F food label guidelines

[Torn Mind]

When zero isn't zero.

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A week or two ago, I got some espresso Mascarpone cheese from Safeway. I had tried out regular cheese a week before that. This pre-prepared tiramisu cheese tasted sweet while the plain mascarpone did not. The serving size was a dinky 2 tbsp, and BelGioioso obviously put in the maximum 0.5 grams they could in that "serving" of cheese.

So beware of foods that used to have trans fats formed from a manufacturing process...because they still might have them in "small" amounts.
At least for me, those oils are repulsive and I have no appetite for the likes of the Skippys and Jifs of the world.

 

[brianmanahan]

but choosy moms choose jif

 

[Torn Mind]

but choosy moms choose jif

Cheapo store peanut butters suck. I grind my own nuts to make my peanut butter.

 

[Captante]

I grind my own nuts

Somehow this doesn't surprise me one bit!

Also peanuts are not actually "nuts" at all... they're legumes. (beans)

 

[snoopy7548]

I buy the store-brand all natural peanut butter. The only ingredients are peanuts and salt. You do have to stir it up since the oil naturally separates, but it's definitely worth it. It's not as creamy as Jif (there are extremely tiny chunks of peanuts), but it tastes better and is healthier.

 

[Captante]

I buy the store-brand all natural peanut butter. The only ingredients are peanuts and salt. You do have to stir it up since the oil naturally separates, but it's definitely worth it. It's not as creamy as Jif (there are extremely tiny chunks of peanuts), but it tastes better and is healthier.

I prefer the "intentionally" crunchy kind (even though it contains fewer peanuts) but otherwise same here.

 

[Torn Mind]

At $1.50 for 16 oz at Harris Teeter a few months ago, I got a big stash. They get ground in a blender and I add a little sesame oil to moisten the powder.

I prefer sweet the Salty, so yeah, I like my nut butter unsalted. So easy to just devour 8oz. Store butters are not as appetizing.

Come to think it, I might want SweetNuts as a new username.

 

[otho11]

Just looked at a Pam cooking spray label:
The 0.25 gram serving (1/4 second spray) has zero calories and 463 servings of propelled oil.

 

[Captante]

Just looked at a Pam cooking spray label:
The 0.25 gram serving (1/4 second spray) has zero calories and 463 servings of propelled oil.

I've bolded the problem with nearly all cooking sprays for you. (also spray some of that nasty chemical-crap on your finger and taste it.... ick!)

Buy a bottle of corn, canola or peanut oil instead.... if you need "spray" buy a small food-grade atomizer. (they're cheap)

 

[herm0016]

I've bolded the problem with nearly all cooking sprays for you. (also spray some of that nasty chemical-crap on your finger and taste it.... ick!)

Buy a bottle of corn, canola or peanut oil instead.... if you need "spray" buy a small food-grade atomizer. (they're cheap)

or none of that crap and use olive oil! seed oils are not good for you. we avoid them most of the time.

 

[Torn Mind]

I've bolded the problem with nearly all cooking sprays for you. (also spray some of that nasty chemical-crap on your finger and taste it.... ick!)

Buy a bottle of corn, canola or peanut oil instead.... if you need "spray" buy a small food-grade atomizer. (they're cheap)

Seed oils are sins against your body. They are "durable perishables". The looks good, but they slowly oxidize over time and those chemicals are no good for you. Plus, you're subjecting fragile fats with double bonds to enormous heat.

 

[Captante]

or none of that crap and use olive oil! seed oils are not good for you. we avoid them most of the time.

I don't use canola myself but both corn and peanut oil impart a specific and desirable flavor to some foods while grape-seed oil for another example imparts very close to none. (thanks food network lol)

The oil I use in cooking 90% of the time however is *organic ex-virgin olive-oil.

*(you started it)

 

[Captante]

And again anyone ever actually TASTE "cooking-spray" on its own?

Spraying that crap on anything you plan on eating is gross.... I don't even like using it on a grill-surface!

 

[lxskllr]

I use olive oil exclusively in the house. Canola oils my chainsaw bars.

 

[Captante]

There are times however when EVOO isn't suitable for the reasons I mentioned above plus the "smoke" factor.

Type of Fat	Smoke Point	Neutral?*
Safflower Oil	510°F/265°C	Yes
Rice Bran Oil	490°F/260°C	Yes
Light/Refined Olive Oil	465°F/240°C	Yes
Soybean Oil	450°F/230°C	Yes
Peanut Oil	450°F/230°C	Yes
Clarified Butter	450°F/230°C	No
Corn Oil	450°F/230°C	Yes
Sunflower Oil	440°F/225°C	Yes
Vegetable Oil	400-450°F/205-230°C	Yes
Beef Tallow	400°F/205°C	No
Canola Oil	400°F/205°C	Yes
Grapeseed Oil	390°F/195°C	Yes
Lard	370°F/185°C	No
Avocado Oil (Virgin)	375-400°F/190-205°C	No
Chicken Fat (Schmaltz)	375°F/190°C	No
Duck Fat	375°F/190°C	No
Vegetable Shortening	360°F/180°C	Yes
Sesame Oil	350-410°F/175-210°C	No
Butter	350°F/175°C	No
Coconut Oil	350°F/175°C	No
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil	325-375°F/165-190°C	No

What's a Smoke Point and Why Does it Matter? (Serious Eats)

 

[Torn Mind]

There are times however when EVOO isn't suitable for the reasons I mentioned above plus the "smoke" factor.

