The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 1073

to an organization that collects spent oil to be used as fuel
for specially adapted cars (in Boston, we used to call them
McNugget mobiles, because the exhaust smells like a fast
foodkitchen).Unfortunately,thesearen’tthateasytocome
by.Theeasiestwayforthehomecooktodiscardusedoilis
to save its original container, funnel the cooled used oil
back into it, screw on the cap, and dispose of it with the
solidgarbage.

KEYSTOMAXIMIZINGOIL
USE

H

ere’saquick-and-dirtyguidetomaximizingthe

lifespanofyouroil.
• Watch the temperature . Don’t let oil get past its
smokepoint,whererapidbreakdownwilloccur.
• Remove excess batter and breading meticulously
during and after frying . Small particles of batter,
bread crumbs, and, especially, flour can collect in
the bottom of your cooking vessel, causing the oil
tobreakdown.
• Carefully remove debris after frying . Use a finemesh strainer to fish out any debris from your oil
while it is still hot. For maximum effectiveness,
strain the oil through a fine-mesh strainer lined


with cheesecloth or a paper towel between each
usetocompletelycleanit.

•Storetheoilinacool,dark,dryplace.Forshorttermstorage(uptoafewdays),apotwithametal
lidinacoolcornerofthekitchenisfine.Forlongterm storage, return it to its original container,
sealtightly,andstoreitinacool,darkcabinet.

THESMOKEPOINTSOF
COMMONOILS

E

very oil has a smoke point, the temperature at

whichwispsofsmokewillappearonitssurface,and
aflashpoint,thetemperatureatwhichactualflames
willstartdancingacrossthetop.
Oils used for deep-frying should never be heated
to either of these temperatures, for both safety and
flavor reasons. Here are the smoke points of most
commonoils,alongwiththepercentageofsaturated
fat they contain. There are many reasons to pick
various oils for frying jobs. Some folks choose oils
withlowersaturatedfatcontents(likeolive,canola,
orrapeseedoil)forhealthreasons.Butwhoarewe
kidding? We don’t eat fried foods for their health
benefits. Others pick oils high in saturated fats with
relativelyhighsmokepointsfortheirsuperiorfrying