Ask A Scientist Chemistry Archive

(Created prior to 1993)

Question: Are there any safe solutions to extract fat from foods?
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Fats are not real soluble in aqueous solutions so organic 
solvents usually have to be used (there goes your "safe" stipulation).  
Acetone, benzene, chloroform, cyclohexane, ether are common fat (lipid) 
solvents.  Something that may work (but unreasonable for the layperson) would 
be a technique called "supercritical fluid extraction."  This is how caffeine 
is removed from coffee beans.  Carbon dioxide is compressed beyond its 
"critical temperature" and there it acts neither like a gas nor a liquid, so 
things that would normally be insoluble in a gas or liquid will be soluble in 
the fluid.  The only residue, then, would be CO2...easily dissipated once at 
normal conditions.
Joe Schultz
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I have a way to remove fat from chicken . . . make chicken soup!  
Seriously, this is the best way.  Take a piece of chicken with the skin on, 
put it in water, and cook it.  Remove the chicken and put the broth in the 
freezer. The fat in the broth will congeal and rise to the surface.  Ouila! 
Then you can scrape it off the top (whoops, I meant "skim", not "scrape"...).  
Hope this helps.
Topper
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