Fat — the category encompassing oils, butter, lard, schmaltz, and every cooking fat — functions as a heat transfer medium, a flavour solvent, a textural agent, and an emulsifier simultaneously. The specific fatty acid composition of different fats determines their smoke point, their flavour, their behaviour under heat, and their solid-to-liquid transition temperature.
**Fat as heat transfer:** Fats can be heated to 200°C+ without boiling (unlike water, which boils at 100°C). This allows the Maillard reaction and caramelisation to occur at the surface of food in fat — which is impossible in water-based cooking. **Saturated vs unsaturated fat:** - Saturated fats (animal fats: lard, butter, tallow; coconut oil): solid at room temperature; more stable at high heat (fewer double bonds to oxidise); higher smoke points - Monounsaturated fats (olive oil, avocado oil): semi-stable at room temperature; moderate smoke points - Polyunsaturated fats (most vegetable oils): liquid at room temperature; least stable at high heat; lowest smoke points; prone to rancidity **Fat as flavour solvent:** Fat-soluble flavour compounds (terpenes, carotenoids, most volatile aromatic compounds) are only released and carried to the palate in the presence of fat. This is the basis for: - Infused oils (fat extracting aromatics) - Butter-sautéed aromatics (butter carrying thyme, garlic compounds) - The difference between fat-cooked and water-cooked aromatics - The principle behind CRM Family 05 — Fat-Soluble Aromatic Transfer **Smoke points (approximate):** - Extra virgin olive oil: 190°C - Refined olive oil: 210°C - Clarified butter / ghee: 250°C - Avocado oil: 270°C - Refined coconut oil: 230°C - Unrefined sesame oil: 177°C - [VERIFY] Modernist Cuisine's specific smoke point table.
Modernist Cuisine Vol. 2