Stop Eating Seed Oils Challenge

[Camellia]

That’s interesting... My mom inherited an actual 1950’s Betty Crocker first edition from my grandma (who literally bought it brand new when it came out…). Most recipes call for butter, lard, etc. There are recipes that call for “shortening” but are meaning room temperature solid fats (which is stated in the notes, butter is considered a type of “shortening” in this cook book), not specifically “vegetable shortening.” Her first edition of Joy of Cooking doesn’t use any “vegetable shortening” either.

I have the New Picture Cookbook, first edition, 4th printing (1961). In the notes it says:
"SHORTENING
Any fresh, mild flavored solid fat... Animal or vegetable. Butter is indicated in certain recipes for flavor"
I don't think shortening means soft butter or lard, because the specific recipes that call for those say exactly that. Lard is not a mild flavored fat either. There's a bread recipe that calls for "lard or hydrogenated vegetable oil". There's also a beef recipe that calls for monosodium glutamate. Sigh. I wish I could share pictures!

 

[Kentucky Gent]

I recently bought a Betty Crocker first edition cookbook and, to my shock, most recipes call for vegetable shortening. This was in the 50's! A similar vintage book I have from my home country calls for butter and lard. Shortening doesn't even exist there, so people are still using butter for baking. Americans have been eating junk for far too long and, I believe, it has a lot to do with the societal problems we're seeing today, because toxic food not only affects your body but also your mind.

IIRC, the whole point of the book was to promote shortening, to get housewives used to cooking with it.

 

[Starlight]

I have the New Picture Cookbook, first edition, 4th printing (1961). In the notes it says:
"SHORTENING
Any fresh, mild flavored solid fat... Animal or vegetable. Butter is indicated in certain recipes for flavor"
I don't think shortening means soft butter or lard, because the specific recipes that call for those say exactly that. Lard is not a mild flavored fat either. There's a bread recipe that calls for "lard or hydrogenated vegetable oil". There's also a beef recipe that calls for monosodium glutamate. Sigh. I wish I could share pictures!

I know what you mean and it’s actually really confusing when trying to interpret old recipes because the terms shift over time. In the 1950 Betty Crocker cookbook “shortening” really does mean “any fat suitable for baking.” (I can’t speak for later editions because I’m not familiar with them.) For example, there is a waffle recipe which calls for 1/2c shortening but has a note that suggests using bacon fat. In another recipe, the iconic Betty Crocker pie crust, it calls for 2/3c shortening but has a note that “when using hydrogenated shortening, add about 1 tbsp more” which suggests that the basic recipe is most likely meant for butter or lard. As to the flavor of lard, I think it depends how it’s made…

On another note, the main introduction of highly processed foods in the US was from an excess of military rations that were then sold to the civilian population once WW2 was over. The men and women who were starting families post-WW2 also experienced the Great Depression as children. Food scarcity was a real issue during the Depression and partially why highly-processed “shelf-stable” foods became an integral part of the American diet.

By the way, we have a thread for recipes in the Ladies Forum. You’re welcome to share your favorite recipes there, if you want to. I’m really interested in some of your home country’s vintage recipes!

Recipes

Always looking for new recipes from family traditions or food that is easy to make; Hopefully more individuals could share. This one was passed down from my Polish Grandfather, and was always a favorite among our family because it used dried cheese (cottage cheese) instead of potato and...

www.rooshvforum.com

 

[Starlight]

IIRC, the whole point of the book was to promote shortening, to get housewives used to cooking with it.

It was to promote Gold Medal Flour.

 

[Kentucky Gent]

It was to promote Gold Medal Flour.

Thanks, you reminded me of something - my mother owned a Betty Crocker cookbook (and may still have it). When I was a teenager I made the pancake recipe so frequently that I had it memorized. Fast forward a few decades to now, and I no longer remember the recipe but I do recall it specified using Gold Medal flour.

 

[Cr33pin]

Even Chick Fil A is bad... Peanut oil is not any better than sunflower, canola, soybean, etc. It is better to cook food with butter or coconut oil.

Ackshually though it still not great... peanut oil is better then the other oils (I do agree with the butter and coconut oil though)

 

[Camellia]

It was to promote Gold Medal Flour.

