See my understanding of coconut oil is it’s a better substitute for lard or shortening because 1. it’s unsaturated fat rather than saturated fat and 2. it’s not hydrogenated. It’s a vegetable oil that’s solid at room temperature, which is why you see it used in packaged baked goods a lot, because in the words of Alton Brown, “It’ll stay moist and unctuous while having the shelf life of uranium.”
Comment on Mmm kale
Droggelbecher@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Idk why people use coconut oil for things like that when olive oil is tastier, healthier, and, at least where I’m at, cheaper. I get the smoke point thing, but that’s not relevant for use cases like that.
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 1 week ago
Droggelbecher@lemmy.world 1 week ago
It does have saturated fat though. Rule of thumb, the lower the temperature at which a fat goes solid, the more saturated it is. But the solid texture can be helpful when replacement other solid fats, true!
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 6 days ago
Huh, I’ve been working under the impression this whole time that coconut oil is made of monounsaturated fat. That impression comes from watching some cooking shows that one time and thus might be incorrect.
Another thing about coconut oil compared to lard: You don’t have to take a band saw to a pig in order to make it.
Droggelbecher@lemmy.world 6 days ago
It’s absolutely healthier than animal fat, never mind the lack of cruelty! I wasn’t too sure anymore after your comment, so I looked it up, and it seemed that yeah, pretty saturated. I personally just use margarine even though it’s trans fats, because the amount I use won’t harm me much and it doesn’t require animals or being shipped from overseas. A little coconut oil definitely won’t kill you either!
LordKitsuna@lemmy.world 1 week ago
It’s my understanding that when used for frying coconut oil actually creates less of the harmful byproducts of being heated then eat olive oil does
Droggelbecher@lemmy.world 1 week ago
That’s the smoke point thing I mentioned.