Hydrogenated fats....alternative to Trex?

[Katymac]

I am on a reduce hydrogenated fats kick.....is there a non-hydrogenated fat version of Trex (lard is not an option I have a veggie)

Any ideas? I use Olive oil for frying etc but the solid versions of those seem to be hydrogenated (iyswim)

Help??

What would you use it for - baking, frying, pastry?

White Flora?

Says it is:

Veg oil, water, emulsifiers, mono and di-glycerides of fatty acids, sunflower lecithin, Vits E, A and D.

Are the emulsifiers hyrdogenated?

Hydrogenated fats or trans fats don't have to be listed on UK packaging, that's part of the problem. Some types of margarine say that they don't contain any ("I can't believe it's not butter", that sort of thing).

yep, no hydrogenated fats in white Flora.

guessing you want it for pastry-making (else just use normal Flora or similar spread)

Yorkshire puds & meat

I guess I could use olive oil for them too - I have always used lard and then moved to Trex when I got my veggie

we always do yorkshires in olive oil - works v. well.

yes, just use olive oil (or plain veg oil has a higher smoke point so will get hotter for yorkshires)

what do you do to meat that needs lard?

Yes, White Flora OK

"what do you do to meat that needs lard?".....Roast potatoes.......

I used to do chips in lard - but that's unacceptable now.....they did taste lovely tho'

Lard isn't a trans-fat, is it?

I thought it was a saturated fat.

I don't see what's wrong w/it in small doses, FWIW.

Personally, I'd rather have butter/lard than one of those fake-o spreads.

I'd go for lard any day.
Goose fat great too for roasties,but olive oil (not virgin) works well too.

yes lard
look at the Dutch
absolutely awash with it and bristling with health the lot of them

ahem, the OP is cooking for veggies, you lard-loving lot!

it'll put haris on their chests, let them have it

Has Trex been taken off the market because of the trans-fat scare? Is there any other product like Trex, not White Flora?

Lard isn't a trans-fat - no.

Trans-fats are only partially hyrogenated, so not saturated (which is a labelling point in the UK). It's only really vegetable fats that fall into the trans-fat category.

To replace Trex (I've never used it so only assuming what it is), you could get a product that is a blend of hard margarine and liquid oil. This should give similar melting characteristics to the trans-fat.

BTW, Sainsbury's has banned all trans-fats in their own brand products, so perhaps there is a product there for you.

cookeen is veg fat for making pastry. It looks like lard. Label says 'free from hydrogenated fats'

That means that it is unsaturated, as are trans fats.

Apparently all partially hydrogenated fats have both saturated and unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds in the same molecule..
And partial hydrogenation gives a softer fat than margarine..

My veggie left - so I can back to lard

A natural vegetable oil has several double bonds (polyunsaturated). Partial hydrogenation removes some of these but not all, so it is still an unsaturated fat.

When there is a C=C, each of these carbons is missing a hydrogen. It is when they are missing the hydrogen on opposite side - ie one of the C's has a hydrogen above it, and the other has one below it - that you get a trans fat.

A trans fat is a straight molecule, compared to its cis equivalent, which has a kink at the double bond. This makes a trans fat denser and gives it a higher melting point. Common trans fats are solid at body temperature, which is why they are thought to be responsible for coating the arteries.

Katy, lard is so much better for cooking, and as long as you aren't doing it every day, you shouldn't have to worry too much about the health risks.

When we lived in the US, it took me ages to track down lard, and had to use Crisco for roast potatoes, etc. I gave up because it was just so tasteless, no matter how much seasoning I added.

I love lard - we have roasties once a week & yorkshires once a fortnight & pancakes once in a blue moon

So I think we will be OK

We use Olive oil for eveything else - virtually no butter (except baking)

We are quite balanced really