If not hydrogenated, how are spreads from olive oil made
oil
I read that many spreads are non hydrogenated, so then how are they made solid?
Best Answer
Olive oil contains a certain percentage of saturated fats, which are probably separated out and used. Alternatively, there is a process called interestification that is sometimes used to make more solid forms of non-solid fats without hydrogenation.
According to Harold McGee, using olive oil to fry is basically a waste of money. "After I’d heated them, none of the olive oils had much olive flavor left. In fact, they didn’t taste much different from the seed oils."
According to a Spanish study I have access to, you could use high oleic sunflower oil for frying as it degrades better.
Oil is hydrogenated by bubbling hydrogen through it at high temperature (on the order of 400 to 500 degrees F), in the presence of a catalyst such as nickel.
Air is 0.00005% hydrogen, you are probably not using temperatures high enough, nor doing it for a significantly long period of time, nor having an appropriate catalyst present. The amount of hydrogenation introduced via this recipe is somewhere between none and vanishingly small.
However, coconut oil itself is about 92% saturated fat--which means the fats are naturally saturated with hydrogen. While a natural saturated fat, not a manufactured one, coconut oil is saturated.
If your recipe is delicious and you enjoy it, eat up in moderation like anything else (chocolate excepted). :-)
Best Answer
Olive oil contains a certain percentage of saturated fats, which are probably separated out and used. Alternatively, there is a process called interestification that is sometimes used to make more solid forms of non-solid fats without hydrogenation.