Turn Off the Burner

It's a dish that has been on the boil since the 1950s and is still on the burner. It is time to turn off the gas and close the argument over palm oil once and for all

- RAJEEV NARAYAN

"What a culture we live in. We swim in an ocean of information, but (still) we drown in ignorance." Richard Paul Evans

It is flippery being deep-fried on a flame turned on full tilt, doling out hot fumes and air – it is thus viewed from afar with care, often with tainted glasses. All this for a dish that has been on the boil since the 1950s and is still on the burner. It is time to turn off the gas and close the argument over palm oil once and for all. As with all things sticky and lacking in real substance, there are only two ways to douse falsehoods and misinformation. One, soak the issue in detergent or vinegar, getting rid of any trace-smells; two, challenge the abusers of newsprint and social media with real news, evidence and undeniable facts. In short, bring in some boiling water and poach the vilifying half-cocks and hens who are touting their plumage as the real thing, when all they are toting is decades of gibberish.

Paul Evans was right in his quote above, that mankind is dying of asphyxia in a room full of oxygen cylinders. It is akin to walking into India's new supermarkets that dot every other street-corner and hunt for cooking oil – you will find olive oils with a fancy Mediterranean flair though of indeterminate lineage, myriad brands of sunflower oil with a sexy golden floret in full bloom smacked on the label, and our own desi counterparts; healthy and gooey cooking aids that ooze out just as their Mother Mustard, Soyabeans and Groundnuts scream on being crushed and assassinated.

Every palm needs to smack