''Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes'' is a
cookbook
A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes.
Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food.
Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cour ...
written by Canadian author
Jennifer McLagan. In ''Fat'', McLagan discusses the history of the shift from diets that were high in
animal fat
Animal fats and oils are lipids derived from animals: oils are liquid at room temperature, and fats are solid. Chemically, both fats and oils are composed of triglycerides. Although many animal parts and secretions may yield oil, in commercial p ...
to low-fat foods, which has not resulted in an appreciable increase in overall health. The trend to lower fat foods is a result of studies conducted in the 1940s, which McLagan disputes. Included in ''Fat'' are instructions for fat
rendering, recipes for its use, and a description of the health benefits of eating animal fat.
In 2009 the book received the
James Beard Foundation Award and the
IACP Cookbook Award.
History
McLagen was raised in Australia in the 1960s, prior to the North American and United Kingdom diets moving towards
low fat. In the 1970s, she moved to Europe, where fat was not being removed as a common part of the diet.
The 1970s saw American diets adopting lower amounts of
animal fat
Animal fats and oils are lipids derived from animals: oils are liquid at room temperature, and fats are solid. Chemically, both fats and oils are composed of triglycerides. Although many animal parts and secretions may yield oil, in commercial p ...
(though without an improvement in overall health), resulting in an increased intake of overall fat, with vegetable fats substituted for animal fats, leading to higher
polyunsaturated fat
Polyunsaturated fats are fats in which the constituent hydrocarbon chain possesses two or more carbon–carbon double bonds. Polyunsaturated fat can be found mostly in nuts, seeds, fish, seed oils, and oysters. "Unsaturated" refers to the fact tha ...
levels in the diet.
McLagan's explanation for the belief that fat is unhealthy comes from
Ancel Keys's studies in the 1940s, which linked animal fat to heart disease—studies which have since been challenged by other studies which do not link the two. McLangan states the studies were faulty, citing the "
French paradox
The French paradox is an apparently paradoxical epidemiological observation that French people have a relatively low incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD), while having a diet relatively rich in saturated fats, in apparent contradicti ...
," according to which cultures with a high-fat diet have low rates of heart disease.
Content
McLagen discusses the misconception that people have about
fat as a "greasy killer" and describes the shift to a low-fat diet, citing two studies that show that obesity may not be connected to heart attacks, and pointing to the
Atkins diet. There are sections dedicated to butter and to types of fat from different animals, with instructions on how to
render it, store it and cook with it. Recipes for dishes with animal fat as an ingredient are included as well.
McLagen's book also covers the health benefits of animal fat, such as its energy content, helping the
immune system, reducing
LDL cholesterol, and aiding in digestion of protein and
fat-soluble vitamins.
[ McLagen contends that animal fat is not unhealthy and tastes good, but that it has gotten a bad reputation and thus consumers have become afraid of eating it—if they stopped being afraid, they would enjoy it.]
See also
*'' Salted: A Manifesto on the World's Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes''
*''In Defense of Food
''In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto'' (released internationally as ''In Defence of Food'') is a 2008 book by journalist and activist Michael Pollan. It was number one on the ''New York Times'' New York Times Best Seller list, Non-Fiction ...
''
References
{{Reflist
Animal fats
Canadian cookbooks
2005 non-fiction books