Question on pomace

Post #311,956 by drook 7/29/09 1:16:39 PM Reply	Question on pomace I've had several people challenge me on pomace. They point to 1) "heavily processed" food, just like vegetable oil and other corn products, and 2) the solvents sometimes used in the process. My simplisitic answer is that even if it's processed, it starts from olive oil, which is still better than anything coming from corn, soy or rapeseed (aka conola). Have you seen any good references to relative health/quality of olive pomace as compared to either extra virgin olive, or to other vegetable or seed oils? -- Drew
Post #311,962 by jake123 7/29/09 1:49:29 PM Reply	I like grapeseed oil for the high temperature stuff and olive oil for the rest of it.
Post #311,967 by Andrew Grygus 7/29/09 1:59:31 PM Reply	Re: I like grapeseed oil for the high temperature stuff Grapeseed goes to very high temperatures which is good. It is very high in polyunsaturates but that's not as bad as you'd think because it is also fairly high antioxidants which serves to protect it. I'd tend to consider it a "use once" oil though. I'd also look at rice bran oil which goes to even a bit higher and has an oil profile almost the same as peanut oil, but it's probably not available regularly or economically in most of North America.
Post #311,968 by jake123 7/29/09 2:02:20 PM Reply	Well, I don't really use oil more than once for much of anything. Don't do a lot of deep frying here, and if I did, I'd probably be using lard.
Post #311,973 by Andrew Grygus 7/29/09 2:15:06 PM Reply	Lard is good - but beef tallow is the gold standard . . . . . for deep frying. Higher temperature, lower oxidation number (only coconut oil is lower). Incidentally, when frying something that's a "stick to the pan" problem, I'll use lard. It seems to keep things from sticking much better than other oils and fats.
Post #312,024 by jake123 7/30/09 9:44:51 AM Reply	Actually, I make it What is it when you get beef fat from the butcher and warm it up on the stove and filter out the solid bits? We call it lard ... but we're not experts.
Post #312,026 by folkert 7/30/09 10:22:09 AM Reply	Re: Actually, I make it Lard == Rendered Pork Fat (best is Leaf Lard) Tallow == Rendered Beef Fat (Suet) (Best is Suet from around the cows organs) So based on what you just typed, its Tallow you are making.
Post #312,042 by jake123 7/30/09 12:07:52 PM Reply	Ah Well, actually, I've made both. That said, I prolly need to make some more again... stuff works well when you freeze it; you can keep that shit around forever.
Post #312,044 by drook 7/30/09 12:13:15 PM Reply	You don't even need to freeze it I've seen recipes for preserving sausages that say to put them in a jar and cover with melted lard or bacon grease. (Don't even need a lid.) Store it somewhere cool enough that the fat solidifies, and it will last indefinitely. -- Drew
Post #312,047 by jake123 7/30/09 12:24:11 PM Reply	That would make for a turgid sausage.
Post #312,048 by drook 7/30/09 12:32:06 PM Reply	I'm not gonna touch that one -- Drew
Post #312,049 by jake123 7/30/09 12:32:51 PM Reply	Glad you liked it! :D
Post #311,963 by Andrew Grygus 7/29/09 1:50:00 PM Reply	Re: Question on pomace Yes, it is an oil extracted with solvents. It is then heated to drive off most of the solvents (which are recovered) and then further refined to remove remaining solvents and natural but undesirable substances. It is, however, not as "processed" as most seed oils which go through a number of steps, some of which may involve high temperatures and chemicals, to extract them and make them edible. Pomace does have exactly the same healthy oil profile as other grades of olive oil because the oil itself is not modified. It may be blended with other grades of olive oil to adjust flavor. There is no unrefined oil that is suitable for high temperature frying, so pomace, while not ideal, is a lot better than most. The health and oxidation profiles can be derived from any comparative composition chart, such as mine: http://www.clovegard...red/oilchart.html Note particularly the oxidation number. Oils with a high oxidation number quickly become rancid when heated to even moderate temperatures, and some products of rancidity are carcinogenic. Oils heated beyond their smoke point will also produce carcinogens so you want to stay well below that point.
Post #311,965 by drook 7/29/09 1:55:48 PM Reply	On rancidity I had a reader claim that pomace is already rancid, due to the heat used in processing. And like with most product health claims, I can find either industry-supported research, or screaming opposition, and little else in-between. -- Drew
Post #311,969 by Andrew Grygus 7/29/09 2:05:33 PM Reply	Re: On rancidity Yes, it's been heated, but not to frying temperatures - and olive oil is very resistant to rancidity due to both its oil profile (low in polyunsaturtes) and its antioxidant content. Products of rancidity can usually be tasted. That's why the fast food industry couldn't use soy or corn oil, not because it might slowly kill people. After just several hours of frying the product tasted really bad. Beef tallow could be used for a month before the flavor went off.
Post #311,971 by boxley 7/29/09 2:12:53 PM Reply	yeah, I been trying to get some beef tallow
Post #311,974 by drook 7/29/09 2:15:50 PM Reply	That one's actually easy for me The West Side Market has about a dozen or so butchers. At least half of them do their own cutting. (The rest are specialty stuff, like bison, buffalo, etc.) They almost always have big bags of tallow off the the side, ready to be rendered. -- Drew
Post #311,975 by boxley 7/29/09 2:20:57 PM Reply	made fries in it yet? mmmmmm
Post #311,976 by drook 7/29/09 2:44:55 PM Reply	Yup http://blog.cooklike...oked-in-beef.html -- Drew

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