Curly Sue wrote:

> On Tue, 02 Mar 2004 21:53:04 -0600, zxcvbob >
> wrote:
> <snip>
>
>>Trans- fats are saturated. That's why they are solid. Roughly half of
>>hydrogenated fat is trans- and the other half is... ummm... "cis-", I
>>think. Peanut oil contains a little bit of natural saturated fat, all of
>>which will be "cis-".
>
>
> trans and cis are both unsaturated. Those terms refer to the
> configuration around a carbon to carbon double bond. If the H's (or
> functional groups) are on the same side, it's cis. If they are on the
> opposite side, it's trans. If the fatty acid is saturated, you can't
> have cis or trans. Hydrogenation converts many unsaturated bonds to
> saturated configuration and some unsaturated bonds to to the cis
> configuration.
>
> Here's a nice explanation, with drawings.
>
> http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembo...ogenation.html
>
>
>>So, Skippy probably has about 1 gram of hydrogenated oil per "serving",
>>half of that is "trans-", or .5 grams. They adjust the serving size down
>>small enough to stay below the .5 gram limit.
>
>
> Put away your calculators folks. Someone did the study!
>
> from http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2001/010612.htm
> ****************
> "Recurring rumors that commercial peanut butters contain trans
> fats--which appear to increase risk of cardiovascular disease--have no
> basis in fact, according to an Agricultural Research Service study.
>
> The rumors no doubt started because small amounts of hydrogenated
> vegetable oils are added to commercial peanut butters--at 1 to 2
> percent of total weight--to prevent the peanut oil from separating
> out. And the hydrogenation process can generate the formation of trans
> fatty acids in oils, according to Timothy H. Sanders, who leads
> research at ARS’ Market Quality and Handling Research Unit at Raleigh,
> N.C.
>
> To see if the rumors had any validity, Sanders prepared 11 brands of
> peanut butter, including major store brands and natural brands, for
> analysis by a commercial laboratory. He also sent paste freshly
> prepared from roasted peanuts for comparison. The laboratory found no
> detectable trans fats in any of the samples, with a detection limit of
> 0.01 percent of the sample weight."
> **************************
>
>
> Sue(tm)
> Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Thanks! When I was explaining it (wrongly) something didn't seem right,
cuz if the fat is completely saturated it will just be a chain of
single-bonds. So trans- fats would just be a problem in *partially*
hydrogenated oils.

I still prefer to grind up roasted salted peanuts without any sugar or
shortening added. Health food store bulk peanut butter doesn't have enough
salt.

Best regards,
Bob