A fat is made of two kinds of smaller molecules:
monoglyceride and
fatty acids. Fats are made of long chains of carbon (C) atoms. Some carbon atoms are linked by single bonds (-C-C-) and others are linked by
double bonds (-C=C-). A
saturated fat is a
fat in which the fatty acids all have single bonds. Double bonds can react with hydrogen to form single bonds. They are called
saturated, because the second bond is broken up and each half of the bond is attached to (saturated with) a hydrogen atom. Most animal fats are saturated. The fats of plants and fish are generally unsaturated.