On Sunday, February 10, 2013 5:55:15 PM UTC-6, Steve Freides wrote:
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> > I don't have time to read these articles right now (they include
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> > arguments from both sides), but I just thought I'd get the word out.
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> http://muktiorganicskincare.com/boyc...net-a-present/
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> The above is the first link that comes up from your Google search.
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> Thanks, I hadn't realized all that.
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Palm oil (which is the same as palm *fruit* oil) is pretty crappy. Palm
*kernel* oil is very similar to coconut oil. Putting aside any
environmental issues, palm kernel oil is OK, perhaps even good, but palm oil
is bad. Palm oil is merely a cheap substitute for the villainous partially
hydrogenated oils, as palm kernel and coconut oils are way more expensive,
and the ideal high stearic oil, shea butter, has yet to gain popularity
because methods have apparently been yet to be developed to process out the
off taste. That is also the case for Sal butter.

In short, there is no reasonably priced, healthful oil with a high melt point,
but with all the progress in edible oil breeding, I'm confident that there will
be within a few years. Right now, the best choice for applications needing a
high melt point and neutral flavor is refined coconut oil, but that's awfully
pricey.

I think that for something like flaky pie crust, one could carefully melt
some coconut oil in with some butter to simulate the properties of low
moisture butter. If a mild chocolate flavor is fine, then one could use
cocoa butter instead of coconut oil.

I'm going to suggest to my wife that she try blending cocoa butter with high oleic sunflower oil for the shortening for a cherry chocolate pie with a traditionally flaky pie crust. I suggested this to her, and she likes the
idea. There is also the potential for layering the filling with both white
and dark chocolate.
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> -S-

--Bryan