In the sixties, vanaspati ghee was commonly used as cooking medium in India. Since the 1990s, it was observed that trans-fats had adverse health effects, and that partial hydrogenation process used to make vanaspati ghee with nickel as a catalyst produces trans-fats in abundance. Slowly, vanaspati ghee lost favour. In India, Dalda from Unilever was a popular brand of vanaspati ghee. In the beginning, it was promoted as the medium that is ‘mamta ki kasauti par khara’ or one that passes a mother’s careful scrutiny. Dalda was later sold to Bunge by Unilever. Bunge was a commodity trading giant. Abroad, margarine was used as a butter substitute. Even that was trans-fats.

Of late, instead of hydrogenation, a process that is used to solidify fat is inter-esterification. It reconfigures fat molecules through enzymes and makes trans-fat free vanaspati. Dalda is now made using this technology on a base of palm and sesame oil.

It is not correct to categorise the market as good and bad fats. Different fats have different properties. They are considered on the basis of cost, health effects, taste, tradition, ease of cooking and environmental considerations.

Vanaspati may not be available in supermarkets but it is still sold in wholesale markets and low-end grocery or kirana shops.