On Sat, 3 Mar 2001, Oliva wrote:

> I see nothing wrong with butter either.  I just like goose fat better.  I,
> too, keep organic butter and cream in the house. I don't know which fats are
> converted to transfats with heating and would welcome the list to interject
> if you are knowledgeable on this one.  It is my understanding that oils
> convert with heat.

I have asked some organic chemists about this, and they tell me
that heating alone does not produce trans fats.  The process by
which these trans bonds are made is: unsaturated fats are heated
and hydrogen is bubbled through them under high pressure in the
presence of nickel as a catalyst.  This doesn't happen in
cooking.  I'm no chemist, but that is what I've been told by
colleagues, one of whom specializes in "food chemistry."

Todd Moody
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