Overview Cells are just pockets of proteins in a bubble of fat. You may know fat by the way that it sticks to your pans after you’re done cooking. It’s the layer of grease that coats your cookware. Typically, you can’t just rinse the grease away, you need an agent that breaks up the grease. Broadly speaking, cells are made up of similar stuff to the grease that’s on your plates and pans.