Someone really ought to have sent up a box of pastries to the NYC Health board made with the dreaded Crisco and then one with butter...just to let them know that certain things to have their place and needs.

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Crisco does nave a 0 trans fat shortening that supposedly looks, measures, and cooks like regular shortening. Yet I hear very little about it. Why didn't the chef try using Crisco's trans fat free shortening to see how that worked? I have seen this in the stores, just haven't tried it out yet. The company is responding to the anti-trans fat hoopla by introducing a new product, but apparently hasn't done much advertising.
http://www.crisco.com/about/0_grams.asp

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I think it was Jeffrey Steingarten who tried cooking chips in a variety of things and came up with horse fat being the best. How good an oil is for frying stuff in is partly due to the oil's smoking point, which you don't mention here.

And why is tarte tatin pastry meant to be flaky? It's a pate sucree, so if anything it's meant to be short rather than flaky (after all, if it was meant to be flaky they'd have used puff pastry - which I noticed isn't mentioned in the test).

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I am so shocked at the negative backlash against the trans fat ban. Finally someone is taking our children's health into consideration even if the adults want to gorge themselves with someone that was recently put on par with rat poison because of its impact on one's health. As for the "occasional treat", we all know that for the majority of Americans this is not the case. Why not just enjoy a "treat" that you know is at least somewhat better for you? It just might taste and make you feel better.

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Megan... so it's not people's responsibility to eat healthy foods, it's the government's responsibility to force them to.

And it's not parents' responsibility to feed their children healthy foods, it's the government's responsibility to ensure that unhealthy foods don't exist.

Support of the trans-fat ban is a rational and supportable position (even if I disagree with it), but you can ease up on the hyperbole. If you're given the choice between a slice of pie with Crisco crust and another slice of pie laced with rat poison, I'm pretty confident I know which one you'll be eating, so please don't equate the two.

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Ok, Everyone has their ideas about trans fats with the taste, or how it cooks or how much better it is to work with...the whole story goes on and on and we all know it well. But with all things look at the pros and cons... On the Pro side, it can fry better, taste better, last longer, easier to cook with..On the Con side, it can cause unnecessary heart attacks and death (ask a person what their biggest fear is, 8/10 will say death.) They are so many things out there that are trans fat free now and yes Even Crisco, probably the most popular cooking shortening has a Trans Fat Free product out. It's in a green can and I have used and I can't tell a freaking difference. Smart Balance has SOO many products out that are trans fat free and omega 3 fatty acids which are very very good for you. There are so many products on the market that are healthier and wiser to make. I understand about wanting that treat here and there, but if you had the choice between a heart attack or 30 years to live, i am sure you want more time to live. Don't underestimate the powers of certain things. We all believe it won't happen to us and then BOOM, there we are in the hospital wondering "WHY ME?". So lay off of it. The government band trans fatty acids for a damn good reason. At least someone is paying attention to our health needs even if we aren't. This issue has really gotten out of hand. It's for the better so leave and devote your time to getting healthier so you can be around for the next 40-70 years.

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I think labeling of foods for trans fat etc is good. Menus could carry aproximate fat content but I don't want the government telling me what to eat, think or do. These self appointed food police are completely out of line.
I've had one heart attack and a blockage and follow a diet but sometimes you have to have some food that isn't good for you but tastes good. That should be my decision.
Living like a vegetable for a couple extra years of life is not for me and doesn't guarantee you'll get that extra life anyway.

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Why play with your health in a competition such as this? Why not tell Crisco to remove the partially
hydrogenated fat from their product and do a real test?
Kile the Cardinals ball player died in his sleep (a
stroke), his arteries were 80-90% clogged. News article,"Kile had blockage in arteries", June 24, 2002. His heart was 25% larger than normal. As in the case of Kile those little .05 grams build up with
no warning. Kile nor his doctor had any warning. I
did and I did something about it. I had to stop before it was too late. After stopping, it painfully
left my arteries just by concentrating and avoiding all foods with hydrogenated fats in the ingredients
section and no trans fats in the nutrition section.
The more foods you eat with no hydrogenated fats it will push it through or empty the arteries. The pinching, burning, numbing pain is so bad I'm afraid
it will rupture my arteries.

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My concern is also for our childrens health as they grow into adult hood. Providing the right kinds of healthy food as children, will form good eating habits as they progress into adulthood. We are so blessed to be able to have these facts about transfat so that we can avoid eating them ourselves as well as illiminating them in our childrens diets, preventing the clogging of their arteries as they grow older. I believe that we have to do our part, in teaching our children, at home, about the harmful effects of what transfat can do to a persons arteries, and what they can do to our hearts, as well as the food and drug administrations responsiblity to illiminate the harmful ingredience in our fast food chains.

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If people's concern was for their children they'd do the food policing instead of the government.

If it's such a good idea for NYC to ban trans fats, why don't they ban other things that kill us. Cigarettes? It's a start. How about cars? They're deadly. Take the subway. Plastic bags? I could choke! Toasters? Oh gosh, I might stick my fork in there and electrocute myself.

Everyone like me outside of smug liberal New York City thinks this ban is crazy.

Anyway, what's the point of living an extra 40 years if the food is horrible? If my life were just granola, soy milk shakes and raw veggies... The only thing I'd be eating is a BULLET!