Type of Fat	Smoke Point	Neutral?*
Safflower Oil	510°F/265°C	Yes
Rice Bran Oil	490°F/260°C	Yes
Light/Refined Olive Oil	465°F/240°C	Yes
Soybean Oil	450°F/230°C	Yes
Peanut Oil	450°F/230°C	Yes
Clarified Butter	450°F/230°C	No
Corn Oil	450°F/230°C	Yes
Sunflower Oil	440°F/225°C	Yes
Vegetable Oil	400-450°F/205-230°C	Yes
Beef Tallow	400°F/205°C	No
Canola Oil	400°F/205°C	Yes
Grapeseed Oil	390°F/195°C	Yes
Lard	370°F/185°C	No
Avocado Oil (Virgin)	375-400°F/190-205°C	No
Chicken Fat (Schmaltz)	375°F/190°C	No
Duck Fat	375°F/190°C	No
Vegetable Shortening	360°F/180°C	Yes
Sesame Oil	350-410°F/175-210°C	No
Butter	350°F/175°C	No
Coconut Oil	350°F/175°C	No
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil	325-375°F/165-190°C	No

What's a Smoke Point and Why Does it Matter? (Serious Eats)

Monounsaturated and saturated fats are still more stable chemically. The more double bonds, the more points an oxygen molecule or similar can interact with that bond. Saturated fats have no double bonds, only single bonds, while monounsaturated fats only have one double-bond.

So the tallow and the olive oil will have a longer shelf life.

 

[Zorba]

Cheapo store peanut butters suck. I grind my own nuts to make my peanut butter.

Sounds painful.

 

[Torn Mind]

Sounds painful.

I wear protection.

(Ear protection when using the blender)

 

[Captante]

Monounsaturated and saturated fats are still more stable chemically. The more double bonds, the more points an oxygen molecule or similar can interact with that bond. Saturated fats have no double bonds, only single bonds, while monounsaturated fats only have one double-bond.

So the tallow and the olive oil will have a longer shelf life.

The only oil I buy enough of to worry about shelf-life at all is EVOO anyway.

I find peanut oil to be the best combination of flavor and high temp-resistance for frying with corn oil the cheaper (and non-allergen) runner up.

 

[Zorba]

I use olive oil exclusively in the house. Canola oils my chainsaw bars.

Do you use it when cooking it into something like brownies or cornbread? Seems like it would impart the wrong flavors.

 

[Captante]

Do you use it when cooking it into something like brownies or cornbread? Seems like it would impart the wrong flavors.

You can use the super-light refined stuff as a sub for pretty much any oil however for baking I find real butter is usually by far the best tasting.

 

[lxskllr]

Do you use it when cooking it into something like brownies or cornbread? Seems like it would impart the wrong flavors.

I don't do much baking, and I guess 100% olive oil is a bit of a lie. It's the only bottled oil I buy, but if I were to make cornbread(haven't done it in ages), I'd use butter in my cornstick pans. For things that need a bit of oil as an ingredient, I haven't found that olive oil negatively affects flavor. It's either an improvement, or a neutral change. I'm not the most discerning taster though, so ymmv for flavor impression. I could see things like birthday cake being unworkable with olive oil, but I don't like those kinds of cakes, or cakes at all really.

 

[Zorba]

You can use the super-light refined stuff as a sub for pretty much any oil however for baking I find real butter is usually by far the best tasting.

Do you sub butter 1 for 1 with oil? Seems like that would be pretty unhealthy.

I use very little oil over all, so I always think I should figure out something better, but a normal sized jug lasts me like 18 months even when I'm doing all my own cooking. Basically put it in cornbread and a tablespoon or so when frying something.

 

[Captante]

I don't do much baking, and I guess 100% olive oil is a bit of a lie. It's the only bottled oil I buy, but if I were to make cornbread(haven't done it in ages), I'd use butter in my cornstick pans. For things that need a bit of oil as an ingredient, I haven't found that olive oil negatively affects flavor. It's either an improvement, or a neutral change. I'm not the most discerning taster though, so ymmv for flavor impression. I could see things like birthday cake being unworkable with olive oil, but I don't like those kinds of cakes, or cakes at all really.

I've made corn-bread with EVOO a couple times and it's pretty good... inferior to butter in flavor/texture though.

Olive-oil can work in stuff like biscuits or "savory" muffins too.

 

[Captante]

Do you sub butter 1 for 1 with oil? Seems like that would be pretty unhealthy.

I use very little oil over all, so I always think I should figure out something better, but a normal sized jug lasts me like 18 months even when I'm doing all my own cooking. Basically put it in cornbread and a tablespoon or so when frying something.

Depends on the recipe.... and yes butter IS pretty unhealthy!

Some baked stuff is okay "oily/greasy" which can happen when you use liquid oil in place of butter. I've found this doesn't happen with real butter. (unless you add way too much!)