Very often in recipes you can find a laconic and mysterious phrase “deep-fry”. I confess that I myself sometimes sin. Experienced chefs, of course, know what deep-frying is and how to fry in it, but not one young housewife and not one novice cook was puzzled by this phrase. How to cook – we know how to fry – we know, but what kind of deep fat is that? It is for them that I am writing this detailed article, a long-term result of my communication with boiling oil – and more advanced culinary specialists, I am sure, will not mind sharing their experience on this topic.
What is deep fat?
In short, deep frying is frying a product in a large amount of hot oil. There should be a lot of oil – enough to completely or at least more than half immerse the product in it, and its temperature should be such that the product squirts merrily, covered with a ruddy crust, and does not float sadly in not fully heated oil, absorbing it like a sponge.
The only problem is that in our country it costs a lot (from “just expensive” to “indecently expensive”), so it makes more sense to use more affordable vegetable oil. What is deep fat for? This question is asked by many, especially after the media began to actively disseminate the myth that “fatty” automatically means “harmful”, and deep fat is generally a hotbed of carcinogens. We’ll talk about the health risks a little later, but from a culinary point of view, deep frying is needed for several reasons.
First, deep-frying creates a crispy crust that seals the juices inside the food. This is because on contact with hot oil, the water contained in the outer part of the product instantly evaporates (hence the bubbles), and amino acids and sugars interact with each other under the influence of high temperature (hence the golden tint of the crust). This is a quick way of cooking, and it allows you to preserve much of what is contained in the product or to achieve interesting texture special effects, as in the case of fries, where the crisp crust is combined with the crumbly gut. Finally, the third point, which directly follows from the first two: food deep-fried is almost always delicious.
How to deep-fry
With the theoretical part, everything is clear so far, it’s time to move on to the practical – what to do if you come across the line “deep-fry” in the recipe. Here’s what you need to do: First, make sure you have the following inventory:
- Frying utensils
- Skimmer
- Colander or wire rack
- 1 l. refined vegetable oil
If we talk about deep-fried dishes, then any sufficiently deep container that can be placed on the stove will do, be it a saucepan, stewpan or something else. The most convenient way, in my opinion, is to use a medium-sized cauldron or wok, the walls of which will be flat enough to conveniently catch ready-made products. Instead of a slotted spoon, if for some reason this option is closer to you, you can use chopsticks or tongs, and a colander is necessary so that excess oil can drain from fried foods. For the same purposes, the grates are also used, which are included in the set of some woks and are attached to the side of the frying pan.
If we talk about deep-fried dishes, then any sufficiently deep container that can be placed on the stove will do, be it a saucepan, stewpan or something else. The most convenient way, in my opinion, is to use a medium-sized cauldron or wok, the walls of which will be flat enough to conveniently catch ready-made products. Instead of a slotted spoon, if for some reason this option is closer to you, you can use chopsticks or tongs, and a colander is necessary so that excess oil can drain from fried foods. The grates that come with some woks and are attached to the side of the frying pan also serve the same purpose. In addition, they are optional, but useful:
- Thermometer
- Apron
- Paper towels
Where to begin? First of all, make sure that you have everything ready – there will be no more work to be done during the frying time. Then put a suitable cookware over medium heat, add oil and heat it to the desired temperature.
The temperature depends on what effect you want to achieve: if you need to fry the product completely, it should be lower, but if you only need the crust, then the temperature should be higher. To determine the temperature, you can throw a piece of bread or drip a little batter into the butter and observe its behavior, but it is more convenient to use a thermometer: the temperature of deep-fried oil usually varies from 140 to 190 degrees. Add food to the oil a little, do not try to fry everything in one sitting …
The ratio of volumes of oil and food should always be in favor of oil with a large overweight – otherwise the food will quickly cool the oil and it will begin to be absorbed. During frying, food can be moved in the pan with a slotted spoon so that they are fried on all sides and do not stick together. When you see that the product is ready (at the right temperature, this happens simultaneously with the appearance of a golden crust) – take it out and put it in a colander or on a wire rack to let the oil remaining on the surface drain. Congratulations, you’ve mastered deep-frying.
Safety measures
Nutritionists say that any oil is bad for health, but even if they are right, hot oil is a hundred times more dangerous. In order for your acquaintance with deep fat to go like clockwork, follow these rules:
- Before you start heating the oil, make sure that all the food is prepared and that all the tools are at your fingertips. This is true for any kind of cooking, but especially for deep-frying, when the cauldron spits boiling oil on the stove.
- Before starting frying, make sure that small children, pets and in general strangers are not moving in the kitchen, and if such are found, remove them away.
- Never deep-fry while drinking. Even just a little bit.
- Cook in an apron and comfortable shoes that won’t slip if a few drops of oil accidentally get on the floor.
- To avoid scalding from the hot spray, dip the food in the oil with a spoon or slotted spoon.
- Monitor the temperature of the oil at all times to prevent it from getting too hot or too cold. If the oil is still cold, pause and let it warm up again.
- Before frying food with liquid inside, make sure that it does not spill into the oil, otherwise you will not pass the geyser of hot oil and steam.
- Try not to use the same oil twice. Finished cooking – pour it out.
Recipes
Finally, here are some recipes from around the world so that you can put your newfound skills into practice: England – Fish and Chips
Belgium – French fries
Japan – Vegetable and shrimp tempura
Vietnam – Spring rolls with chicken and vegetables
Spain – Churros (sweet brushwood) Questions? Remarks? Comments?