How To Fry Without The Trans Fats?

By Paige Lee


Trans fats are in the news a lot nowadays because a new regulation requiring that they be included on food nutrition labels is already in effect. Trans fats are made when liquid oils are made into solids by a method called partial hydrogenation. This increases shelf life and flavor stability, but at the cost of increased health risks.

These fats have been discovered to raise blood levels of LDL (or "bad") cholesterol. That implies a significantly increased risk of heart problems.

Partially hydrogenated plant fats are present in about 40 percent of the food on grocers shelves. Cookies, crackers, and microwave popcorn are big sources of trans fats, as are other processed foods such as margarines, butter-type spreads and cooking or baking shortenings, salad dressings, cakes, donuts, break chips, chocolate candy, some breakfast cereals, French fries and other fried break foods. As of January 2006, makers are required to list trans fats as an element of the nutritive information box on all food labels.

That's the reason why there's a movement to reduce and eliminate trans fats from foods.

The new regulation doesn't apply yet to foods folk buy in bistros and other away-from-home eateries. Nonetheless food-service operators-including the big fast-food chains-know that they share the accountability for providing good food that can be part of a healthy diet.

The majority of the 925,000 diners in the U.S. Have fryers, and those fryers use just about 18,000 tons of fat annually, much of it partially hydrogenated fat and oils. These cafes are looking at methods to reduce trans fats in their menu choices without cutting out taste, and that includes finding alternative choices to partial hydrogenates.

One alternative gaining interest is an oil called low-linolenic soybean oil, made of a specifically bred soybean. It was developed especially to replace partly hydrogenated oils and may be employed alone or in blends with other vegetable oils that have low or no trans fats to lessen or perhaps eliminate trans fats in the foods fried in it.

To protect your well-being when you choose foods to enjoy at home, read the nutrition info panel and the ingredient label on packaged foods. And when you dine out, ask what type of oil the restaurant is using. In each case, you would like to avoid partially hydrogenated oils and tropical oils (which contain raised levels of unhealthy saturated fats). When you see "low-linolenic soybean oil," you know you will be eating healthy.

Hey Dummies! Why not click on jelly roll pan and read more!




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