Haha, yes! That and Softasilk

 

[Kitty Tantrum]

People often think I'm just being an autistic conspiracy theorist when I point at these "beloved household brands" and start screeching about plots to poison the entire common population... BUUUUT...

Just have a look at the very interesting circumstances surrounding the elevation of Gold Medal flour to the status of household standard. Many interesting things in this article, points which should present a VERY familiar pattern to anyone who has been paying attention for the last couple years:

The Untold Truth Of Gold Medal Flour - Mashed

Gold Medal flour has been around since the 1800s, and it has an important (even explosive) history. You'll never look at your bag of flour the same way again.

www.mashed.com

And OF COURSE, after being set up in so many ways to be the front-runner and the purveyor of propaganda in the American home by "science" and "experts"... and in the aftermath of an "accidental explosion" that simultaneously made possible the construction of a new gigantic facility AND led to tighter regulations disproportionately squeezing smaller mills out of potential for profitability...

"The greatest milling industry innovation during the 1940s was the addition of enrichments to flour, as studies proved that many Americans were not getting the nutrients they needed from their diets. Gold Medal followed the U.S. government's recommendations and added extra nutrients to its flour.

This period was the first time that U.S. doctors and scientists had specifically identified deficiency disease syndromes. In 1941, the FDA established a strict standard for what could and couldn't be considered "enriched" flour (via the National Center for Biotechnology Information). These enrichment standards would go on to impact the production of white bread. By 1942, manufacturers were enriching 75% of the white bread they produced."

They. Are. Poisoning. Your. Food.

 

[traelo]

Even Chick Fil A is bad... Peanut oil is not any better than sunflower, canola, soybean, etc. It is better to cook food with butter or coconut oil.

Good:
Coconut Oil
Tallow - Grass Fed Beef
Ghee (Butter is good too probably)
Olive Oil
Avocado Oil

Bad:
Canola Oil
Corn Oil
Cottonseed Oil
Grapeseed Oil
Peanut Oil
Safflower Oil
Soybean Oil (AKA Vegetable Oil)
Sunflower Oil

 

[Kitty Tantrum]

Anyone have data on how sesame seed oil compares to other seed oils? I don't think I've ever seen it mentioned in discussions on this topic (or I've just not read thoroughly enough). And I happen to think it is mighty tasty.

 

[traelo]

Anyone have data on how sesame seed oil compares to other seed oils? I don't think I've ever seen it mentioned in discussions on this topic (or I've just not read thoroughly enough). And I happen to think it is mighty tasty.

Apparently sesame seed oil is good for you according to this health guru.

 

[ed pluribus unum]

Anyone have data on how sesame seed oil compares to other seed oils? I don't think I've ever seen it mentioned in discussions on this topic (or I've just not read thoroughly enough). And I happen to think it is mighty tasty.

My completely uneducated best-guess is that sesame oil is fine, because (a) it's been around for a long time and (b) you can make it at home by basically just crushing the seeds.

 

[Kentucky Gent]

Anyone have data on how sesame seed oil compares to other seed oils? I don't think I've ever seen it mentioned in discussions on this topic (or I've just not read thoroughly enough). And I happen to think it is mighty tasty.

Mark Sisson does:

Healthy Oils

The best and most healthful, edible oils. Learn all about the healthy oils you should add to your diet. Healthy oils like olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil and others...

www.marksdailyapple.com

and https://www.marksdailyapple.com/updating-the-primal-stance-on-vegetable-oils-high-oleic-varieties/

 

[PineTreeFarmer]

That’s interesting... My mom inherited an actual 1950’s Betty Crocker first edition from my grandma (who literally bought it brand new when it came out…). Most recipes call for butter, lard, etc. There are recipes that call for “shortening” but are meaning room temperature solid fats (which is stated in the notes, butter is considered a type of “shortening” in this cook book), not specifically “vegetable shortening.” Her first edition of Joy of Cooking doesn’t use any “vegetable shortening” either.

My understanding is that seed oils came into vogue during the reconstruction era in the US when they were trying to find ways to feed a large population without plantation labor, and to find a way to make cotton crops profitable. Many of my great grandmother's recipes called for oleo. The entire industry of seed oils cropped up around cotton seed oil, and then the industry of cardiac care bourgeoned from the damage hardened cotton seed oil does to the heart and our arteries. Strangely enough, with their oleo heavy diet, my great Gramma lived to be 87, and died of reflux after longsuffering from COPD caused by errant fibers while working for 40 years in a textile mill. And her husband died of diabetes.

