- Whenever possible, bake, boil, or grill instead of frying or deep-frying foods. If you do fry, change fryer oil (after 10 cycles) since repeated use lowers the temperature of the smoke point 1.
- Instead of adding copious amounts of fat and oil while cooking, use just enough to add flavour, keep food moist, or avoid sticking.
- Treat oils with care. Fatty acids are sensitive to heat, light and oxygen, and over-exposure to these during storage or cooking can change the chemical structure of the fatty acids and lead to rancid off-notes.
- Experiment with umami to boost taste without fat. Rich, savoury ingredients, such as the Japanese dashi broth, can be a great substitute for smoky ingredients like bacon, or as an addition to soup or baked beans.
- Fats and oils with lower smoke points are more suitable for cold or low-heat uses like finishing oil, salad dressings, and sautéing, while those with higher smoke points are best for high-heat applications like deep-frying or baking.
- Use sparing amounts of truffle oil, sesame oil, or butter just on top to finish off a dish and maximise the taste experience while reducing fat.
- When adding herbs or flavours to an oil to make an infusion, try grapeseed oil, which has a more neutral taste than olive oil.
- Avoid heating fats and oils above their smoke point since noxious substances will be produced.
Sources
1 Idun-Acquah, N. et al. Repetitive Use of Vegetable Cooking Oil and Effects on Physico-Chemical Properties. Science and Technology. 2016.
Read more on the increasing pressure from regulators and general public on food service operators regarding their contribution to the global obesity rise:
Oversized meals have been shown to be a factor in obesity (01.2019)
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190129162359.htm
Larger portion servings in restaurants are a global issue (03.2019)
https://www.worldhealth.net/news/larger-portions-serving-restaurants-are-global-issue/
Fast food vs fast casual – Which has more calories? (02.2019)
https://consumer.healthday.com/vitamins-and-nutrition-information-27/food-and-nutrition-news-316/fast-food-versus-fast-casual-which-has-more-calories-742293.html
Restaurants have gotten a hall pass on obesity and it must end (08.2018)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/hankcardello/2018/08/30/restaurants-have-gotten-a-hall-pass-on-obesity-and-it-must-end/#39fdc71e2d51
Death by diet: the race to transform the world's bad food habits (04.2019)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nutrition-food-health-environment-ins/death-by-diet-the-race-to-transform-the-worlds-bad-food-habits-idUSKCN1S601Y
