Deep fryers and ice are a dangerous combination, right? Well, hopefully, you’re not here because you want to fry ice because the truth is you should NEVER put ice in a deep fryer. Don’t even think about it. But, accidents do happen, and you should be prepared to take appropriate action to protect yourself. And, then again, since curiosity already killed the cat, let’s just take the mystery out of the way.

Putting Ice in a Deep Fryer

The short answer to this question is: chaos ensues! There will be a violent reaction that, depending on the oil’s temperature and the amount of ice inserted, can even lead to a fire or an explosion. But, our guess is you want to understand why that happens, which is why we’ll turn to science.

Water and Oil Do Not Mix

Some of the most entertaining science experiments from childhood are the ones demonstrating that water and oil do not mix. By now, we know that that’s because water molecules are polar molecules, while oil molecules are nonpolar molecules. Polar molecules means that one side of the molecule has a positive charge and the other end has a negative charge. This allows them to bond easily with other polar molecules because opposite charges attract.

Nonpolar molecules can only bond with other nonpolar molecules, which is why oil molecules can’t bond with water molecules.

When you put water into oil and shake or stir the mixture, you’re forcing the liquids to mix, but as soon as you stop, they’ll separate again, and you’ll clearly see layers or splotches of water inside the oil. This is why we say that oil is hydrophobic.

It’s important to understand this because ice is just frozen water. Chemically, they’re the same thing. And, when you put ice in a warm or slightly heated oil, it will melt and turn into liquid again. However, due to the extremely high temperature of oil in deep fryers (up to 400 °F), the chemical reaction is a lot more violent than simply melting and repelling water molecules. In a mere second, the ice will change from a solid state to liquid to gas. Here’s exactly what happens.

Putting Ice in Fryer Oil

Ice forms at around 32ºF (0ºC), but it can get even colder than that. On the other hand, the temperature of heated oil in a deep fryer can get up to 400ºF (205ºC). The extreme difference in temperature is responsible for the powerful chemical reaction.

We said that the ice would go from frozen to liquid to gas in a matter of seconds, a process that produces a fierce chemical reaction. Now, if we combine that with the knowledge that water and oil do not mix, the water molecules in the hot oil will be rapidly expelled, which you’ll see as bursting and splashing bubbles of both hot oil and bubbling water.

This will probably be combined with a lot of smoke, and it will look like a small explosion. Depending on the amount of ice you’ve put inside the oil and how hot the oil was, the reaction can be violent enough to start a fire. Mind you, even the splashing bubbles of boiling water and oil can cause severe burns.

What About Dry Ice?

Chemically, dry ice is not the same as regular ice. Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide, and when heated, it goes straight to a gas state. It’s also much, much colder than regular ice and more dangerous because melting dry ice releases carbon dioxide, which is considered a hazard in an unventilated closed space. The temperature of dry ice is usually around -109° F (-78.3°C).

Therefore, when you insert dry ice into a frying oil, the reaction will be different. What do you think will happen?

Because of the temperature, you might assume that the reaction will be more intense, which makes sense, but that’s not the case. This is because dry ice simply evaporates, it doesn’t turn into water when it melts, so there’s no repelling of the molecules. Putting dry ice in a deep fryer is kind of like frying a piece of chicken.

That being said, putting dry ice in the deep fryer is maybe even more hazardous because the danger sneaks up on you without you even being aware. In other words, like we said, dry ice releases carbon dioxide gas. Now, if you’re in a closed room without any open windows or ventilation, this too can be a medical emergency.

Exposure to too much carbon dioxide causes drowsiness, increased heart rate, blood pressure, unconsciousness, and even life-threatening complications.

To conclude, do not attempt to put dry ice or regular ice in the deep fryer! Both situations are dangerous in different ways and can lead to serious accidents.

What to Do in Case of an Accident?

Unfortunately, accidents happen. And, although you need to be responsible and not keep ice or iced drinks near the deep fryer, it’s always a good idea to know what to do in case of an accident. Let’s go over two scenarios: an accident with regular ice and one with dry ice.

Accident With Regular Ice

With good prevention measures, the chances of getting regular ice into the deep fryer are next to nothing. Still, if that happens, let’s say from drinking iced coffee or tea next to the deep fryer, you should keep calm and consider everything that we’ve explained.

Water and regular ice can create a violent chemical reaction where bubbles of boiling water and burning oil might splash around the deep fryer. Because of this, your first instinct should be to move away from the deep fryer. The initial reaction from the moment the ice touches the oil is the most explosive, so make sure you’re as far away as possible.

