FoodNet

Experimental cookery

1932

Page 436

Presented as published in 1932. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Surface exposed. They report that the smoking temperature for a particular fat is lowered when the surface exposed is increased. Thus the wider the diameter of the cooking utensil used, the more the smoking temperature is lowered. They advise using a vessel with as small a diameter as is convenient for deep fat frying. Foreign particles. They have found that another factor that lowers the smoking temperature is the presence of finely divided foreign particles in the fat. Flour and small particles of other materials accumulate in a fat used for cooking purposes. Hence, a much-used fat has a lower smoking temperature than the original fat. Smoking temperature and fat absorption. The cooperators in fat investigations at Iowa State College found that absorption of fat by dough- nuts is influenced to a greater degree by the smoking point of the fat than by any other chemical or physical factors investigated. Fat absorption was greater the lower the smoking point of the fat or oil. Rancidity Fats are added directly to many products such as crackers, cookies, and cake because of their shortening power; they are added to other products in the form of such ingredients as nut meats, coconut, fatty seeds, milk, and cheese. Prevention of rancidity may become a problem in such baked goods as crackers, cookies, and fruit cake which may be stored for longer or shorter periods; in the cereal industry; in the confectionery industry; in dairy products; in the fat and oil industry; in salad dressings; and in storage of meats, particularly cured meats such as bacon and ham, and in stored frozen fresh meats. Meat, the fat of which contains more unsaturated glycerides, is subject to the development of rancidity more rapidly than fat containing greater percentages of saturated glycerides. Thus frozen poultry and pork present more problems when stored for long periods than beef and mutton. Types of fat spoilage. The chemical change that needs to occur in a fat before taint is detectable organoleptically is very small. Davies states that butyric and capric acids are detectable by smell and taste in concentra- tions of less than 80 parts per million parts of fat. Changes in fats can be 550 FATS AND OILS detected by smell and taste before they can be detected by chemical tests. An isolated fat possessing excellent keeping qualities may show deteriora- tion rapidly after it is combined with other ingredients, and vice versa ; but, in general, the fresher the fat and the better its keeping quality, the better the keeping quality of the product with which it is combined. Different types of spoilage may occur in fats. Davies says "mustiness" is due to microorganic breakdown of higher fatty acids and is accelerated by moisture. Mustiness is common in cereal products, particularly maize. Davies states it is accompanied by an increase in acidity of water extracts, matting of the product because of mold growth, and local spontaneous heating. It is prevented by keeping the humidity sufficiently low. "Fishiness," according to Davies, is due to the production of trimethyl- amine in the presence of catalysts from lecithin, before the auto-oxidation of the fat proper. Fishiness occurs most commonly in butter. The presence or absence of other products can alter the fishy odor.