Highly saturated fats like lard or shortening are
solid at room temperature and melt into a liquid
when heated.Because saturated-fat molecules are straight, they
can stack together more tightly and efficiently,
rendering most of them solid at room temperature.
That’s why fats with a high proportion of saturated
fat, such as butter, shortening, animal fats, and palm
oil, will be solid and opaque at room temperature,
turning clear and liquid only when they are heated.
Highly unsaturated fats like canola or olive oil, on
the other hand, remain clear and liquid at room
temperature because their molecules have a tough
time packing together in an organized manner.
It gets even more complicated when you take into