Locate the fire extinguisher and keep it close, just in case. There’s always a possibility of a fire breaking out. If it’s small and inside the deep fryer, you should try to unplug it, then use the fire extinguisher.

Do not use water to put out a grease fire! This can lead to an even bigger explosion that could spread through the whole kitchen. If you don’t believe us, check out this video of a fireman demonstrating what happens when you add water to a grease fire.

Don’t use water to put out a grease fire! Firefighter shows what happens. Don’t try this at home.

Accident With Dry Ice

Unless we’re talking about a science experiment gone wrong, we really can’t imagine how dry ice might find its way into your deep fryer. Nonetheless, here’s what you need to do.

The only real emergency of putting dry ice into a deep fryer is if you’re standing too close to the fryer or if you’re in a closed area without proper ventilation.

This is why the first rule is to never stand close to or above a deep fryer if you ever put dry ice inside it. The fumes from the dry ice are carbon dioxide that can make you dizzy and faint. This is dangerous as you might fall on your head or toward the deep fryer.

The next step is to immediately open the windows and doors or turn on the ventilation in the room. This will prevent the accumulation of CO2 inside the room.

In conclusion, please be careful and do not try putting ice or dry ice inside a deep fryer. Even a slight reaction can cause unforeseen consequences depending on many factors, such as other kitchen appliances nearby, the number of people in the room, and more.

Does the Same Apply to Frozen Foods?

While we’re on the topic of frozen things, let’s answer the question of whether the arguments above extend to frozen foods. In other words, is it safe to put frozen foods directly into the deep fryer?

The short answer is no, but not for the reasons that we already covered above.

Just as regular ice and dry ice react in a very different way when inserted into a deep fryer, frozen foods too can produce unique reactions.

The first thing to remember is that not all frozen foods are the same. Some are very dry and small, while others retain a lot of water when frozen, making them more dangerous.

Accidents Related to Deep-Frying Turkey

Vegetables and turkey are two examples of foods that could cause an explosion or even lead to a fire if they’re inserted into the deep fryer while frozen. Vegetables – because they contain a lot of water – and turkey – because it also retains water due to its large size.

To prove just how serious deep-frying accidents are, we’ll share these staggering statistics from the National Fire Protection Association. According to them, in the US, “deep fryer fires cause an average of 5 deaths, 60 injuries and more than $15 million in property damage each year.” Most of these accidents happen around Thanksgiving and are due to deep-frying turkeys.

If 5 people die each year just from deep-frying turkey, can you imagine how higher that number would be if people started putting frozen turkeys and frozen meat into deep fryers?

So let’s reiterate: Do not put frozen foods into deep fryers, especially not foods that retain a lot of water and are large in size.

Dangers of Deep Frying Frozen Foods

If you need another reason to not put frozen foods into deep fryers, the danger of food poisoning may be a good one.

Putting frozen foods directly into the deep fryer changes the taste and texture of the food because the food might be cooked unevenly. While some people might not mind, foodies will definitely notice.

Still, a more important consequence of an uneven cook is the fact that meats, especially large cuts, might remain undercooked in the core while being almost burnt on the outside. And, undercooked meat is a health hazard and can cause food poisoning in certain circumstances.

Having said this, there are some types of foods that are generally safe to cook from frozen. We recommend doing your research thoroughly before putting any type of frozen food in the deep fryer, just to be safe.

Conclusion

Putting ice in a deep fryer is extremely dangerous and could lead to a hazard. We hope that we did a good job explaining how this happens and why, satisfying your scientific or cooking curiosity. We also hope we were convincing enough to stop you from ever willingly trying to put ice in a deep fryer and gave you enough reasons to be very careful around the deep fryer.

Even if you accidentally spill your iced drink and just a few ice cubes get inside the deep fryer, this could lead to splashes of boiled water or burning oil if the temperature is high enough. The outcome could be damage in the kitchen or worse – painful burns on your body or face.

Since starting a fire is also a possibility, we strongly advise that, in the case of an accident, to step away from the deep fryer and locate a fire extinguisher.

Similar risks and consequences can come from putting dry ice or frozen foods in the deep fryer, so be careful in these cases as well. Follow our advice on what to do in case of an emergency, and conduct thorough research on how to prepare some types of frozen foods in the deep fryer.

Whether it’s thanksgiving time or an everyday craving for turkey meat, what better way to prepare this wonderful bird meat than to deep fry it?

Frying Turkey

If you want to make a turkey with a crispy layer outside, and soft, delicious meat on the inside, then an eclectic indoor fryer is a good option, for sure.

Many people wonder how to set up the timer when they are making the turkey, as the length of the cooking procedure will depend on the weight of the meat.

