UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
BULLETIN No. 469 
Contribution from the States Relations Service 
A. C. TRUE, Director 
Washington, D. C. 
PROFESSIONAL PAPER 
December 15, 1916 
FATS AND THEIR ECONOMICAL USE IN THE 
HOME. 1 
By A. D. Holmes and H. L. Lang, Scientific Assistants, Office of Home Eco- 
CONTENTS. 
Introduction 1 
General nature of fats 2 
The place of fats in the diet 3 
Digestibility of fats 4 
Sources and kinds of edible fats 6 
Animal fats 8 
Vegetable fats 12 
The selection of edible fats 15 
Economy in the use of fats 17 
Utilization of waste fats 20 
Rendering and clarifying fats 22 
Savory fats 23 
Softening hard fats to make them more satis- 
factory for shortening purposes 24 
Care and storage of fats in the home 25 
Summary 26 
INTRODUCTION. 
The fats in the ordinary diet fall naturally into two groups, those 
eaten because they happen to be components of foods, like the fat in 
milk, meats, or fish, and those like butter, salad oils, or lard, which 
are added to other foods in cooking or serving. The housekeeper 
interested in the economical use of fats in the home must take into 
consideration fat as contributed by both groups. Obviously, the 
kind and quantity of the first group of fats eaten are determined 
by the foods making up the diet, and this is governed largely 
by individual tastes and local or family food habits. As regards 
this group, economy involves chiefly the proper selection and 
combination of foods containing fat in abundance with other foods 
containing little of it, so as to secure a diet supplying the proper pro- 
portions of protein and carbohydrate as well as fat. As this matter 
1 Prepared under the direction of C. F. Langworthy, Chief, Office of Home Economics. 
Note. — This bulletin contains information regarding the character, selection, and use of 
edible fats in the home, much of the material being based on investigations made in the 
laboratory of the Office of Home Economics of the States Relations Service. It is of 
interest to teachers and students of domestic science, housekeepers, and others concerned 
with the problems of food selection and preparation. 
61287°— Bull. 469—16 1 
