When cooking with oil, it is important to let the oil cool down completely before reheating. Otherwise, it might break down or even cause food poisoning.
Oil temperature is measured in degrees Fahrenheit (F) and has three levels: low, medium, and high. Low temperatures are between 180° F and 350° F, medium temperatures range from 350° F to 450° F, and high temperatures are above 450° F.
How to know when oil is ready for frying
Oil needs to be heated slowly to avoid burns. If you are heating oil for deep frying, use a wooden spoon to check the temperature. You want the oil to reach 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 Celsius). Once the oil is ready, don’t forget to keep checking it every few minutes.
If you see smoke coming up from the pan, immediately turn off the heat and cover the pot with a lid. This will prevent the oil from boiling over. If you do manage to burn yourself while testing the oil, wash the area thoroughly with soap and cool water.
Checking The Temperature
A thermometer is essential to checking the oil temperature you’re cooking. You want to ensure it’s hot enough to cook the food properly without burning it. But how do you know what the correct temperature is? Let’s take a look at some different methods.
Using Visual Cues
There are two kinds of oils. Those that produce smoke and those which do not. Oils with a high smoking point can withstand high temperatures without burning. Oils with a low smoking point should be discarded once their smoke point is reached.
Placing Food in The Oil
When you place food into hot oil, there are some things you should know about how the oil affects the food. First off, don’t use olive oil because it doesn’t cook well. You want something like vegetable oil or peanut oil.
Second, make sure the oil isn’t too cold. If the oil is too cold, the food won’t absorb the heat properly and will just sit there. Third, don’t overfill the pan. This causes the food to steam rather than fry. Fourth, don’t overcrowd the pan. Crowding makes it harder to stir the food and keep it moving around.
Finally, don’t forget to turn up the heat. Too low of a heat setting means your food will take longer to cook.
How, Without a Thermometer
We all want to know when oil is hot enough. Sometimes you just don’t have time for a full-blown test. You’re too busy cooking dinner, or maybe you’re running late and don’t have time to wait for the oil to heat up. So what do you do? Do you use your fingers? Or do you grab a wooden spoon?
You might think that wood is a poor choice because it could burn your hand. And while that’s true, there are actually some advantages to using a wooden spoon over a metal one. For example, wooden spoons aren’t likely to shatter, unlike glass thermometers. Plus, they’re cheap and easy to find.
There are many different ways to check the temperature of oil without buying a fancy tool. Here are three options.
1. Use Your Fingers
You’ll have a pair of oven mitts handy if you’re lucky. If not, you can improvise with a dish towel. Simply wrap your hands around the handle of a pot or pan. Then gently squeeze the towel to feel how warm the oil is.
2. Test With A Wooden Spoon
Wooden spoons are inexpensive and readily available. Grab a few off the kitchen counter and try testing the temperature with them. Just hold the end of the spoon against the surface of the oil and see how quickly it heats up.
3. A Bit Of Food
When you’re frying something like chicken wings or french fries, it helps to know how much heat you’re putting in the oil. If you use too little heat, the food won’t cook properly; if you use too much heat, it’ll burn.
To test the temperature of the oil without having to open up the fryer, try dropping some popcorn kernels into the oil. They’ll pop immediately if the oil is hot enough. You can also drop bread slices into the oil to see if they start to brown.
Oil Temperature Matters
Oil temperature affects how food cooks. If you are cooking something like chicken breasts, it is important to keep the oil temperature high enough to prevent the meat from drying out and becoming tough. But if you are frying up some french fries, you don’t want to use too much oil because that could make the potatoes soggy.
The best way to find the correct oil temperature is to start with cold oil and gradually heat it up over time. This method works well for most types of oils, including vegetable, peanut, corn, safflower, sunflower, grapeseed, soybean, olive, and coconut.
If you’re unsure about what oil temperature to use, here are some guidelines:
- For deep-frying, use 350°F–375°F.
- For shallow frying, use 325°F–350°F.
- Use lower temperatures for stir-fries and pan-searing.
- Use higher temperatures for baking, roasting, broiling, grilling, poaching, and smoking.
Conclusion
Whether you’re making fried chicken, french fries, or even pizza, knowing the right oil temperature will help ensure that your food turns out perfectly every time. Whether you’re using a wooden spoon or your bare hands, these tips abovementioned should get you started on the road to perfecting your fried foods.
Chester’s expertise in air fryer cooking stems from her belief that air frying is one of the healthiest and most convenient cooking methods. Her recipes are designed to make the most of the air fryer’s unique cooking properties, producing crispy and delicious meals without excessive oil.