Is Soybean Oil The New Face of Deep Frying?

by Harper Bridgers
04/24/2008

Fried shrimp, fried chicken, fried fish, onion rings and French fries. Just naming a few of these items brings about a certain greasy smile on many people's faces, being the country's favorite fried delights, according to a Yahoo! survey.

But as America's waistline continues to expand, along with the quantity of health-conscious individuals, fried foods are earning a less-than-satisfactory reputation. Plagued with talk of trans fats, partial hydrogenation and morbid obesity, one of America's favorite cooking methods is taking a beating. With eyes locked on the most common cause of death in the United States – heart disease, according to the Center of Disease Control – it is no surprise that Americans are rethinking their favorite munchies. Not just consumers, but producers are also taking steps in saving lives, one deep-fat fryer at a time.

Fried foods have been filling bellies for longer than history can recount. The Chinese pastry's origins can be traced back to the the Neolithic Age, between 8,000 and 5,500 BC, when the stone grinder was invented to grind grains, according to Oso-Ono, a California wholesale provider of fried doughs. Even the Egyptians of this era were making fried cakes.

In the 2nd century BC, Romans enjoyed scriblita, described by Cato, which is believed to be a precursor to doughnuts and fritters, Oso-Ono says. Washington Irving's History of New York (1809) hosts the first documentation of the term “dough nut,” associated with Dutch settlers in New Amsterdam (later New York).

Today America is swamped with just about any fried food one could dream of. Fried fanatics have moved to products like Snickers, Twinkies and even pickles to attract consumers that are tired of the regular funnel cakes at state fairs.

But after Eric Schlosser's heavily researched Fast Food Nation and Morgan Spurlock's eye-opening documentary Super Size Me hit the mainstream, Americans' stomachs were turned upside down and the painful realities behind deep frying were unveiled. The startling man behind the curtain could now finally be seen.

And that man is named trans fats. An evil found in many foods enjoyed daily by millions of Americans, and in the oil that fast food joints, among other restaurants, uses to fast-fry their products.

“Basically, trans fat is made when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil – a process called hydrogenation. Hydrogenation increases the shelf life and flavor stability of foods containing these fats,” according to the Food and Drug Administration.

“Trans fat can be found in vegetable shortenings, some margarines, crackers, cookies, snack foods, and other foods made with or fried in partially hydrogenated oils. Unlike other fats, the majority of trans fat is formed when food manufacturers turn liquid oils into solid fats like shortening and hard margarine. A small amount of trans fat is found naturally, primarily in some animal-based foods,” the FDA says.

Consuming saturated fat, trans fat and dietary cholesterol “raises low-density lipoprotein (LDL) – or 'bad cholesterol – levels,” thusly increasing risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), according to the FDA. At least 12.5 million Americans have CHD, while more than 500,000 die yearly – making it one of the leading causes of death in the U.S.

With pressure from Congress, the FDA and the general public to reduce or abolish trans fats in our foods, some progress is being made. New York City is calling for its 20,000+ restaurants to use products without trans fats. Canada and Denmark both have already banned trans fats from their foods.

Whole Harvest, under parent company Carolina Soy Products, “is the nation’s first naturally processed no trans fat commercial cooking oil line produced without the use of blends or harsh chemicals,” based out of rural Warsaw, North Carolina.

“What makes us different and better is the fact that we expel and press the oil out of the soy bean rather than using the hexane-solvent extraction process,” Forest Senter, National Sales Representative of Whole Harvest Oils, says. “The oil that we press out is so clean, it takes very little refining, and we don't use any chemicals in the process. Rather, we use a natural process, or physical refining. This leaves the Vitamin E, the natural anti-oxidant that keeps the oil from going rancid and increases stability, and Omega 3's in the oil, thus omitting the hydrogenation process that produces the trans fat.”

Omega 3's are oils that are essential to normal growth in animals and young children, and they may reduce the risk of CHD, according to the FDA.

Starting on January 1, 2008, the FDA mandated that all trans fats join saturated fats as components listed on food labels.

But why the soybean? “Soybean oil is plentiful, economical and healthier than other oils. It has a neutral flavor that does not transfer to other foods, is very stable and fries at an ideal high temperature,” Whole Harvest says.

Andy's Cheesesteaks and Cheeseburgers, a restaurant group based out of Mount Olive, North Carolina, led the way five years ago by eliminating the use of cooking oils latent with trans fat.

Restaurants Bob Evans, Ruth's Chris and Ham's are a few other chains that have made the transition to the healthier soybean oil, Senter says.

He warns consumers that not all food products deemed “trans fat free” are as they claim.

“These big oil companies have convinced the FDA to allow oil that has traces of trans fats, .05 grams per serving or less, to be labeled as 'no trans fat.' [Whole Harvest] is 0.0% trans fat,” Senter says. “They're also calling it 'no trans per serving,' which is a catch because most of the snacks you eat are more than one serving. The serving size for Doritos is seven chips. Who eats seven Doritos? If you eat eight, there is some trans fat in it.”

With the trans fat completely out of the question, Whole Harvest soybean oil proves its healthy advantage, but does it compromise taste?

During a 2001 study at Texas A&M University, Whole Harvest SmartFry oil was tested against FryMax Supreme, commercially used partially-hydrogenated soy oil. The result: the chicken patties fried with Whole Harvest oil had a better taste and appearance, according to the taste panel. Whole Harvest SmartFry oil was found to be absorbed at a lower rate than FryMax Supreme also.

Deep frying is no longer reserved for restaurants and commercially produced foods. It can be done in your own kitchen or backyard. Turkeys are being fried up, as well as roasted, on Thanksgiving these days. This is a tradition that my family has embraced.

I have recently received a miniature deep fryer, called a FryDad, made by Signature Gourmet. It is small in size but big enough to fry almost anything you would want – about the size of a crock pot. The convenient temperature settings makes it easy to keep the oil hot enough to fry a wide variety of foods.

Fried fish, french fries (sweet potato and white), and fried asparagus have been favorites of mine. Friends and I have even ventured to pop-tarts and oatmeal cream pies for curious experimentation. Both were delicious.