Usually, it takes between 3 and 4 minutes per pound of turkey to fry it. We can round it to 3.5 minutes on average. This means that if your turkey weighs 15 pounds, you should deep fry for 52 minutes (15 lbs x 3.5 minutes).

So, do you want to properly fry your turkey? Here are some steps and tips:

1. Use a fresh or completely thawed turkey.
2. Ensure there are no wrappings around the meat if you have a store-bought turkey.
3. Remove the neck and the giblets.
4. Put oil into a fryer. Don’t cross the maximum filling line.
5. Heat the oil to 380 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. As the oil is heating up, get your turkey ready for frying by putting seasoning, flavors, or marinades.
7. Tuck the legs inside.
8. When the oil is warm, place the basket in the fryer for half a minute. Take it out and put the turkey inside.
9. Put the basket with the turkey inside the fryer. It might happen that not the entire turkey is covered in oil. The result of that will be that the upper breast part will remain white, although it will still be cooked properly.
10. Set the timer up to somewhere between 3 and 4 minutes per pound (as we said before, 3,5 on average).
11. The dark meat should be cooked to a temperature of approximately 180 degrees Fahrenheit, while all of the white meat should heat up to some 10 degrees less.
12. Once the turkey is done, remove it from the pot and place it to dry on paper towels. You don’t want to eat all that oil grease.
13. Before removing the turkey from the basket, let it sit for some 20 minutes.

Conclusion

Frying a turkey is not at all difficult if you have a deep fryer. This type of pot does most of the work for you, and it results in a delicious meal.

Remember, how long you should they the turkey frying in the deep fryer depends on its weight. The answer is around 3.5 minutes per pound. With this information, you’ll find it easy to calculate the number of minutes necessary for your particular turkey to be properly fried.

Just follow the recipe given above step-by-step, and we guarantee you’ll end up with a delicious fried turkey!

Trivets are small plates or tripods that absorb heat from hot plates, pans, or pots to safeguard your countertops or tables from heat damage. Over and above their protection, these home essentials serve an aesthetical function — giving a touch of beauty to your table spread. This is mostly because you can find trivets with diverse materials, colors, and sizes to match your own kitchen style.

Why Use a Trivet?

We can easily get distracted and accidentally place a hot plate, pan, or pot on the table or countertop. Even though this might not cause permanent damage when left briefly, letting the hot pot stay on your home surfaces for a longer period of time might cause aesthetic damage such as discoloration. 

This is where trivets step in. With their ability to absorb heat, these kitchen items can prolong the life of your furniture for quite some time, adding a decorative touch to your home at the same time.

What Are Trivets Made Of?

Trivets can be made of diverse materials such as metal, bamboo, felt, ceramic, and silicone — meaning materials that can resist heat without compromising their structure.

Cast Iron Trivet

As their name suggests, cast iron trivets are made from cast iron, which is a quite sturdy material that can resist high heat. As they come in various shapes and forms, we made sure to discover one that boasts an intricate yet functional design worthy of display — whether there is a hot pan or pot on top or not.

Concrete Trivet

Concrete is known for its ability to absorb and store heat, slowly releasing it when there is a colder environment. This is why concrete trivets make great heat safeguards for your home surfaces, adding a decorative touch to either your dining table or countertop.

Silicone Trivet

Silicone has a low thermal conductivity, which means that the rate at which heat passes through it is quite low — automatically leading to excellent heat resistance. Combine this with its low price, and you’ve found yourself an excellent trivet that will protect your surfaces from heat and is durable and decorative.

Do I Really Need a Trivet?

Trivets are quite helpful gadgets to have in your kitchen so yes, they’ve become a necessity rather than a luxury nowadays. Even though concrete, stainless steel, and granite can highly resist heat, there is no countertop or table material that can fight extreme heat over an extended period of time. This means that, although quite strong materials, they can eventually soften, become discolored, or become uneven in extreme cases.

Ways to Use a Trivet

Thanks to their functional and aesthetic purpose, trivets are sought-after kitchen items nowadays. Here are some other ways to use them.

Set Them on Your Dinner Table

Using a trivet on your dinner table as a way to protect it from hot pan damage is also a great way to make your dinner look fancier.

As a Centerpiece

You can use a trivet as a stylish centerpiece under your houseplants or flowers. What makes this item ideal for these purposes is not its decorative function but rather the protection they offer to your furniture from scratches or moisture.

As Big Coasters

Perfect for pinchers of cold water, use a trivet beneath to protect your surface from dripping moisture.

What Is an Instant Pot Trivet?

