Pleasures of the flesh: New book puts fat back in fashion

Berkeley, California : A new book celebrating fat aims to put flesh back on the menu and force the food police to eat their words. Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient] by Jennifer McLagan (Ten Speed Press) presents a defence of the much-maligned ingredient, highlighting its benefits alongside recipes for such delectable dishes as marrow rice pudding, brown butter ice cream and French fries in lard. The book butchers the argument that animal fat is to blame for our expanding waistlines. Rather, McLagan says, forsaking this ingredient has resulted in man-made horrors such as margarine and trans fats, as well as rising obesity, diabetes and cancer rates. Here, the author aims to put fat back on the menu and to give our meals some much-needed flavour.

The publication comes at a pertinent time when ministers in the UK are proposing a tax on alcohol and chocolate, and the government is recruiting an army of volunteers to nag their peers into leading healthier lives. Consumers are rebelling. Tired of traffic-light labelling and calorie counting, credit crunch consumers are saying no to the nanny state. To overcome the downturn blues, shoppers are treating themselves to small (and sometimes fatty) luxuries at the supermarket.

Premium dessert maker Gü has reported record sales during the recession, indicating that decadent desserts are replacing smoothies on shopping lists. Similarly, champagne sales are booming – with Britain now its number one export market – and upscale grocery retailer Waitrose reports that sparkling wine sales are up 35% on last year. The British are saving money by drinking more at home, says Françoise Peretti, director of the Champagne Bureau, illustrating the trend towards Homedulgence.