SC - deep frying

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Mark Harris wrote:

> What does the deep frying do that frying in s shallower pot doesn't?

Mostly it browns the food more evenly, without those coffee-brown parts
from where the food came too close to the bottom of the pan.
 
> This seems awfully wasteful of oil, especially if you are only cooking
> a few items. Someone mentioned that you could filter the oil for reuse?
> How do you do that? Drain it through a colander lined with paper towels?
> What then, is this oil only good for future deep frying or can it be
> used for other things?

I suppose it is less of an issue when you're doing a lot of deep-frying.
People generally use pretty neutral vegetable oil (McDonalds used suet
until about ten years ago...) which is also pretty inexpensive, and
becomes still less expensive when you re-use it for that purpose. I
guess it could be used for other things, but oil does pick up the
flavors of foods it was used to fry. Also, if too high a temperature is
used for frying, it does begin to break down, i.e. become rancid, which
means it is less useful for other things. But, if you have a deep fryer
or a pot of oil going, and need a quick splash of oil for your saute
pan, there's no harm in going in with a spoon.
 
> Was deep frying period? It seems expensive in oil, but I guess in some
> areas olive oil was common.

Also white grease (presumably lard and/or suet), and various other
vegetable oils (like rapeseed [variant on turnip plant] and grapeseed
oil) were other possibilities.

Adamantius
______________________________________
Phil & Susan Troy
troy at asan.com
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