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What To Do With That Goose Fat

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By MARY A. KEITH

Tribune correspondent

Published: February 1, 2009

We roasted a goose for Christmas. It was delicious, but now we have 2 cups of goose fat from the pan. Is there anything we can use it for?

I remember as a child folks wanted goose fat to rub on aching chests or legs, as a liniment. But I don't think there's much proof that it works! Goose fat can be used to make gravy, biscuits, or breads. It's not as solid as lard, but some people make pie crusts with it too.

We got a lot of fruit flavored drinks, the kind in the little boxes and pouches, for the holidays. But the children didn't drink as much as we expected. Now we see that the package says to refrigerate after purchase. We've just had them on the counter all this time! Are they safe?

One of the major fruit drink manufacturers says that the safety is not affected, only the flavor. They taste better when they are cold, and sitting warm for long times could affect the flavor. But there's nothing in them that would make anyone sick. They're mostly sugar water, not juice, so you can use them or not.

Is it true that keeping peanuts in the refrigerator will make them safe for people with allergies? That's what a friend told me, but I'm afraid to try them.

If you're allergic to peanuts, do not eat them! Refrigeration will at least slow down the molds that can sometimes make peanuts toxic, but it will do nothing for any allergens. They will be just as dangerous. So far there is no way to remove the allergenic proteins from them.

This bottle of garlic salad dressing has an ingredient I've never heard of: "interesterified soybean oil." What is that, and why is it in there?

You've heard of the problems with trans fats, which are produced when oils are hydrogenated, right? Well, plain oils don't work well in lots of products, including apparently your salad dressing. So instead of hydrogenating the oil, the manufacturer is using another process called interesterification to thicken the oil. It does not produce trans fats. As far as we know now, it is safe. But then, we thought hydrogenated fats were safe for 30 years too.

We got two gingerbread houses for Christmas. We tried eating one, but it was very hard and pretty tasteless. So, is there any way we can keep this other one for next Christmas? It's very pretty, but not worth eating.

Generally the main problem with storing hard gingerbread is moisture. So if you can keep it dry enough it should last. If you have heavy duty plastic bags, zipper-seal or others, that are large enough, start with that. Put it in one and squeeze or suck as much of the air out as you can, then seal it. Putting it in a second bag wouldn't hurt. Then try to find a can that seals tightly, like the large tins popcorn comes in, to store it in. It should be good enough to look at next year.

What is papain and why is it in meat seasoning? I've never seen it in the spice or herb section, or the spice catalogs I get.

Papain is an enzyme found naturally in papaya fruit and leaves. The enzyme is a protease, that is, it breaks down protein. So it is often used as a meat tenderizer. Marinating tough meat with chunks of papaya, or wrapping meat in papaya leaves, is another way of using it. But using too much, or leaving it on the meat too long, can make meat soft and mushy. If the meat is cooked soon after the seasoning is added that should not happen because the heat will stop the enzyme action.

Mary A. Keith, a nutritionist and health agent at Hillsborough County Extension, can be reached at (813) 744-5519 or mkeith@ufl.edu.

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