Page 88 - Vegan Food & Living (February 2020)

with
Sara Kidd
Best ever

V E G A N

baking hacks

Photo © Melissa Katherine

Sara Kidd joins us every month to share her essential

advice for making your bakes rise to the occasion

How to NEUTRAL FLAVOUR: When
baking, I generally recommend using neutral
choose the flavoured oil, such as an organic extra-virgin
olive or grapeseed oil. An exception is when
best oil for you want the oil to contribute to the flavour
of the bake, such as coconut, sesame or
your baking macadamia oil. Nut and seed oils, like walnut
and avocado, are generally cold-pressed and
have a distinctive flavour. These types of oils
If you bake a lot of my recipes you
can go rancid quickly and are recommended
will find that I generally use oil
as a finishing oil rather than a main ingredient.
as my fat component rather than
vegan butter. This makes the recipe
HEALTH-CONSCIOUS: If you’re
as simple as possible, using the
health-conscious, avoid highly processed oils
fewest tools. Almost all my cakes
such as non-organic canola/rapeseed and
use only a mixing bowl and a whisk
sunflower oil that are mass-produced. Most
to bring the ingredients together.
of these oils use toxic solvents during the
The type of oil you use can affect
extraction process and come from heavily
the outcome of the bake, budget
sprayed crops. Most are packaged in a clear
and flavour. Here is a quick insight
plastic bottle, which can allow fat-soluble
into choosing the right oil...
chemicals to leach into the oil. Canola oil is the
most popular baking oil, as it’s stable at high
temperatures, is cost-effective and has a natural
flavour. Choose organic where possible.
SARA KIDD AIRTIGHT: Look for oils in airtight, dark FAT RATIOS: Without getting too
sarakidd.com glass bottles. Oils can oxidise and turn rancid technical, there are three types of fat
ratios found in oil that can be defined
www.instagram.com/ once exposed to air, light and heat. Always as: saturated, monounsaturated and
veganbakesbysarakidd store oils in a dark place away from sunlight polyunsaturated. Saturated is solid at
www.facebook.com/ and, if you’re using them for longer than room temperature, such as coconut
veganbakesbysarakidd 30 days, store them in the oil; monounsaturated is liquid at room
Vegan Baking fridge to prolong their temperature, such as sunflower oil; and
FB Group: lifespan. The oil should polyunsaturated is
https://bit.ly/2rWrWc2 smell fresh, if not, it has liquid at room
gone rancid and is no temperature but
longer good to use. more stable than
or more recipes, tips
For more recipes, tips Consuming rancid saturated oils and
or more recipes, tips
oils can be doesn’t go rancid
linked to heart as quickly, such as
and resources go to my
disease and canola oil.
other illnesses.
website www.sarakidd.com