raw oils in bars

[christopher steeves]

If any one has any suggestions for a raw oil that can be mixed with nuts and dried fruit in an energy bar without going rancid/sour and that doesn't need to be refridgerated, please let me know.
Thanks.

[Arky]

To tell you the truth, I don't know that such an oil even exists - at least not one in a healthy form.

If you don't already own it, I suggest you acquire Udo Erasmus's excellent 'Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill'.

Most healthy fats are vulnerable to oxidisation precisely because they have a molecular structure, vulnerable to oxidisation, exactly as nature intended - broadly-speaking, your body needs to be able to oxidise a fat in order to healthily derive energy from it rather than viewing it as an alien substance of little or no nutritional use to bodily tissues. The reason so many unhealthy fats exist in packaged foods is because they are denatured so as to be rendered virtually immune to oxidisation (but at penalty to the consumer's health, which the food manufacturer generally doesn't give a stuff about). This also the reason why so many commercial products for skin care do not truly nourish the skin - they tend to compromise by sitting on top of the skin instead. Those that do incorporate the genuinely skin-nourishing oils are prone to oxidisation and thus have a rather short shelf life.

Udo discusses all this in the above book (something of a masterpiece, that book, in my opinion. I truly never expected such a dry-sounding book to be so revealing, relevant and yes, even readable!).


BTW, your thread title led me to expect a discussion about oils in licensed public houses/hotels/restaurants! :D


J.

[Jordann]

I guess you could try coconut oil... it's pretty stable and as far as I'm aware does not need to be refrigerated. It will melt at like 76 degrees or something though, so if it were too warm you bars might get a bit gooey :rolleyes:

Totally a random thought, just a guess. I'm pretty new at all this. Good luck.

[Rawkinlocs]

Do you really need an oil? If you are processing your bars in a food processor, the nuts will produce their own oil. You could perhaps process some walnuts and dates to form that oily, sticky base, transfer that to a bowl and then PULSE chop more nuts and dried fruit just until chunky but not smooth as the previous mixture. Then, mix it all together in a bowl by hand and press into a pan, chill and slice into bars.

That's what I'd do anyway :)

Oh...and you may be able to have the bars unrefrigerated for a little while, but for them to last even longer, I'd suggest refrigeration because even the nuts themselves can go rancid after a while of being left out...especially once processed!

[Sheryl]

Coconut is the only one stable enough for me to consider using... I agree with Rawkinlocs though that if you're using nuts it's usually enough to balance it well.

Cheers,
Sheryl

[karenisraw]

coconut oil fits all of the specifications that you talked about. I believe it will stick together fine if you use mushed up dates.

k