Description
This article is from the Cooking
and Conversions FAQ, by with numerous contributions by Victor
Sack cooking.faq@mac.com others.
4.2 Frying
Frying is plunging a food into a bath of hot fat or oil. It involves
'sealing and browning'. It is important to use fat or oil heated to a
temperature that is high, but not so high that the fat begins to break
up or decompose. Generally, the temperature should not exceed about
180°C/360°F. A good rule of thumb is to wait until the fat begins to
smoke. One should only use pieces of food small enough for the heat to
penetrate to the centre fairly rapidly. Another rule to remember is to
use food that has been carefully dried. If one uses food that is
difficult to get dry well enough, one should dip it into flour, or
breadcrumbs, or fritter batter, or pastry.
A very popular foodstuff to deep-fry is the potato. For potato chips
(French-fried potatoes), heat the fat to about 180-190°C/360-380°F.
Potato chips are washed in cold water and carefully dried in a cloth and
then plunged into the hot fat for 5-6 minutes. The potatoes are then
lifted from the fat and tested for consistency. They should be soft
enough to squash between one's fingers. The fat should be allowed to
get back to 180-190°C/360-380°F and the potatoes put back into the fat
again, for a couple of minutes. They will become crisp and golden brown.
For safety reasons, it is recommended to use a deep pan, to fill it to
no more than 1/3 and to avoid crowding it. If a fire occurs, dump in
baking soda and cover the pan with a lid.
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food, cooking, conversion, substitution, equivalent, measure, glossary, culinary
