Crisco – that wonderful ingredient that makes fried foods or baked goods a little crispier – has been under fire for quite some time now because of its trans fat content.
Trans fat has long been criticized because it increases cholesterol, which could potentially lead to heart disease. Ever since researchers stumbled upon this conclusion, everyone from food companies to fast food restaurants have been clambering to disassociate themselves with trans fat.
Kentucky Fried Chicken, Wendy’s and Denny’s have all made public announcements to eventually rid their entire menus of trans fat. New York City went so far as to adopt a ban on trans fats in restaurants and now the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is considering passing a similar law.
Trans fat, is actually just vegetable oil treated with hydrogen so that it turns into that solid substance most people associate with Crisco, part of the baking establishment since 1911.
For something that has been around for nearly 100 years, it seems odd that it is not until just recently such a large rash of negativity surrounded the product. As a result, Crisco now plans on introducing a new formula Crisco with less trans fat. So, what is a baker to do if Crisco is so bad for everyone’s health? The only other alternatives would be to use butter or lard when baking, which are not that much better.
The obvious answer no one has been saying is that Crisco or trans fats are not as bad as the health experts are making them out to be. The reason for this is that no one sits around eating products made with Crisco all day every day, and if they are, they have a real problem (beyond the obvious high cholesterol.)
Everyone keeps talking and creating this scare that people are more obese and there are all sorts of hidden dangers in the food we eat. We should go organic rather than have take out from a fast food joint. We should stay away from cell phones and a million other things because we will get cancer. We should watch less Television and go outside more.
Should, should, should. Scientists and other “experts” keep spending all this energy telling us what we should be doing when in reality, all people need to do is start exercising some common sense rather than blaming entire industries for some people’s complete loss of self control.
In the case of Crisco, this means using in moderation. You don’t have to use Crisco all the time when baking or cooking. Instead you can use Pam, the cooking oil spray. We all know this, but for some reason now Crisco maker J.M. Smucker Co.feels compelled to make a healthier formula of Crisco because of all the whining people out there blaming Crisco for heart disease.
Moderation is the answer. If people approached just about everything in life with some amount of moderation, half the problems out there today would not even exist.