An Instant Pot trivet is a stainless steel rack that allows you to either pressure steam or pot-in-pot cook food.

Pressure Steaming & Its Benefits

Pressure steaming is the process that allows food to cook under pressure which is built in an enclosed environment where there is a boiling liquid that generates steam.

A significant study elaborating on the effects of different cooking methods on the vitamin C content of selected vegetables reveals that steaming retains as much as 40% more vitamin C than boiling. This speaks volumes about the significance of using an Instant Pot trivet to retain nutrients while cooking your favorite vegetables.

Another study suggests that pressure-cooked food contains more folic acid than boiled food does. 

Tips to Help You Pressure Cook Your Favorite Vegetables

To pressure cook potatoes, asparagus, beets, or squash in your instant pot, follow the tips below:

• Add two cups of water to the inner pot.
• Put the rack in the inner pot and add a steamer basket with the vegetables on top.
• If you don’t want to use a steamer basket, put the vegetables directly on the trivet by cutting them large enough to make sure they don’t fall through.

Tips to Help You Pressure Cook Meat

You can pressure kidney, liver, or even a whole chicken in your Instant Pot by following the steps below:

• Pour one to two cups of water and place the previously marinated meat on the trivet.
• If you want to intensify the flavor of the meat, pour seasoned liquids or broth in the inner pot instead of water.
• An important thing to know is that the time you need to set varies depending on the type of meat. For instance, it’s recommended to pressure cook a pound of roast chicken for eight minutes, while a pound of baby back ribs might require pressure cooking of twenty minutes.
• Make sure to use the quick pressure release method to avoid overcooking.

Pot-In-Pot Cooking

Pot-in-pot cooking is a method that allows you to pressure cook your food in a small bowl or pan on a trivet inside the inner pot. 

If you want to use the trivet for these purposes, follow the steps below.

• Pour one to two cups of water into your inner pot and place the trivet on the bottom.
• Use an oven-safe glass container to place your food directly on the trivet. Do know that there is no need to add water to this container.
• Voila — close the Instant Pot to pressure cook the food, choosing either the Quick Release or Natural Pressure Release options.

Final Thoughts

Purchasing a trivet for your home can make a tremendous difference when it comes to prolonging the lifespan of your surfaces, as it may not only protect them from heat but also moisture. To make them even more desirable, manufacturers create them in different shapes and forms that can add a decorative touch to your home.

Tasty, healthy, and somewhat exotic, sweet potatoes are the new cool, especially if you have an instant pot to prepare them in. 

Some people love them baked, and some prefer crock. However, if you’re in a rush, the best way to make perfectly cooked sweet potatoes with creamy insides is in an instant pot.

But, how long to cook them? There are many recipes applying the cookie-cutter principles when it comes to preparing sweet potatoes, but that simply doesn’t fit the basic logic. As you’ve probably noticed, every sweet potato is different, so it makes no sense to cook them all the same. Due to their different sizes, we need to treat each sweet potato differently and cook them at an appropriate length. 

Small Potatoes (width less than 2”): 15 minutes + 10 minutes pressure release

Mid-sized Potatoes (width 2-3 inches): 30 minutes + 10 minutes pressure release

Large Potatoes (width greater than 3”): 1 hour + 10 minutes pressure release

If you are continuously disappointed with the sweet potato recipes you’ve run into, and if they’re often undercooked or overcooked, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll share our secrets for preparing the best possible sweet potato for each potato’s uniqueness.

How to Prepare the Perfect Sweet Potato for Cooking

Since the cooking time for the sweet potato depends on its size and shape, you need to apply some measurements before you initiate the cooking process.

For this, you’ll need a measuring tape (like the one the sewists use) because you want to know the size of the width of your sweet potato.

Cooking Time Depends on Spud Size

So far, we’ve tested many different ways of preparing sweet potatoes in an instant pot, and the formula we’re about to share has shown the best results.

First, you need to measure the width of your potato(es). If the potato is small, and by that, we mean has two inches in width or less, it will take at least 15 minutes to cook, followed by another 10 minutes of pressure release in an instant pot. 

In the case of a medium-sized sweet potato, whose width equals 2 to 3 inches, you should coke for half an hour, and once again, additional 10 minutes for the natural release of pressure. This means that mid-size sweet potato preparation will last around 40 minutes. 

Finally, for the large sweet potato, whose width is 3 inches or more, the minimum cooking time is one full hour, followed by 10 minutes of pressure release, amounting to 1 hour and 10 minutes of cooking time.

