I have been stockpiling the fats lately! I didn't mean to really, I just kept seeing things I thought would be good to have on hand. It started with the coconut oil that I ordered online. I bought a gallon size tub a few months ago and it was a great purchase. I use it in cooking, baking, smoothies, chocolate and cosmetics.

I have always been a butter is better gal, so I am still purchasing butter, however when we eat it on breads I am buying a better quality (more expensive but more nutritious) kind than when I bake or cook with it. I have to make some compromises for budgets sake. Then the other day while shopping for Indian grocery items, Heather and I found a good deal on ghee - three and a half pounds of it! The wonderful thing about ghee is that it lasts a long time and can withstand higher heat while cooking without burning as butter would. I use that when sauteeing, and making Indian food (yum, more recipes to come!).

A week or two later, while at the farmer's market in our area, I found a local source for leaf lard - or pig fat. Even though there are some who don't think pork is a healthy meat, most agree that pork fat is a good fat for cooking and baking. I know my mom made the best pie crust with lard! Unfortunatley the lard you can buy in the stores is shelf stable and has been hydrogenated - boo! So I bought some leaf lard and rendered it myself last week. Really, the whole process was very easy, my only complaint is that I should have bought more lard as the yeild is about 70% and that didn't mean much for me. Here is a good resource on rendering lard. I hope I have enough to make some refried beans and a nice crust for strawberry rhubarb pie!

I have always had olive oil on hand for salad dressings and some cooking so that is still always on my counter.

I thought I had all the bases coverd! Well this weekend my husband came home from a fishing trip with lovely fresh, white fleshed deep sea fish - the kind perfect for fish and chips! The question was, what to fry the battered fish in. I was at our local grocery store, scouring the oil aisle - there are many options yet few. It is vegetable oil, canola oil, corn oil and a few miscelaneous ones out there. Previously I had used peanut oil for frying which I quite like and had there been a medium sized bottle I may have gone with that. But instead I settled on a good brand of safflower oil. It is rated for high heat cooking, perfect for frying and it was expeller pressed so it seemed a good option. After a little research it seems safflower oil is still not recommended by the Weston A. Price foundation. 'A' for effort, but 'F' for research before I left the house!

So what then should I have used? I suppose beef drippings would have been ideal - I didn't have any on hand...

Do any of you fry and if so what oil/fat do you use?