I. Love. Fat. Oil, butter, chicken schmaltz\u2014you name it, I’m not afraid to use it liberally in my cooking. I grew up eating food that was cooked in extra virgin olive oil, so that\u2019s how all the tastiest dishes start, in my humble opinion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But if you’re afraid of the “F” word, you\u2019re not alone. We\u2019ve come a long way though from the days of thinking fat is the enemy, so here\u2019s why I think it\u2019s time to reframe your stance and start embracing it in your cooking. <\/p>\n\n\n
Fat is an important element of most dishes. If you try to cook something in a skillet without fat, <\/span>it\u2019s<\/span> probably<\/span> going<\/span> to be dry or c<\/span>harred.<\/span> When there\u2019s fat in the pan, it works as a heat conductor by bridging the heat from the surface of the pan to the food, allowing it to cook more evenly (and not stick to the pan). <\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n Fat is delicious! I use tons of olive oil in my cooking, but also cherish grapeseed and sunflower oils if I\u2019m deep frying or looking for a more neutral-tasting oil. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Fat is also a flavor carrier. There are some ingredients that are released in fat, like lemongrass, meaning its essence comes out in the presence of a fatty substance. (That\u2019s why lemongrass aioli is so divine!) <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Spices are bloomed in fat, making them taste better. If you put a block of turmeric in hot water, it renders a bitter, tannic taste. But when you infuse turmeric with oil, all the flavor is extracted by the fat, and it becomes a really tasty way to jazz up a dish.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n When I had kids, I included healthy fats in the cooking I did for them. It\u2019s an important ingredient for growth, brain development and energy. You can’t put a baby on a low-fat diet. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When I was breastfeeding, I learned that the fattiest part of the breast milk comes at the end of a feeding session. That\u2019s where all the soporific nutrients come out to help put the baby to sleep.<\/span> Magical!<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n The \u201clow fat\u201d movement was a marketing ploy, in my opinion. It should come as no surprise that there\u2019s an entire industry of low-fat foods that have made big corporations billions of dollars. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the ’80s and ’90s, everyone thought margarine was healthy because it didn\u2019t have butterfat\u2014turns out it\u2019s a trans-fat that’s terrible for you. It\u2019s since become known that grass-fed butter and vegetable oils are good for us\u2014it comes down to the quantity and the balance of the rest of the foods you\u2019re eating.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n Is there anything butter can\u2019t do? I mostly use it for baking, but <\/span>there\u2019s<\/span> nothing better than good bread with lashings of grass-fed butter. <\/span>It\u2019s<\/span> also wonderful for finishing sauces or vegetables. One of my favorite things to do is saut\u00e9 mushrooms in olive oil, then throw in a knob of butter at the end and let it brown, which gives a nutty flavor to the dish. <\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n If I roast a chicken or make pork, I\u2019ll strain the fat left in the pan, and keep it in my fridge. These fats are great for roasting or pan-frying vegetables\u2014I call it \u201cadded-value fat.\u201d It has more flavor than your standard fat and might even have picked up some of the aromatics that were in the spice rub. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Want to level up the most seemingly bland foods? Try adding a spoonful of your leftover added-value fat (like chicken schmalz, rendered pork fat or olive oil,) the next time you make beans or grains\u2014it’ll enrich the flavor and make it so tasty.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Murad, and are for informational purposes only, even if the advice of physicians and medical practitioners are included. This article is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, and should not be considered specific medical advice.<\/em> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I. Love. Fat. Oil, butter, chicken schmaltz\u2014you name it, I’m not afraid to use it liberally in my cooking. I grew up eating food that was cooked in extra virgin olive oil, so that\u2019s how all the tastiest dishes start, in my humble opinion. But if you’re afraid of the “F” word, you\u2019re not alone. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":3973,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food"],"metadata":{"_edit_lock":["1750792677:21"],"_edit_last":["21"],"adobe_analytics_repeatable":["a:1:{i:0;a:2:{s:4:\"name\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"value\";s:0:\"\";}}"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["60"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["1"],"show_featured_image":["1"],"_show_featured_image":["field_609ee1cf1ce13"],"primary_category":["3"],"_primary_category":["field_608c33bdd26d5"],"mobile_image":[""],"_mobile_image":["field_60bf7692abe28"],"_post_views_count":["field_6107dfafd6a27"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["3"],"_thumbnail_id":["3973"],"_wp_old_date":["2022-03-28"],"post_views_count":["3878"],"_yoast_wpseo_title":["The benefits of healthy fats | Murad Skincare"],"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":["Embrace healthy fats for joyful eating. Award-winning chef shares 6 reasons why good fats are essential. Transform your relationship with food."],"sidebar_products_use_global_default":["0"],"_sidebar_products_use_global_default":["field_63a349a11086a"],"sidebar_products_title":["Related Products"],"_sidebar_products_title":["field_6408d62123449"],"sidebar_products_items":[""],"_sidebar_products_items":["field_63a349a110878"],"sidebar_products":[""],"_sidebar_products":["field_63a349a0dadad"]},"aioseo_notices":[],"acf":{"show_featured_image":true,"primary_category":{"term_id":3,"name":"Food","slug":"food","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":27,"filter":"raw"},"mobile_image":false,"post_views_count":"3878","sidebar_products":{"use_global_default":false,"title":"Related Products","items":""}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3840"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13492,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3840\/revisions\/13492"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/3973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}