 

[Kitty Tantrum]

Well, I swapped out my frying oil for lard a while back, and I can't believe I didn't do it sooner.

Last night I made my first batch of muffins (almond poppyseed) with lard, and basically same. It's softer enough at room temp than butter. Not quite as tasty as butter, but the crumb is absolutely impeccable. Beats all liquid oils for taste and texture, by a wide margin.

Cheaper than both, too.

Hot diggity.

 

[Argus101]

How is it that ants, with much smaller brains than ours, make better nutrition choices than we do?? My family ate margarine for years
because it was cheaper than butter before we realized how bad it was for our long-term health!

 

[Kentucky Gent]

Well, I swapped out my frying oil for lard a while back, and I can't believe I didn't do it sooner.

Last night I made my first batch of muffins (almond poppyseed) with lard, and basically same. It's softer enough at room temp than butter. Not quite as tasty as butter, but the crumb is absolutely impeccable. Beats all liquid oils for taste and texture, by a wide margin.

Cheaper than both, too.

Hot diggity.

I'd like to use beef tallow, but I'm having a hard time finding it in my new city. Back where I used to live, every grocery had it.

 

[Kitty Tantrum]

I'd like to use beef tallow, but I'm having a hard time finding it in my new city. Back where I used to live, every grocery had it.

I haven't seen tallow available for sale at all where I live.

I routinely render my own small batches of tallow (and lard, for that matter) from fat scraps cut off of large cuts of meat, and it's pretty simple, but I wouldn't use those for baking anything with a sweet/delicate flavor profile. Not for deep frying either, because I've never bothered to filter/purify it (though I suppose I could learn that process... then I'd feel obligated to do it in huge batches, though). It's always been for soups or skillet grease, things like that. Highly variable and always meaty flavor in there!

 

[Kentucky Gent]

I wouldn't use those for baking anything with a sweet/delicate flavor profile.

I can't remember the last time I did anything like that.

And, ironically, just today I found a store very close to home that carries beef tallow.

 

[Batman_]

I've largely cut seed oils out of my diet for about 2 years now, but I still get surprised sometimes.

100% of frozen/processed foods have them (no surprise there) - so just avoid those by default.

99% of restaurants cook with canola oil or use soybean oil for their sauces, even "healthy" establishments (especially gluten-free/vegan) are almost guaranteed to have them because they have to compensate for the higher costs of ingredients and poor taste.

99% of bread, cereal, bagels, chips are made with canola oil - more reason to avoid carbs in general.

Recently I bought 3 packages of of corn taco shells, which are generally made with palm oil (which is okay to eat), but lo and behold, they were made with canola oil. In the trash they go. Bought some canned calarami and sardines too, and god forbid they use olive oil like any sane person would think - nope they used canola oil too. In the trash they go too.

Canola oil is even in things like seasoning mixes and oat milk! I was on a trip and my friends went to get groceries and they brought back what they thought was "healthy" cereal and "healthy" milk alternative, both had canola oil as the 2nd ingredient, what a joke. The only cereal I ever eat is grape nuts (which have 4 ingredients, wheat/barley flour, salt, yeast) and everyone I've told either hasn't heard of them (despite them being around 100 years) or thinks I'm a weird. Meanwhile they eat their "healthy" marketed clown cereal with added sugar and canola oil + plant milks with canola oil and sugar.

God forbid you live in a small town - you'll be lucky to find a single restaurant or supermarket that doesn't use canola/soybean oil. Only alternative is to do hunting/fishing or go to a butcher, but have fun eating that and nothing else other than fruits/veggies. It's no wonder everyone in small towns are inflammed, pudgy, diabetic, or straight up obese.

It's absolute insanity - not even getting into the refined carbs/sugar that are also a part of all these ingredients. Canola and soybean oil are literally in EVERYTHING.

Guys, please read your food labels even if you are certain. You have no idea how pervasive this is, I am convinced it's due to lobbying, ignorance, arrogance, and most likely may even be intentional to weaken society and make people more reliant on the the medical industry (plus it's cheaper than other oils, but that's probably just a bonus). Say what you will about Europe but the prevelance of seed oils there is considerably lower.