergo various chemical processes they are still rancid once they’re finished.
The rancidity of these oils creates oxidation which creates inflammation.
Inflammation is the catalyst for all disease more notably heart disease and obesity.
These happen to be two of our biggest societal ills.
Ironically, vegetable oils are listed as heart healthy and they’re anything but!
If they aren’t healthy then what are the best oils for cooking?
The Best Oils For Cooking
it is my intention to give you the 5 best oils to cook with so here goes:
Beef Tallow, Lamb Tallow, Lard – If you’ve ever cooked beef, lamb, or pork then you’ve probably experienced tallow and didn’t know it.
Tallow is what could be called the drippings or “grease” left behind after meat cooks.
It has an excellent smoke point (can withstand high heat) and can be stable whenever you’re frying or baking.
Did you know McDonald’s used to fry their french fries in beef tallow before switching to vegetable oil?
Beef, lamb, and lard can be easy to obtain by cooking these meats and saving the drippings in a jar.
If you prefer to purchase it the conventional way, beef tallow and lamb tallow can be ordered from US Wellness.
Coconut Oil – One of my all time favs!
I’ve been cuckoo for coconut oil for a long time!
Coco Oil has a very high smoke point and is excellent for cooking, however, it can be expensive.
You’ll want to use it very sparingly.
Have you ever had eggs scrambled in coconut oil?
They taste amazing!
As I said, use it sparingly for cooking but coco oil is so versatile you can use it on your skin, in your hair, and if you’re adventuresome, as a personal lubricant!
Ghee – Known as clarified butter, it’s made by simmering butter and removing the milk solids from it.
Ghee also has a very stable in high heat.
If you’re going to use ghee make sure it comes from cows which are grassfed.
Palm Oil – Just like its cousin coconut oil, palm oil is high in saturated fat.
It is also very high in beta carotene.
Palm oil has a natural reddish color and a taste which in my opinion can be a bit overpowering.
I found a wonderful alternative made by Tropical Traditions called Palm Oil Shortening.
I really like using it to make scrambled eggs and hot wings on special occasions.
It comes in a gallon bucket and goes a long way if you’re on a budget.
These are the best oils I’ve found for cooking and I’ve personally used every one of them except lard.
Crisco made its debut in 1911 when butter and lard were king.
Coincidentally in 1912, James Herrick first described heart disease as hardening of the arteries.
The makers of Crisco, Procter and Gamble, designed a calculated campaign to convince housewives vegetable shortening was healthier than cooking with animal fats.
P and G were the catalysts for turning society away from healthy fats with slick marketing tactics.
Years later, Ancel Keys solidified fat phobia with a flawed scientific study.
Some people still believe eating fat makes you fat, raises your cholesterol, and gives you heart attacks.
I still cringe every time I’m at the grocery store and see someone in front of me with a clear plastic bottle with vegetable oil in it.
I then immediately think of how we all fell for the scam of throwing out the jar of bacon grease for the tin can with the plastic lid.
Some of us have reclaimed the bacon grease but some are still living inside the tin can.
Which one are you?
Now it’s your turn. What is your fave healthy cooking oil? What have you done to change the oils you cook with? Leave your comments below.