This makes the preparation of sweet potatoes of different sizes a bit complicated to cook at the same time, as each requires a different cooking time. To overcome this problem, you can put the biggest one to cook first, and then add the middle-sized one after 30 minutes, followed by the smallest one after another 15 minutes. After the full hour is over, you can release pressure with all three of them for 10 minutes, and you’re done.

How to Cook Sweet Potatoes in an Instant Pot Step-by-Step Guide

Now that we’ve discussed the necessary time for cooking sweet potatoes, here is a step-by-step process that will make the journey to preparing the perfect sweet potatoes more understandable and straightforward.

1. Measure the width of your sweet potatoes. If you have a sharp eye, you may also be able to approximate. 
2. Group them in size: large, mid-size, and small ones. This is necessary as you don’t want to put mixed sizes together at the same time in the same pot.
3. Wash them, scrub them, and prick each potato with a fork to make tiny holes visible on the surface.
4. Depending on the size of your instant pot, place 1 – 1.5 cups of water in the insert of your instant pot.
5. Put the trivet on top of the pot.
6. Place the potatoes on the trivet. In the case of potatoes of different sizes, place the larger ones first.
7. Set up a timer to 60, 30, and 15 minutes respectively (in case you have all three size groups).
8. Put the lid on and set up the valve to the ‘sealing’ setting. 
9. Pressure cook the potatoes as long as necessary and according to the instructions given above.
10. Let the pressure out for 10 minutes and slowly release any remaining pressure. 
11. That’s it. Your dream sweet potatoes with soft inner parts are done!

How to Scale and Adjust this Recipe According to Your Needs

How many potatoes can fit in your instant pot usually depends on the size of the potatoes you’re dealing with. In the case of a 3-quart instant pot, you can put approximately 3 sweet potatoes (the exact number may vary depending on the size), while in the 8-quart one you can fit around 8 pieces. The 6-quart potatoes usually fit between 4 and 6 sweet potatoes for cooking at the same time.

If you want to cook potatoes in multiple layers in your instant pot, we recommend you use no more than 2 layers to ensure that all your potatoes cook evenly.

No matter how many potatoes are being cooked at once, the post-cooking pressure time will always remain the same.

Even if you want to cook just a single potato, you can still apply the same procedure.

After cooking sweet potatoes in an instant pot, if you don’t eat them all immediately (which we doubt will happen), you can store them in a container in the fridge for up to 4 days. During those 4 days, you can reheat them in a microwave or in the regular oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Finally, you can also freeze them by packing each potato individually in a wrap and leaving them in the refrigerator for one day or night before moving them to the freeze. They can keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Final Thoughts

Over the past several years, sweet potatoes have seriously grown in popularity, but so have instant pots. When you are in a rush and don’t want to waste your time on long, slow-cooking recipes (that certainly taste great otherwise), preparing sweet potatoes in an instant pot is a great idea. Not only will you get a fabulous and tasty result, but you will also save up an immense amount of time.

To achieve the best possible instant pot sweet potatoes, simply follow the instructions we provided above, measure the width size of each potato that you want to cook, and organize the potatoes according to the size of your instant pot. In case of leftovers, you can keep them in the fridge for a couple of days, heat them up in both microwave and oven, and keep them in the fridge.

Bon appetite, the potatoes are ready to serve!

The quick answer to this question is yes; you can fry with vegetable oil. In fact, you should use vegetable oil when you are frying at home. But vegetable oil is a very broad term that includes any kind of plant-based oil. In the most general sense, vegetable oils are derived from plants, whether their seeds, fruits, grains, or nuts. Having said that, when you see a bottle of oil on the store shelf that’s labeled vegetable oil, it is typically soybean oil.

Frying at home is a great cooking technique to prepare delicious meals that no one can overlook. There is something irresistible about golden brown and crispy bites, whether a potato fry or fried chicken. With so many different types of oil available, choosing the best oil to fry can be a bit overwhelming. But no need to despair because we have prepared the ultimate oil frying guide, be it for pan-frying or deep-frying.

Which Cooking Oil Is Best for Frying?

Even though frying is one of the oldest techniques, there are so many different ways you can do it. So what is the difference between pan frying, shallow frying, or deep frying? Naturally, depending on the frying technique you choose, the amount of time your ingredients spend in the pan, the amount of oil you need, and the optimum temperature differ. Hence, the type of oil that’s best for the job also depends on how you want to fry your ingredients.  After reading this guide, you will discover the tricks of these techniques to master your frying game. 

