Saturated fat is solid at room temperature. It is called “saturated” because the molecular chains of the fat are saturated with hydrogen: it has a great deal more hydrogen atoms in its molecular chain than other fat.
We can’t see that in the kitchen, of course, but we can see the effect of it, making it more stable at room temperature.
Saturated fat comes from animals generally but also from coconuts, cottonseed, palm kernels, chocolate, etc.
Nutrition
Your body needs some saturated fat: without it, the body cannot use calcium, cell membranes can’t retain their structure, and your liver can’t function optimally.
However, too much is bad, because our body manufactures cholesterol from saturated fat. Too much saturated fat can cause too much cholesterol to be made, blocking up arteries.
The table below by Dr. Sue Snider of the University of Delaware is interesting, in that it shows how wrong the popular wisdom can be: it shows Palm Oil, Coconut Oil, and Butter to be worse for you than lard (or by extension, bacon fat) in terms of saturated fat.
| Type of Fat |
Saturated %
|
Monounsaturated %
|
Polyunsaturated %
|
 |
|
|
|
| Animal Fats | |
|
|
| Butterfat |
66
|
30
|
4
|
| Beef Tallow |
52
|
44
|
4
|
| Pork (lard) |
38
|
46
|
7
|
|
|
|
|
| Vegetable Oils | |
|
|
| Coconut |
92
|
6
|
1
|
| Palm kernel oil |
86
|
12
|
2
|
| Palm oil |
51
|
39
|
10
|
| Cottonseed |
28
|
21
|
50
|
| Peanut |
21
|
50
|
28
|
| Margarine, soft |
18
|
36
|
36
|
| Margarine, stick |
17
|
59
|
25
|
| Sesame |
15
|
40
|
40
|
| Corn |
14
|
28
|
55
|
| Soybean |
14
|
21
|
50
|
| Olive |
14
|
75
|
7
|
| Sunflower |
10
|
21
|
64
|
| Safflower |
7
|
17
|
71
|
| Canola |
6
|
62
|
32
|
From: Sue Snider, Ph.D., Food and Nutrition Specialist, Food and Nutrition Facts, FNF-18 .University of Delaware Cooperative Extension, March 1997.
The dilemma is that while saturated fats are better in the kitchen — they are better to cook with because they can withstand higher temperatures, and they store better — they are not better when you’re out of the kitchen and in the doctor’s office, where you deny all knowledge of them.