Episode Details

I don’t use butter that often – but sometimes I’m really in a buttery mood and I’ll fry my pancake in ghee. – Alison

For several decades, fats were vilified as the source of many health problems and were avoided by many, including Alison - she avoided all fats, completely, for ten years. The distinction that was lost in this macro witch-hunt was WHICH fats were a problem for our health - because some of them very much ARE a problem, while others are necessary for optimal health. However, the problem fats are the ones being promoted, marketed and sold to people in mass quantities today, and nourishing ancestral fats are being cast aside.

Alison and Andrea discuss which fats are optimal for our ancestral kitchens, a little bit about the ones to avoid, and share some of the shocking story on the origin of Crisco.

For more details on the origin of Crisco, images from the 1912 marketing book and a collection of vintage lard recipes, check out our Patreon offerings.

"We buy pig back fat from Flavio, my farmer, and then we render it ourselves once every six weeks." - Alison

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Patrons - be sure to check Kitchen Table Chats and the Treasure Trove for additional audio recordings + downloadable goodies for this episode!

The Run Down:

4:18 What did you eat today?

7:28 Today’s episode

9:18 The fats we love in our kitchens

11:31 Why we use these fats

14:48 The fats we don’t use

18:03 Patreon bonus mentioned here!

22:44 Another Patreon bonus mentioned!

31:28 Rule of thumb for identifying the good ancestrally-used fats

33:18 Let’s talk about Lard!

40:53 Olive oil

48:18 Butter

56:03 Smoke points of fats and oils

58:38 Kids and fats, fertility and fats

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