Sautéing

So frying is essentially cooking in hot oil, and yes, sautéing is also frying. It is one of the most basic cooking methods in the book and is used to prepare the main ingredient for many dishes. To make the best out of sautéing and get the brown and savory delicious base, the most important thing you need is a hot pan. The second thing you need to do is only cook for a short time (because of the, well, hot pan) and keep the ingredients moving. You don’t have to throw the ingredients in the air like a crazed pro; a wooden spoon is quite enough to move things around in the pan and get your ingredients browned and packed with savory flavor. Like we just said, sautéing is a great way to prepare a base for meals such as stews or soups, but it’s also a great way to cook your veggies, fish, and meat. 

What Kind of Oil Is Best for Sautéing?

Extra virgin olive oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, canola oil, or sesame oil are all types of oils you can use when sautéing. Because we don’t keep the ingredients in the oil for too long, you can use an oil with a lower smoke point. And because we don’t dip them in the oil like we do when deep-frying, you can choose a more flavorful oil when sautéing.

Shallow Frying

Shallow frying is one of the most common methods to prepare small cuts of veggies, fish, meat, steak, chicken, or burger patties. But even though it is one of the most common methods, it requires some skill to prevent the fried food from going soggy or burning your oil. The trick is to use a little oil on a hot pan and turn your ingredients at the right time. This way, your food will get brown and crispy on the outside while staying juicy on the inside. To make the most out of shallow frying, keep a close eye on the ingredients after tossing them on the hot pan and flip them when you see moisture coming out. When adequately cooked, take the ingredients out, and place them on a paper towel to remove the excess oil.

What Kind of Oil Is Best for Shallow Frying?

Like you do when you sauté your veggies or meat, shallow frying prevents ingredients from absorbing too much oil while still reaching high temperatures. Oils with high smoking points are the best as they don’t burn at the ideal temperatures to shallow fry delicious veggies or meat. The best suitable ones for the job are canola oil, rice bran oil, sunflower oil, or peanut oil.

Deep Frying

Even though deep frying is associated chiefly with large-scale kitchens like restaurants, a large pan filled with oil over the stove can yield similar results at home. By completely submerging the ingredients in the hot oil, you can deep make chips, fried chicken, fried shrimps, samosas, croquettes, and many other delicious meals. You can have evenly cooked outcomes very fast because you don’t even keep the ingredients in the oil for too long when deep-frying! The trick is to throw the ingredients in the hot oil and take them out once they turn golden brown so that the fries get crispy on the outside while keeping their moisture on the inside.

Keeping everything at the optimum temperature affects the results immensely when preparing deep-fried meals. For that reason, if you want to step up your fries game, you might want to invest in a cooking thermometer, but you can also check the heat by dipping a wooden spoon in the hot oil – you should see tiny bubbles and hear drizzling when you do so at around 170 C° degrees. 

What Kind of Oil Is Best for Deep Frying?

If you don’t use the right kind of oil when deep frying, you might burn your ingredients and smoke out your kitchen. The optimum temperature for deep frying is 350 to 375 °F (175 to 190 °C). This is essential for caramelizing carbohydrates such as sugars and starches that produce crispy, golden-brown results. Unlike sautéing or shallow frying, you need an oil with a high smoke point; around 400 F° is the best. Oils that fit into this category are canola oil, refined sunflower oil, safflower oil, and avocado oil, which you can use safely for your deep-fried veggies or meats.

Stir-Frying

Stir-frying is an effortless and fast way to prepare savory and healthy meals. You throw a bunch of chopped ingredients into a hot wok with scalding oil. Using a wok is a great way to stir fry your ingredients and a fun way to do so by continuously stirring or tossing them around in the pan. The difference between stir-frying and sautéing or shallow frying is that you don’t wait to seal the ingredients before starting to stir them, and for that reason, the process requires very little oil. 

What Kind of Oil Is Best for Stir-Frying?

Even though you get the pan very hot when stir-frying, you usually don’t reach to temperatures you cook while deep frying. For that reason, oils with a smoking point around 230 F° are great for this job, such as peanut oil, which adds a pleasant nutty flavor. Alternatively, you can use soybean oil or canola oil.

Triple Frying

If you ever triple cook your french fries, you should know that there is no turning back. It is the best technique to make crispy, golden brown chips. But you should know that triple cooking doesn’t necessarily mean frying your chips three times. You steam the potatoes once for the best results and then fry them twice by refrigerating them in between cooking sessions. Okay, there are still three steps, and it sounds like a time-consuming task, not to mention the clean-up afterward. But trust us, the result is worth the trouble. 

What Kind of Oil Is Best for Triple-Frying?

The technique is made initially famous by Heston Blumenthal, who recommends peanut or grapeseed oil for the best results. However, you can also use the oils you use when deep-frying: canola oil, refined sunflower oil, safflower oil, or even avocado oil, as it’s basically the same process with repeated steps.