Exercise, eat in moderation and enjoy life. :)

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Will wonders never cease: finally the FDA and the state of NY are doing something actively to protect our health and people complain that they want to be able to choose to be idiots and eat trans fats. Th eonly problem I see is the FDA didn't go far enough by allowing manufacturers to list their products as having zero trans fats when, in fact, they have up to 0.5% trans fat. I want the information to be able to choose a product with no trans fat as opposed to one with .49% trans fat. What kind of scientist equates 4.9% with 0%??

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While it is good that Trans fat is being gradually removed from the market place, we are also being duped by regulations that allow products having less than 1/2 gram of trans fat per serving to advertise they are trans fat free. Products should not be allowed to be advertised as "zero trans fat" unless they are truly trans fat free.

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Not everybody outside of "smug liberal New York City" thinks this ban is crazy. And since when do we equate healthiness with being liberal? It is so irresponsible to politicize this issue with nonsense partisanship.

The truth of the matter is that the government needs to intervene because heart disease is still the number one cause of death in this country, not to mention that there is an obesity epidemic that is embarrassing and completely obscene. Americans are not handling these issues on their own.

Parents should be teaching their children what is healthy and what is not. But it's not happening. Maybe there is not enough time in the day to spend reading labels at the grocery store or measuring out actual portions, or talking to kids about healthy food choices. Or maybe most parents are too uninformed about nutrition and the metabolic process to understand why certain foods are quite literally killing us. It's difficult to teach children when you yourself to not know the facts.

I don't want to criticize parents here, or anyone else for that matter. I understand that, all too often, life gets in the way of our best intentions. So why are some criticizing the government for helping the country out a little? What can't we just say, "Thank you for finally doing something productive with your authority."

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For those of us highly allergic to canola oil, this ban is both depressing and fearful. I will now have a choice of short term misery and a known hospital visit from eating canola oil balanced against long term misery knowing my food choices will be severely limited.
Thanks but no thanks.

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Well...I've always been healthy... lean,tan and toned...then suddenly I had a heart attack...doing great now...but a lot less salt and cholesterol...almost no saturated fat...and god forbid absolutely no trans fats...miss those balogna sandwiches...lol...trans fats are the enemy of all of us...but...all things in moderation...a flakey crust chocolate pie once in a while isn't the end of the world.

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I invented a new kind of fried chicken.
It uses no oil, and no breading, but is delicious.
Cut the chicken into eight pieces leaving the skin on.
Using a large, heavy skillet, fry the pieces of chicken just as they are.
There is enough chicken fat in the skin to fry
in.
Turn the pieces frequently until it is all fried and crispy on the out side.
Then reduce the heat and cook the pieces through.
When it is done, then you add your flavors, hot and spicy, simple salt and black pepper, BBQ, etc.

Chef alfred

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Is dificlt to believe that companies
largely produce and distribute to america,s population a well known product that is harmful,
And all of this in the name of profits.
Is a very high price for all of us to pay.It just makes me wonder what else companies
are willing to do just for insensitively
make an extra buck,
and the sad part of this is that no health intitution
nor personal doctors will make us award of the dangers
of all the poisonous products avalible in the market as regular America,s food.

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Look, I just want my food to keep tasting good. :) And let it be known: I'm actually not that big a fan of fried foods. Or dessert foods / snacks. But I still disagree on government banning something based on "new" research.

Sure, the health department would shut down a place for serving rancid meat and veggies. But the health hazard for such things is much more immediate than the damages trans-fats can possibly do. The difference is, trans-fats are (supposedly) OK in moderation. And other factors affect your health more than this alone.

I think it is okay to politicise this - they're talking about tasty food here! NYC is factually a liberal-voting area. Nothing wrong with that at all. But many socially liberal people believe in the police power of government to force us towards a "better" life, at the expense of personal freedoms.

You know what? Food makers seem to be getting the message, without government meddling. A lot of foods are now trans-fat free. Adding the government to the mix only screws things up. Like the FDA saying

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Two words:

Dr. Mehmet Oz & Dr. Michael Roizen, both men are awesome and really know their stuff!

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize how bad trans fats are. I'd rather be healthy and not have to always be sick or in a hospital, than be ignorant. Try to tell the kids of today the word, moderation. Yeah right!

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as much as i know that trans fats are something to reduce in the diet as much as possible....as a person with thyroid imbalance, i'm finding more and more prepackaged products, breads, and soups are using soybean oil.

well, i can't really be eating soy products AT ALL, especially soybean oil...so now i'm wondering how i'm going to find the time to start making so many foods from scratch.

i've noticed some organice prepared food producers are using safflower oil...for people like me, and the poster below who can't eat canola oil, this is an alternative if we can find these brands!.

as for fast food restaurants, i hardly ever go there...but now i'll never be going there, because if i had to choose between an occasional meal with transfats, or one with soybean oil, the first is the one i'd pick.

i'd rather the choice was left up to the consumer, myself. every body has different needs. for those who rely on fast food all the time, wouldn't it be nice if they could order their burger in advance with how it's cooked? same for fries.

i realize this makes the fast food less fast, but maybe the problem has been making things too fast? too simple? too streamlined? too uniform?

if mcdonalds could figure out how to market salads, i think there'd be a way to figure out how to use a variety of oils for frying french fries and burgers, it just takes some ingenuity...and i think the end result would be more people being willing to come in to place an order for their burger and fries, rather than less...even if they're not eating burgers and fries all the time.

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