In case I needed to remind you, fat is not a four-letter word (okay, there is a four-letter way to spell it, but we’re not talking about that). Fat isn’t a bad thing. In fact, fat is a macronutrient essential to a high-quality life. It’s the channel your body uses for absorbing vitamins.

The point is, we use fat when we cook, and this is not something you need to feel guilty about. Your body wants fat because it’s good for you.

With that being said, all things require moderation, and there are a couple of risks with fat consumption: First, fat is by nature high in calories, and we’re surrounded by high-fat foods. So more than our ancestors ever did, we’ve had to learn how to check the source of the fats we’re eating, and too much fast food is a fast track to an early death by heart failure. Second, the types of fats we consume are very important, and if you eat out often, you’re mostly eating the worst kind of fat possible.

Okay, now that I’ve gotten Karen off my back (sorry if someone actually named Karen is reading this. I’m sure you’re great), let’s talk about using fat to cook. Because it’s awesome.

Fat is One of the Four Pillars of Good Cooking

Check this one off your bingo charts, I’m talking about Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, my favorite food book! As the title implies, Fat is one of four absolutely essential elements to incredible food. But why is that?

Flavor

Fat has two major effects on flavor. First, fat carries flavor. Meaning if your meal is totally bland, it might be missing fat. Second, the fat you cook with has its own flavor, and this is a huge deal.

Read this closely:

If you’re trying to make a certain culture’s fancy food, it will never taste right if you’re using the wrong fat.

Mexican food made with olive oil? Absolutely not.

Fried rice with vegetable oil? Get out of here.

Just realizing this one thing will revolutionize the way you think about cooking. About to try a new recipe? What fat do they recommend? Is that really the fat you want to use, or would you rather swap the fat out because you now know better? Experimenting with a certain type of cuisine? Start with the fat they use.

Below is a chart of all the cooking fats I have in my house, just for some instructive ideas:

Fat	Common Uses	Smoke Point	Type	Notes and Recipe Ideas
Butter	French, German, Scandinavian, American	Low (350)	Animal	Pancakes, Steak, Burgers, Crepes, Eggs
Olive Oil	Italian, Greek, Spanish, Mediterranean	Low (320)	Plant	Pastas, Pizzas, Salads
Lard	American, Mexican, Many European Countries	Medium-Low (370)	Animal	Pie crust, Biscuits, Fried Chicken, Eggs
Tallow	American, British, Australian	High (400 to 420)	Animal	Stew, Fried potatoes, Burgers, General Use
Schmaltz	German, Jewish, Eastern European	Medium-High (375-400)	Animal	Latkes, Pate, Fancy Potatoes
Sesame Oil	Chinese, Japanese, Korean, East Asian	Low (350)	Plant	Fried rice, Stir-fries, Tossed noodles
Grapeseed or Avocado Oil	Mexican, American, European	Very High (450)	Plant	Just keep in mind that for high-smoke point oils, they are not healthy to eat often in that way. This should be an infrequent indulgence. These fats are much safer for your health when raw or when used for gentle cooking.
Canola Oil	Worldwide	Very High (450)	Plant	Dressings, Chutneys, Salsas

What about coconut oil, you say? My dad and wife love coconut oil! I’m personally not a big fan because I don’t love the taste—unless you’re talking about my wife’s killer delicious coconut-lemon squares.

Texture

Here’s the second part of the magic of cooking fat: it gets really hot. Did you know that water will never get hotter than 212℉? At that point the temperature stops rising and the water simply starts evaporating. This is terrible news if you’re trying to sear that steak, crisp those potatoes, maillardize the asparagus, or basically any version of adding color and delicious caramelization to your recipes.

How do you take advantage of this? Try these ideas:

• Don’t be afraid of letting your food sit. Novice cooks tend to keep tossing food all over the pan because they’re afraid of burning it. But there’s a difference between burning and caramelizing! Let those potatoes or chicken sit in there and really sizzle.
• Make absolutely sure to pat your meat dry before throwing it on the heat. For one thing, water and oil aren’t friends, and you’re probably aware of how wet meat hisses and spits when you put it in the cooking oil. For another thing, remember how water resists high temperatures? That means it resists the sear. You’re gonna spend extra time evaporating that water, which means you’re gonna overcook the meat.
• Fat is great for finishing dishes. Coat your potatoes hot out of the oven with butter. After slow-cooking your chicken, blast the heat high to help the chicken’s fat maillardize the surface. Finally, drizzle some olive oil over your salad for a glossy finish.

What have we learned? First off, fat is nothing to be afraid of. It’s vital for your health and you just youth to exercise moderation. But secondly, it carries flavor in ways that no other component does, and is in fact the foundation of any regional dish. Finally, that’s how you get your crispy, gorgeous food, baby!

Go forth and eat fat. I’ll be thin-slicing potatoes with my mandolin, coating them in schmaltz, compressing them in a bread pan, refrigerating them for sixteen hours, then cutting my potato brick into blocks and deep frying them in grapeseed oil and serving them with flaky fleur de sel.