Is Vegetable Oil Healthy to Fry With?

Even though frying is not considered among the healthiest ways to prepare your veggies, the real risk factors arise when you heat the oil past its smoking point. In that case, the oil produces free radicals and toxic fumes that are significant risks to your health. When the oil is heated past its smoke point, you will start to see vapors escaping from the pan, which indicates the oil has begun to break down, not to mention the burnt oil smell. To avoid these kinds of health hazards, you need to be mindful of the burning points of the oils you use in your kitchen.

Stay below your smoke point, and Bon Appetit!

Properties of Vegetable and Olive Oil

Is It Safe to Mix Together Different Oils?

How to Mix Vegetable Oil and Olive Oil?

Conclusion

TLDR: Yes, you can. For flavor, affordability, or you just ran out of one or the other, it’s OK. However, don’t mix if you are frying, as olive oil has a lower smoke point and isn’t always suitable.

All oils are different. They have a different flavor, thickness, smoking point, nutritional profile, and many other properties that make them unique. Because of this, there’s an ongoing debate in the culinary and scientific community on what’s the healthiest or best oil for different purposes.

Interestingly, there isn’t one superior oil that would be the magic answer to everything. In fact, the healthiest oil, the best oil for deep frying, or the most suitable oil for baking are all entirely different answers. And, for each oil, there are both advantages and downsides. 

So, naturally, people began asking, “Can you mix different oils?” Is this a way to get the best out of two or more oils? And, you might be surprised to hear that this is done more often than you think. In fact, vegetable oil is a term that describes a specific blend of plant-based oils.

However, just because you can mix oils, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a good idea to mix vegetable and olive oil. There are many things that you need to consider before making a decision. 

In this article, we’ll talk about the nutritional properties of both vegetable and olive oil, discuss what they’re most suitable for, and then see when it might be a good idea to mix them and how to do it safely. 

Properties of Vegetable and Olive Oil

There are many reasons why you might want to mix vegetable and olive oil. Maybe you want a healthier alternative than regular vegetable oil, or you might want to make olive oil more suited for deep frying? Either way, to truly understand what you can expect each oil to contribute to the mix, we need to discuss each oil’s nutritional and chemical properties individually.

Everything You Need To Know About Vegetable Oil

The term vegetable oil can be applied to any cooking oil that’s derived from a plant-based source. These oils are most commonly extracted from seeds or other parts of fruits. The most famous examples of vegetable oils include olive oil, palm oil, canola oil, peanut oil, soybean oil, sunflower seed oil, grape seed oil, and more.

Vegetable Oil as a Product

However, in our context, the term vegetable oil is used to describe a specific type of cooking oil that’s labeled “vegetable oil” – a label you can find on many bottles in supermarkets worldwide.

So, what exactly is vegetable oil as a brand or product you can buy?

Bottled vegetable oil has traditionally been made almost exclusively from soybeans. However, today, you’re most likely to find brands that use a specific blend of soybean oil, sunflower seed oil, palm oil, and corn oil. Because of this, it’s not justified to say that vegetable oil equals soybean oil.

The uncertain or variable nature of vegetable oils makes things a little bit more tricky when answering whether it’s okay to mix vegetable and olive oil. Surely, we’re not talking about mixing pure soybean oil. Therefore, to be specific and accurate, you need to know the exact blend of oils and their concentration in your vegetable oil to understand how it reacts with olive oil.

But for the sake of simplicity, here we’ll discuss the most typical characteristics of most vegetable oil products.

Properties of Vegetable Oil

Almost all vegetable oil products are highly refined oils because the goal is to produce an affordable and neutral oil with a very high smoke point – oil suitable for frying.

Commonly, vegetable oil products are a blend of soybean oil, corn oil, sunflower seed oil, and palm oil. The concentrations vary, but soybeans are still considered to dominate most blends. Because of this, vegetable oil mainly consists of saturated fatty acids (FAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Blends that have a higher concentration of saturated FAs are more stable at high temperatures (suitable for frying), but are more hazardous to our health.

The smoke point of vegetable oils is usually around 400-450°F (204-230°C), which is more than enough for deep frying, let alone other cooking methods.

To conclude, vegetable oil is a very affordable cooking oil that’s great for deep frying because it has a high smoke point and it’s very neutral in taste. However, it’s not really nutritious, and high amounts of saturated FAs can make it an unhealthy choice – especially if used beyond deep frying.

Everything You Need To Know About Olive Oil

Olive oil is the Mediterranean gem and a staple in Mediterranean cuisine, which is also one of the healthiest diets with proven benefits for cardiovascular and many other chronic diseases. Does this mean that olive oil is the healthiest oil to consume and cook with? Yes and no.

