Cooking Fats

governatorkp
governatorkp Posts: 89 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Should cooking fats be included in your food logs?

I've been reasoning about this for quite some time now and my initial reaction would be 'Yes'.

However, to think of it, how much of the baking fats used are actually eaten?
How much of it evaporates, how much of it is absorbed by the food and how much of it sticks in the pan?

I'm guessing this also depends on the kind of fat used.
It seems to me that olive oil, for example, evaporates way faster than butter or coconut oil do.
(If it even really evaporates, it seems so - I'm not a scientist)

What are your thoughts?

Replies

  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    I log everything, including the olive oil that I cook with and you should too.

  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    of course, it has calories in it after all.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    Yep, if I use it, I measure it and count it.
  • eseeton
    eseeton Posts: 80 Member
    Calories don't "evaporate." Count it if you add it.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    I think I get what you are saying. You coat some food with oil and cook it. There is oil still left in the pan after the cooked food is removed. How do you know how much of the original oil added is actually being consumed?

    You don't. You can try to weigh the oil that's left, but some will still stick to the pan, there may be food droppings or water released from the food included.

    The best you can do is guesstimate. Counting calories consumed is not an exact science.
  • governatorkp
    governatorkp Posts: 89 Member
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    I think I get what you are saying. You coat some food with oil and cook it. There is oil still left in the pan after the cooked food is removed. How do you know how much of the original oil added is actually being consumed?

    You don't. You can try to weigh the oil that's left, but some will still stick to the pan, there may be food droppings or water released from the food included.

    The best you can do is guesstimate. Counting calories consumed is not an exact science.

    Thank you for being the first to actually get the point.

    You're right, there's no way to figure.
    The best thing is to probably add all of it in anyway. Though when macros matter, it can give an unreal perspective of consumed fats..

    ..Nothing to do about it.
    Thank you.

  • Tried30UserNames
    Tried30UserNames Posts: 561 Member
    If I were deep fat frying food, I might measure the leftover fat and only count the fat absorbed by the food.

    But I'm usually cooking eggs or meat or vegetables, and while there may be a little residue left in the pan, most of it gets absorbed by the food so I count it. If there's enough left to measure, I suppose you could subtract the calories from that.
  • peter56765
    peter56765 Posts: 352 Member
    edited May 2015
    governatorkp wrote: »
    Should cooking fats be included in your food logs?

    I've been reasoning about this for quite some time now and my initial reaction would be 'Yes'.

    However, to think of it, how much of the baking fats used are actually eaten?
    How much of it evaporates, how much of it is absorbed by the food and how much of it sticks in the pan?

    I'm guessing this also depends on the kind of fat used.
    It seems to me that olive oil, for example, evaporates way faster than butter or coconut oil do.
    (If it even really evaporates, it seems so - I'm not a scientist)

    What are your thoughts?

    Just to zero in on this part of your post: Fats and oils don't evaporate however they do have something called the "smoke point". The most important thing to know about the smoke point is that you don't want to heat oil so that it gets there. At the smoke point, oil starts to break down, creating free radicals which are bad for your health and other substances that will make your food taste burnt. As the name implies, you can tell that you're there when you start to see smoke.

    Ll42UaA.jpg
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    governatorkp wrote: »
    Should cooking fats be included in your food logs?

    I've been reasoning about this for quite some time now and my initial reaction would be 'Yes'.

    However, to think of it, how much of the baking fats used are actually eaten?
    How much of it evaporates, how much of it is absorbed by the food and how much of it sticks in the pan?

    I'm guessing this also depends on the kind of fat used.
    It seems to me that olive oil, for example, evaporates way faster than butter or coconut oil do.
    (If it even really evaporates, it seems so - I'm not a scientist)

    What are your thoughts?

    Yeah...oils are very calorie dense.

    Actually, I"m convinced that a lot of people don't include them...I really don't know why you wouldn't but it seems to me that a lot of people don't realize cooking oils have calories...lots of them.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    peter56765 wrote: »
    governatorkp wrote: »
    Should cooking fats be included in your food logs?

    I've been reasoning about this for quite some time now and my initial reaction would be 'Yes'.

    However, to think of it, how much of the baking fats used are actually eaten?
    How much of it evaporates, how much of it is absorbed by the food and how much of it sticks in the pan?

    I'm guessing this also depends on the kind of fat used.
    It seems to me that olive oil, for example, evaporates way faster than butter or coconut oil do.
    (If it even really evaporates, it seems so - I'm not a scientist)

    What are your thoughts?

    Just to zero in on this part of your post: Fats and oils don't evaporate however they do have something called the "smoke point". The most important thing to know about the smoke point is that you don't want to heat oil so that it gets there. At the smoke point, oil starts to break down, creating free radicals which are bad for your health and other substances that will make your food taste burnt. As the name implies, you can tell that you're there when you start to see smoke.

    Ll42UaA.jpg

    I don't think this is true of olive oil. I've read that it does not degrade at smoke point like other oils.
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