Goose Fat

Why goose fat is rated low

Goose fat is low FODMAP. The rating is an estimate from what the product is rather than a measured serving, and the reasoning is short: rendered fat is fat, with essentially no carbohydrate in the jar for gut bacteria to work on. That is why the ladder is qualitative and reads Any typical portion: LOW instead of naming a weight. Cooking fat is also rarely the thing anyone eats a lot of on its own. The honest caution for goose fat is about everything it touches, since it is usually the medium for a tray of roast vegetables and it often ends up as the base of a gravy.

What changes your risk

• Anything solid left in the jar Plain rendered goose fat is just fat. Jars sold with garlic cloves, shallot or herbs steeping in them are a different product, and solid pieces are what carry the FODMAPs, so they need to come out and stay out.
• Infusing works in your favour What makes garlic a problem dissolves in water and not in fat, so garlic warmed in goose fat and then strained out completely leaves the flavour behind without the FODMAPs. The rule is the same one that makes garlic-infused oil workable: no solid pieces remain.
• What goes in the roasting tin Potatoes tossed in goose fat stay low, potatoes roasted on a bed of onion wedges do not, and the onion is the reason rather than the fat. Keep onion and whole garlic out of the tray if the tray is the meal.
• Drippings turned into gravy Fat poured off a bird that was roasted over onion, celery or a stuffing carries pieces and juices with it, and gravy granules and stock cubes bring onion and garlic of their own. Fat strained clean of solids is the version the rating describes.
• The rest of the meal A low ingredient does not make a low meal. Goose fat roasties beside stuffing, a wheat based gravy and cauliflower cheese add up quickly, and the fat is the one part of that plate carrying nothing.

What else works

There is no need to swap goose fat out, and the other plain cooking fats behave the same way, so olive oil, plain vegetable oil and butter all work, with garlic-infused oil standing in whenever you want the garlic note. Duck fat and lard are the obvious cousins and are plain rendered fats too. What is not equivalent is a flavoured cooking fat with onion or garlic in the ingredient list, garlic butter, a jar with cloves still floating in it, and gravy or stock made from a tin that held onion. For roasting, potato, carrot, zucchini and bell pepper all take goose fat happily.

How to keep it low

Buy the jar whose label reads goose fat and nothing else, and leave the ones with visible garlic or herb pieces on the shelf unless you are willing to strain them thoroughly. Heat a spoonful in the roasting tin before the potatoes go in so they crisp rather than soak, season with salt, pepper, rosemary or thyme, and use garlic-infused oil alongside it if you want a garlic note. When you save the fat after a roast, strain it through a fine sieve so no onion or stuffing fragments go back into the jar, then keep it cold and use it for potatoes, eggs or pan fried fish.

Common questions

is goose fat low fodmap

Yes. Plain rendered goose fat is rated low FODMAP, an estimate based on it being essentially pure fat with no fermentable carbohydrate, and the guidance is Any typical portion: LOW.

are goose fat roast potatoes low fodmap

Potatoes and plain goose fat are both low FODMAP, so the roasties themselves are fine. It is onion wedges, whole garlic cloves or a stuffing sharing the tray that would change the answer.

can i use garlic flavoured goose fat

Only if no solid pieces are left in it. What makes garlic a problem dissolves in water rather than fat, so strained garlic infused fat carries the flavour without the FODMAPs, while a jar with cloves still sitting in it does not.

what can i use instead of goose fat

Olive oil, plain vegetable oil, butter and duck fat all do the same job and are plain fats as well. Garlic-infused oil is the one to reach for when the dish wants garlic flavour.