SesaLEAN: the cooking oil for cool people

[G.W. Hayduke]

This is an evaluation of AvantLabs new SesaLean, a cooking oil based on a new comer called Enova and enhanced by the ever popular SesaThin. I see it as a new staple for culinary athletes and fat mothers alike.

Smell: Lightly nutty with hints of olive. It is like a mixture of extra virgin olive oil and peanut oil.
Taste: Again, similar to olive oil with a bit less tang... somewhat like light olive oil. It also has a slight smokiness to it, somewhat like lightly toasted sesame oil. It does NOT taste like SesaThin.
Color: A medium tan yellow.
Texture: I expected it to be grainy and thick but was surprised and happy to find it to be quite liquidy and smooth.

About Enova: Traditional cooking oils consist mostly of fat molecules called triacylglycerols, or TAGs, with a small amount of diacylglycerols, or DAGs. Enova™ oil consists mostly of DAGs. TAGs carry three fatty acids on a backbone molecule; DAGs carry two fatty acids in the first and second positions on the backbone (1,2 DAGs) or in the first and third positions (1,3 DAGs). Your body breaks down Enova™ oil and traditional TAG oils exactly the same way and absorbs the resulting fatty acids into the intestine.

Enova™ oil consists of at least 80% DAGs. Approximately seventy percent of these DAGs are the (1,3) form of diacylglycerol. Due to the shape of the (1,3) DAG molecules, enzymes in the intestine can't recombine most of the pieces of this fat into fat molecules, so less fat is passed into the bloodstream to be stored in the body. Less of the DAG in Enova™ Oil is stored in the body as fat.

I will continue this review periodically as I test the oil in different cooking situations.

[Par Deus]

You need to get in the kitchen, slacker.

[TinyMan]

any idea of the smoke point temperature for this oil?



Tinyman

[G.W. Hayduke]

Oh jesus! My bad. I've been keeping track of recipes on paper (really having fun with it actually). I shall update right away.

[G.W. Hayduke]

Basic Eggs:

Ingredients:
3 eggs, beaten violently
1 green onion, sliced
1 teaspoon SesaLean

Okay, to put the oil to the ultimate test of non-stickness, I used a plain old stainless steal frying pan. First, heated the oil up to medium heat, then in went the beaten eggs with the onion. It's a simple process, I know. Anyways, the eggs scrambled nicely. They resisted sticking just as well as they would've done with Pam. Also, there was no browning or smoking of the oil as sometimes happens with butter. The flavor was non-detectable unlike the obvious flavor of olive oil. Interesting, because based on the scent of SesaLean, I really expected a full flavor... but I'm not disappointed at all. It's nice to have a nearly flavorless oil most of the time.

[G.W. Hayduke]

Oatmeal Cookies:

Original recipe:
2 sticks butter 1-1/2 C. flour
1 C. brown sugar 1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 C. granulated sugar 3 C. rolled oats
2 eggs 1 C. raisins
1 tsp. vanilla

SesaLean'd recipe:
1 stick butter 3/4 C. whole oat flour
1/2 C. brown sugar 1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 C. granulated sugar 3-1/4 C. rolled oats
2 eggs 1 C. raisins
1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 C. SesaLean
2 scoops vanilla protein

First, mix the SesaLean and butter together well in a separate dish then refrigerate until slightly hardened. In a large bowl mix the eggs, vanilla, sugar and butter/sesalean combo. Mix until very smooth. In a separate bowl, mix the protein powder, flour, oats, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Combine the mixed dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Blend together until smooth and mix in the raisins. Now, here's the key part: cover and refridgerate the dough for about 5 hours.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place rounded tablespoons of the doug onto an ungreased cookie pan and bake for about 10-12 minutes. Cool baked cookies on a wire rack.

Now, you can tell a slight difference between these cookies and the regular ones, but they still taste damn good and are a lot better for you. You have to refridgerate the batter in order to get the liquid Sesalean to "set-up" inside the dough. That is the one bane of Sesalean: liquid even when refridgerated.

[solarize]

Originally Posted by TinyMan

any idea of the smoke point temperature for this oil?



Tinyman

From use I think its above olive oils smoke point but below canola.

[Par Deus]

Originally Posted by Aeternitatis

Basic Eggs:
The flavor was non-detectable unlike the obvious flavor of olive oil. Interesting, because based on the scent of SesaLean, I really expected a full flavor... but I'm not disappointed at all. It's nice to have a nearly flavorless oil most of the time.

"Rich, but neutral" is how I describe the flavor.

As far as useability goes, it really turned out better than I ever hoped, from the taste, to the "anti-splash" effect many have mentioned, to its ability to be cooked with, even at pretty high temps.

[Par Deus]

Originally Posted by solarize

From use I think its above olive oils smoke point but below canola.

That is similar to what I have observed as well. It should be around 400 degrees.

Basically, you can coat the pan, bake, stir fry, pan fry, etc. You can cook with it on a pan with the flame up all the way as long as you move the food around when cooking with it.

Pretty much the only thing I recommend against is deep fat frying, but that would get really expensive anyway.

[G.W. Hayduke]

Originally Posted by Par Deus

"Rich, but neutral" is how I describe the flavor.
.

That's actually a very accurate description, I would say.

[Jsorb8997]

Have you tried dipping anything in it or using it as a spread w/cheese, herbs etc?

[Par Deus]

I have. It is very good with honey mustard, with red wine vinegar, with various McCormick's seasoning packets (these things are so great, BTW).