This will be a short post answering a subject that comes up frequently among those who are trying to eat healthier yet are aware of the prevalence of unhealthy Trans Fat in the food supply.
Trans fat
To be honest, I used to wonder the same thing until learning that there is a distinction between synthetic trans fat and naturally occurring trans fatty acids. Neither form of these famed lipids is beneficial for you in big numbers, but I would wager that the synthetic form (together with the mutant form found in overused frying oil) is the most harmful.
So this is how we got to the topic of frozen (or fresh) burgers: Most individuals with even a passing familiarity with the topic know that hydrogenation, the process by which hydrogen is added to oil, turns the oil from a liquid to a solid fat at room temperature, is the typical source of manufactured trans fat.
As an added bonus, this provides a more cost-effective option for improving food quality across the board, including flavour, texture, and preservation. As you can see, it was a smart financial decision until they discovered how quickly it was killing people.
Overcooking and/or repeatedly using the same oil in cooking are two other prominent unnatural sources of trans fatty acids.
In the same vein as certain fast food restaurants and those that don't frequently replace the oil in their deep fryer, etc. Some oils are more resistant to change than others, but others mutate at a far faster rate. Don't use olive oil in a deep frying, for instance.
But, getting back to the frozen patty-burgers...
All I'm doing is utilising this dish as an illustration. However, many people who were previously unaware of the naturally occurring harmful fats believed that the issue could be resolved by preparing meals at home with only complete foods and substances they could recognise.
This is largely the case. They decide to make their own hamburgers rather than get them from a fast food joint. While I seldom see trans fat indicated on the nutritional labels of the fresh ground beef I buy for burgers, I see it frequently on the packets of frozen burger patties. Before, I would wonder, "What in the hell are they doing differently to these frozen patties?" Ha! Then I learned that ruminant animal products also contain Trans Fat in their natural state (pork, beef, lamb, etc.).
Some investigations have shown that, when ingested in modest levels, the naturally occurring variety is not significantly different from conventional lipids.
Meat with a lower fat content will naturally be leaner. To wrap off this essay, know that the trans fat indicated on a package of frozen burger patties is often not an additional ingredient but rather a byproduct of the meat's natural frying process. However, if cooked patties have fake char markings, it's likely due to the use of artificial trans. A website I saw a few years ago detailed the steps used to simulate a charbroiled flavour via artificial means.
We should probably simply keep things as natural as possible, huh, since this is what we've learned.
This reminds me for some reason of a post I made a few years ago, which you can read here: This Is Why Pork Skins and Rinds Don't Contain Much Protein
—End of "Why is Trans Fat in Frozen Burger Patties?"
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