On Mon, 8 Sep 1997, John C. Pavao wrote:

> I have a question about that regarding cooking of foods.  Some of what I've
> read recently says that cooking foods ruins much of their value.  Does
> anyone know how this applies to the rendering of suet to make pemmican?

I don't think it applies.  As I understand it, the problem with
cooking foods is that the high temperatures cause some of the
complex molecules to be broken down, and some of these molecules
are vitamins and other important nutrients.  When you render the
fat from suet, you should be using a low heat, to avoid burning
(oxidizing) it.  Since fat is not rich in other nutrients, there
shouldn't be much to worry about.  That is, the fatty acids in
the fat *are* the nutrients, and they should not be damaged by
the rendering process.

Todd Moody
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