We recently had a 90 for Life Triber-er ask this cooking/baking ingredient question:
QUESTION: I know bottled oils are bad for us. Is that all bottled oils? What about melting shortening for fried foods?
ANSWER: Melted shortening is probably the worst. It’s not just “partially hydrogenated oils” (meaning artificial molecular structure) — it’s actually “FULLY hydrogenated oils.”
Dr. Wallach says to cook with BUTTER on low heat, but don’t let the butter turn brown (browed butter means it has oxidized and turned into a harmful oil).
Actually, they used to cook with LARD (before there was shortening), and if it’s on low heat, Dr. Wallach says this is safer — but BUTTER is the only one where you can tell when it oxidizes because of the color change (it turns brown), so it’s the one of these options where you can tell by looking whether or not it’s safe. This is why Dr. Wallach recommends butter.