In the recipes you'll see "healthy fat of choice". This guide will help you choose what's right for your kitchen and the people you cook for.
Rendered from the animals we cook. Rich, savoury and made for heat.
Rendered beef fat, firm and creamy-white. It's the old-school fat for chips and roasts.
Best withSteak, slow-cooked beef, burgers, sweet potato chips and roast root veg
High-heat searing, deep-frying, roast root veg and browning meat for stews.
Rich and savoury, with a deep beefy note.
Ask your butcher for grass-fed suet and render it yourself on a low heat. It's good value, and you'll have jars of it for months.
Rendered pork fat, soft and white. Cooks across Asia and Europe have used it for generations.
Best withAsian stir-fries, pork belly, eggs, cabbage and Asian greens
Stir-frying, pan-frying, roasting, and pastry if you bake.
Mild and clean. Leaf lard is the most neutral of all.
Buy from free-range or pastured pork. Leaf lard, from around the kidneys, is the prize.
Golden fat that renders from duck as it roasts. It's a French kitchen treasure.
Best withFrench dishes, duck, chicken, roast sweet potato and root veg
Roast sweet potato and root veg, confit, and pan-frying.
Silky and savoury, with a gentle richness.
Save the fat every time you roast a duck, or buy jars from free-range producers.
Rendered chicken fat, often cooked with onion. It's a staple of Jewish home cooking.
Best withJewish and European home cooking, chicken, onions, carrots and root veg
Sautéing onions, roasting vegetables, and frying eggs.
Savoury and comforting, like the best roast chicken.
Skim it off the top of chilled chicken bone broth. It costs nothing, and it's full of flavour.
Rendered lamb fat, firm when cool, with a character all its own.
Best withMiddle Eastern and Greek dishes, lamb, pumpkin, carrots and root veg
Roasting root veg, browning lamb, and Middle Eastern dishes.
Distinctly lamby and rich. A little goes a long way.
Render the trimmings from pasture-raised lamb, or save the fat from the roasting tray.
Churned cream: simple, beautiful and familiar.
Best withFrench and European dishes, steak, fish, eggs, asparagus and greens
Finishing sauces, cooking eggs, basting steak and fish, and low-to-medium-heat cooking.
Sweet, creamy and nutty when browned.
Choose cultured butter from grass-fed cows where you can. The colour tells the story.
Butter that's been slowly simmered and strained, leaving golden fat behind.
Best withIndian curries and dals, chicken, eggs, cauliflower and spinach
Indian cooking, high-heat frying, roasting, and tempering spices.
Toasty, nutty and buttery.
Make your own by simmering grass-fed butter until the solids turn golden, then strain it. It keeps for months.
Oils that are happy in a hot pan or the oven.
The cold-pressed juice of olives, green-gold and fruity. The one bottle I'd never be without.
Best withMediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes, fish, lamb, salads, tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant
Dressings, drizzling over finished dishes, gentle sautéing, slow-cooked vegetables and roasting at moderate heat.
Grassy, peppery, sometimes a little bitter. The best ones catch the back of your throat.
Look for a harvest date, a dark bottle or tin, and a named grower. Buy a size you'll use within a couple of months of opening.
Pressed from coconut flesh. It's solid in a cool pantry and melts in seconds in a warm pan.
Best withAsian curries and stir-fries, prawns, chicken, pumpkin and sweet potato
Stir-fries, curries, pan-frying, roasting vegetables and baking.
Virgin coconut oil tastes gently of coconut. Refined coconut oil is neutral, so choose it when you don't want coconut in the dish.
Choose organic, cold-pressed virgin oil for flavour, or a steam-refined oil.
Pressed from avocado flesh. It's mild and versatile.
Best withMexican and barbecue dishes, chicken, fish, salads and grilled veg
High-heat cooking, barbecues, mayonnaise and dressings.
Clean and buttery, with very little taste.
Look for cold-pressed oil in a dark bottle from a producer you trust.
Pressed from Australian macadamias. Golden and smooth, and proudly home-grown.
Best withAustralian dishes, fish, prawns, chicken, salads and roast veg
Pan-frying, roasting, barbecues, baking, mayonnaise and dressings.
Light, buttery and subtly nutty.
Look for cold-pressed Australian oil from a named grower, in a dark bottle.
The pale, fragrant fat pressed from cacao beans. It's what gives chocolate its melt.
Best withTreats, raw chocolate, warm drinks and fat bombs
Raw chocolate, fat bombs and treats, warm drinks, and gentle melting.
Chocolatey and creamy, with a soft cocoa aroma.
Choose raw, organic, fair-trade cacao butter in wafers or chips. They melt quickly and evenly.
Delicate oils for adding flavour at the end. Most of these are best kept off the heat.
Pressed from toasted sesame seeds. Dark amber, and a few drops go a long way.
Best withAsian stir-fries, noodles, Korean and Japanese dishes, chicken, eggs, greens and mushrooms
Finishing stir-fries, noodles and soups, dressings, marinades, and gentle low-heat cooking.
Deep, nutty and toasty: the smell of a great Asian kitchen.
Choose organic, cold-pressed oil in a dark bottle and keep it in a cool cupboard.
A clear oil made from the medium-chain fats in coconut.
Best withCoffee, smoothies, dressings and drinks
Stirring into coffee, smoothies and drinks, and whisking into dressings.
Almost no taste or smell at all.
Choose oil made from organic coconut, in glass if you can find it.
Pressed from hemp seeds. Deep green and grassy.
Best withSalads, dips, roast pumpkin, beetroot and leafy greens
Drizzling over salads, roast veg and dips, and stirring into dressings and pesto. Keep it off the heat.
Earthy, nutty and green, a little like sunflower seeds.
Buy small bottles of cold-pressed organic oil, keep them in the fridge, and use within a few weeks of opening.
Pressed from walnuts. Rich, golden and a little bit fancy.
Best withFrench dishes, salads, fish, beetroot, greens and roast veg
Drizzling over salads, roast veg, greens and fish, and finishing dressings. Keep it off the heat.
Rich, toasty and walnut through and through.
Buy small bottles of cold-pressed oil, keep them in the fridge once open, and use within a couple of months.
Pressed from flaxseeds (linseed). Golden and delicate.
Best withDressings, smoothies, salads and finished veg dishes
Stirring into dressings and smoothies, and drizzling over finished dishes. Keep it off the heat.
Mild and nutty, with a slightly grassy finish.
Buy it from the fridge section in a dark bottle, keep it chilled, and use it quickly once opened.
Keep two or three fats on hand. A jar of animal fat by the stove, a bottle of good olive oil and some coconut oil cover just about everything you'll cook. Store them somewhere cool and dark, and enjoy them. Cooking should be a pleasure. Pete x
Rendering fat at home is one of the oldest kitchen skills there is, and it's easy. Next time you're at the butcher, just ask for the trimmings, then let your stove do the work.
My master method for tallow (beef fat), lard (pork back fat), lamb fat, duck fat (from duck skin) and chicken fat (from chicken skin). Makes up to 600 g (1 lb 5 oz) from 1 kg (2 lb 3 oz) of fat.
Open the recipe →Home-rendered lard, gently smoked over hickory or apple wood chips on the barbecue. Beautiful for frying eggs and roasting veg.
Tallow blended with turmeric, olive oil and coconut cream into a golden 'butter'. I love it slathered over vegetables, meat or fish.
Sweets are fussy about fat, so I keep them to the fat each recipe was written with. If you would like to swap, my Fats for Sweets guide shows how each fat behaves.
Fats for Sweets guideCheck in with your health professional if you have any questions or concerns about any recipe. Disclaimer
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