Na biokimia, gajih (fat) ngarupakeun istilah umum pikeun hiji golongan lemak. Gajih dihasilkeun tina prosés organik na sato jeung tutuwuhan. Sakabéh gajih teu leyur na cai sarta mibanda dénsiti sahandapeun cai (nu matak ngambang na cai). Gajih nu cair dina suhu rohangan mimindengna disebut minyak.
Products with a lot of saturated fats tend to be solid at room temperature, while products containing unsaturated fats, which include monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats, tend to be liquid at room temperature.
Predominantly saturated fats (solid at room temperature) include all animal fats (e.g. milk fat, lard, tallow), as well as palm oil, coconut oil, cocoa fat and hydrogenated vegetable oil (shortening). All other vegetable fats, such as those coming from olive, peanut, maize (corn oil), cottonseed, sunflower, safflower, and soybean, are predominantly unsaturated and remain liquid at room temperature. However, both vegetable and animal fats contain saturated and unsaturated fats. Some oils (such as olive oil) contain in majority monounsaturated fats, while others present quite a high percentage of polyunsaturated fats (sunflower, rape).
Different varieties of fat have seen, and indeed still see, much use as lubricants, although recently various synthetic substances and petroleum derivatives has taken over in most industrial applications.
In cooking, products with a high fat content are often used as enhancers of taste, for example butter, milk, cheese and other dairy products.
Animal fat or "drippings" are also used in the traditional cuisine of European countries. In Denmark pork fedt (the fat from the frying pan after the meat has been cooked) is drained and filtered to strain any large particles. It is then placed in a container and cooled down until solid. It can be kept for extremely long periods of time in a refrigerator. Often it is used as a more flavourful alternative to butter or margarine, and is easily spread even when cold.
In traditional Jewish cuisine the fat from chickens, known as schmaltz, is used.
Another use of fat in cooking is as heat conductor in frying.
They also serve as energy stores for the body. In food, there are two types of fats: saturated and unsaturated. Fats are broken down in the body to release glycerol and free fatty acids. The glycerol can be converted to glucose by the liver and thus used as a source of energy. The fatty acids are a good source of energy for many tissues, especially heart and skeletal muscle.
Energy is stored as fatty tissue when the nutrition/energy content of the blood remains higher than is consumed by muscular and other activity. When the energy content in the blood lessens, the fatty tissue reacts by releasing a corresponding amount of energy from the fat cells. This activity is controlled by insulin and other hormones in the body.
See also: Carbohydrate, protein, lipid, biodiesel, brown fat
Fett | fat | grasa | Graisse | 脂肪 | vet | T%C5%82uszcz | rasva