It's been a while since we've been able to write anything. Chloe has been working hard and I've always got a ton on my plate. (I suppose it's a fault of my personality) At the end of the last post we mentioned frying chips in oil. I mentioned briefly types of oils that can be used, but what I didn't mention is what to do with the oil when you are done.
I'm on a budget. I don't know about you, but I don't like throwing money down my sink. Just the same, pouring a quart of oil down the drain after I used it to fry 50 potato chips is a little extravagant. Especially since some genius decided ethanol was something we should use as alternative energy, but that's neither here nor there.
After you use your oil, you will most likely see some small bits of flour and other food particles that have sunk to the bottom of the pan and turned dark brown or maybe black. In order to save the oil, all we need to do is filter the oil to remove those bits.
Doing so is not so much rocket science. If you have a very fine meshed sieve you can simply wait for the oil to cool to room temperature and then run the oil through the sieve into a container with a pour spout. Most of us don't have scieve's laying around that will stop all the particles in the oil. (Although we should) So, another viable alternative is to buy some cheesecloth. You can get it at ALMOST any megamart these days and you can definitely order it online. Just fold it over and on itself once or twice, like you are folding paper towels so they don't tear. Place it on top of a strainer (or any scieve you have) and filter the oil that way. It may be appropriate to make 2 or 3 passes through the filter to get out as many particles as you can. Once you've filtered the oil, using the pour spout, pour the oil into a container with a tight fitting lid, preferibly the one it came in. Fill it as close to the top as you can. This will eliminate air inside and help to prevent spoiling. If you are paranoid you can take a small piece of plastic wrap, place it over the hole and then screw the top on for a better seal. Put the oil in the refridgerator, or in a dark cool place in your cupboard. You can reuse this oil 5 or 6 times, generally, before it will degrade too far but use your judgement if you think it's not good. Temperature, type of oil, the amount of food fried etc all effect how long your oil will last. Bad oil will usually smell rancid and it will taste bitter and burnt. Yes, you should taste the oil before frying. Just a wee bit, and don't wait till it's 350 degrees to dip a spoon in. In my opinion, I don't like keeping the oil around for more than a few months before starting a new batch.
TRICK:
After your oil is spent, as in bad, don't just throw it out. When using a new batch of oil, use about 90 percent new oil and 10 percent old oil. There are actual particles in used oil that help food brown correctly. That's why when you pan fry the first few pieces come out light brown and the more you cook in the same pan the darker and more delicious your food gets.
