The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 1066

smaller batches Dry = Good As we’ve discussed, deep-frying is essentially a process of dehydration The hot oil causes water to rapidly transform to steam, which escapes and allows the crust to form So it stands to reason that the drier your food is to begin with, the more effectively it’ll fry Surface moisture can also cause undue bubbling and more rapid breakdown of the oil For best results, all solid foods to be fried should first be patted dry or coated with a batter or breading And make sure to allow excess batter to drip off foods before adding them to the oil Keep It Clean The more you use a batch of oil, the less effective its frying ability will become The main factors that affect oil breakdown are small particles of food and moisture To extend the life of your fry oil, you should constantly clean it Whenever I fry, I keep a wire-mesh spider nearby to fish out any bread crumbs, bits of tempura batter, or other food particles between (or even during!) batches To remove this debris, I start by swirling the oil in a clockwise direction with the spider, then flip the spider around and give it a pass in the counterclockwise direction: the flow of the oil should force the majority of food particles into its mesh Deposit the debris in a metal bowl kept handy (do NOT throw into a garbage can with a plastic liner!), and repeat until the oil is clean After each frying session, pour the oil through a finemesh strainer lined with paper towels or cheesecloth set over a bowl to get rid of any leftover detritus Keep It Moving Ever notice how when you’re in a cool swimming pool, if you stand still, you’ll feel a little warmer until someone swims by and creates a current around you that cools you down again? Well, the opposite thing happens with cold food in hot oil If you allow it to sit still, a pocket of cooler oil will develop around pieces of food, reducing the effectiveness of the fry By constantly agitating the food and moving it around, you’re continuously exposing it to fresh hot oil Your food will fry more evenly, and come out crisper than the simpler dunk-and-sit method A wire-mesh spider or a pair of long chopsticks is the best tool for this job Choose Your Oil Wisely The best oils for deep-frying are relatively cheap, flavorless oils with high smoke points Flavorful oils like sesame oil or extra-virgin olive oil contain compounds that cause them to smoke at far below the effective frying temperature for most foods Other oils have their adherents, but peanut oil or peanut oil cut with a bit of lard, bacon fat, and shortening is my frying medium of choice See “All About Oil,” below for more details Drain Quickly, and Use Paper Towels! While it may seem logical to drain fried foods on a metal rack, it’s actually far more effective to drain them on a paper-towel-lined plate or bowl When they are set on a ... again? Well, the opposite thing happens with cold food in hot oil If you allow it to sit still, a pocket of cooler oil will develop around pieces of food, reducing the effectiveness of the fry By constantly agitating the food and... extra-virgin olive oil contain compounds that cause them to smoke at far below the effective frying temperature for most foods Other oils have their adherents, but peanut oil or peanut oil cut with a bit of lard, bacon fat, and shortening is... effectiveness of the fry By constantly agitating the food and moving it around, you’re continuously exposing it to fresh hot oil Your food will fry more evenly, and come out crisper than the simpler dunk-and-sit method