Tricks You Need To Know When Cooking With Oils

It's no secret that cooking food in oil produces tasty results, whether you make fried fish sticks or crispy French fries. Aside from frying, people utilize this type of fat with other cooking methods like roasting and sautéing as well. Oil is also a pantry essential with different purposes where heat isn't involved; salad dressings are just one example. There are various cooking oils out there, and each has its uses; that's why it's vital to know how to choose the right oil for the job. Some types, like sesame oil, are best used as a finishing oil, while vegetable oil is fantastic for stir-frying and baking.

When you use oil in the right way, it improves food's texture and flavor. Whatever type of food you create, you must know some kitchen hacks when working with cooking oil, or it gets messy quickly. These techniques are incredibly beneficial whether you are simply measuring out ingredients, cleaning up an oil spill, or dealing with piping hot oil. You might just be surprised how much easier cooking is when you incorporate these hacks into your daily life.

Work smarter, not harder, by dipping various cooking utensils in oil before use; this is the clever way José Andrés keeps eggs from sticking to spatulas. There is no denying that eggs, whether they're fried, scrambled, or prepared in another way, have a tendency to stick to tools and pans. To combat this, dunk the spatula in some oil before introducing eggs to the pan. The cooking fat works as a protective layer for the spatula; thus, it preserves its cleanliness and keeps the eggs where they should be.

Another way to use this trick is when you're measuring sticky baking ingredients. When you need to put components like honey or molasses in a measuring cup, first line the cup with a light coat of oil. Then, the typically tacky ingredient will easily pour out when needed. Additionally, the cooking fat helps cheese not to cling onto graters when you shred it. To use this method, grab a bit of olive oil and apply it to the tool; this assists the cheese in sliding right off. Once you try this neat approach, you'll never return to grating cheese on a dry grater again. Ultimately, oiling certain utensils saves you time and removes minor annoyances, which all adds up and make the whole cooking process more enjoyable.

This trick is for the thrifty folks who aim to avoid food waste as much as possible in their home. There are methods to clean certain oils you've used, and better yet, there are ways to use that leftover frying oil. Provided that you didn't use the oil to fry seafood, it is safe to reuse it between three to six times. Use your best judgement; the oil should not have a foul smell. One straightforward way to eliminate impurities is to strain the used oil with a coffee filter. Of course, you'll want to have the filter lined in some type of sieve, because the thin paper can't hold all that weight on its own. Furthermore, there is a genius way to clean used frying oil that you never knew about, and it involves gelatin. If you've got some of the unflavored kind, consider yourself lucky.

Mix the gelatin with some warm water to dissolve it before you blend it into the cooled oil. What is the correct measurement to utilize? 1 teaspoon of gelatin and ½ cup of water per every 4 cups of oil. So, you've thoroughly mixed the gelatin mixture into the cooking fat; now what? Let the liquid reside in the refrigerator for roughly eight hours or overnight. When you check on it, the gelatin and any food particles will have bundled into something resembling a hockey puck (astonishing, right?). Scrap the solidified gelatin glob, and you've got some oil to cook with that's good as new.

Your new favorite kitchen trick might be the olive oil TikTok hack that changes everything. Have you ever attempted to drizzle your food with olive oil lightly, and a huge stream poured out, drenching the food instead? We've all been there, but never again after watching a TikTok user's video that promptly solves this issue. The media caption reads, "like seriously, TikTok is awesome for teaching me something I didn't know," with many folks in the comments agreeing.

In the video that's impressively racked up over a million likes, @chaldomom shows how to use the pull tab to your advantage. If your new bottle of oil has a plastic cap (rather than a metal one), don't discard the seal flap after you open the container. After you remove it, turn the tab topsy-turvy, return it to the bottle opening, and nestle it into place. With this brilliant method, spills or overpours are much less likely. This is because there is a thin flow of oil that comes out rather than an overwhelming surge. Before getting carried away, though, test it out to make sure the flap is secure enough.

If you find that an oil is approaching its expiration date, make use of it instead of tossing it in the trash. What is there to do with old olive oil, you might ask? There are a number of approaches, but mixing it with other oils to create a blend is one of the best (this is because it raises the fat's smoke point). You should use olive oil lightly; for example, drizzle it atop potatoes before roasting them or use it in a meat marinade.

Olive oil surely isn't the optimal choice for frying. For this reason, it can be challenging to use large amounts of it at once. However, when you incorporate it into an oil blend, it gives you more freedom to use it in different ways. Of course, once you do so, you'll want to use it sooner rather than later. It looks like it's time to try out that fried chicken recipe you've been eyeing.

How you store foods plays a significant role in how long their shelf life lasts, and cooking fats are no exception. For instance, you wouldn't store a gallon of milk in the pantry because the temperature there would negatively affect how long it stays fresh. The same goes for oil. It is undoubtedly tempting to store it within reach of where you cook so you don't need to go out of your way to grab it, but keeping your oil near high-heat areas like the stovetop (in fact, this is one of the ways you are misusing oil) can cause it to go bad prematurely. You should keep oil in low light and at room temperature; this practice helps prevent it from going sour too quickly.

In addition, stock cooking fats in a place free of moisture. These rules apply to all the major cooking oils (coconut, olive, vegetable, and soybean oil are just a few examples). Ensure you entirely seal cooking fat containers between uses. Finally, take additional measures for nut oils and store them in a chilled environment, perhaps the refrigerator.

Do you always have trouble with hot oil splattering on you when you cook with it? The popping oil is not only a nuisance, but also dangerous since it can cause burns on your arms or other exposed skin. Fortunately, there is a secret trick that will stop splattering oil forever, so you don't have to tolerate it anymore. Instead of coating your pan in oil and adding food to the hot liquid, cover the food in a light layer of oil before adding it to the pan.

Another benefit is that you also reduce food waste because there isn't excessive oil in the pan. The most effective way to do this is to grab a bowl and mix the vegetables or meat in a small amount of oil until it is evenly covered. Another option is to brush the oil directly onto the food or use gloves and rub it on. Of course, you still need to place the food in the hot pan with care, but trust us when we say that it makes all the difference in reducing the amount of popping oil.