Properties of Olive Oil

Some of the benefits associated with olive oil include:

• 73% of the total oil content is monounsaturated fatty acids (oleic acid) which is known to reduce inflammation in the body.
• Olive oil is very nutritious and rich in antioxidants, especially extra virgin olive oil.
• Olive has anti-inflammatory properties that work similarly to ibuprofen. 
• Olive oil might protect against stroke and heart diseases.
• Some preliminary studies find beneficial effects of olive oil against Alzheimer’s disease.

The list goes on as olive oil has been linked to many other health benefits.

Therefore olive oil is the best choice for health, without a doubt. However, there are many other things to consider.

First, olive oil is a lot more expensive than vegetable oil. Therefore, cooking with olive oil can put a strain on people’s budgets. 

Second, olive oil has a relatively strong taste that many might not like. Some say that tasting olive oil is like tasting a wine – the taste is intense but depends a lot on the olives from which it has been extracted. It can definitely affect the taste of the food, so keep this in mind.

Third, olive oil, especially unrefined extra virgin olive oil, has a relatively low smoke point. To be more specific, the smoke point of different types of olive oil include:

• Extra virgin olive oil: 325-410°F (163-210°C);
• Light/Refined olive oil: 425-465°F (218-241°C).

Of course, to enjoy all the health benefits of olive oil, you should choose the extra virgin olive oil type, which is most suitable for sauteing, baking, as a finishing oil, for salad dressings, and marinades. Having said that, if you’re looking for an oil to fry, then you should choose refined olive oil as it’s more stable at high cooking temperatures.

Is It Safe to Mix Together Different Oils?

In the beginning, we mentioned that mixing different oils for various purposes is a longstanding practice in the culinary world. In fact, vegetable oil alone is a blend of several different plant-derived oils.

So, it’s safe to assume that mixing together different oils is okay in most cases. Still, there might be some exemptions. To be sure that you’re making the right choice for your meals, we need to answer another question: Why do you want to mix vegetable and olive oil? Are you trying to make a healthier blend that won’t strain your pocket? Are you trying to make olive oil more suitable for deep frying?

In other words, whether mixing vegetable and olive oil makes sense and it’s a good idea depends on your personal reasons for this decision. So, let’s see in what circumstances it’s okay to mix vegetable and olive oil.

Why Mix Different Oils?

Most people want to combine vegetable and olive oil because of health and financial benefits, both of which are smart reasons to mix two oils. However,  mixing the oils will also impact the smoking point and taste, which is not always the best outcome.

Mixing for Flavor: Great Idea!

The biggest advantage of mixing vegetable and olive oil is flavor. Olive oil has a strong and unique flavor that is absorbed in the food when cooking. This can significantly alter the taste of the meal. Most people do not like how olive oil tastes, but still want to enjoy the health benefits associated with it. If this is you, then adding vegetable oil to our olive oil can be a smart solution. It will definitely make the taste more neutral and won’t be noticeable when cooking with it.

Mixing for Affordability: Good Idea!

Another reason to mix olive oil is price. Unless we’re talking about exotic oil such as avocado oil, pistachio oil, and pumpkin seed oil, then unrefined olive oil is one of the most expensive on the market. 

In the US, one bottle of olive oil is usually around $7 to $8, while vegetable oil can be found at a price of around $3 to $5 (depending on location).

And, while this might not be a big expense if you’re using the oil primarily as a dressing or as part of healthy recipes, frying with olive oil changes things! 

If you’re a person who enjoys deep-fried foods, then bathing your food in olive oil can ramp up monthly expenses. This also applies to marinating recipes. Therefore, mixing it with vegetable oil is a good choice, although you might also consider using vegetable oil for frying and olive oil as a dressing.

Mixing for Increasing the Smoking Point: Bad Idea!

A common misconception is that mixing two oils with different smoking points will increase the smoking point of the oils that are less resilient to heat. However, this is entirely untrue! Mixing two oils won’t alter the smoking point.

Let’s take vegetable oil and extra virgin olive oil as examples. The smoking point of vegetable oil is 400-450°F (204-230°C), while extra virgin olive oil has a smoking point of around 325-410°F (163-210°C). To safely deep fry, you need an oil with a smoking point above 350°F (176°C), which is more than that of extra virgin olive oil. Therefore, adding vegetable oil will produce a mixture with a smoking point that’s an average of vegetable oil and extra virgin olive oil, right? No!

The oil molecules of the lower oil type in the mixture, in our case extra virgin olive oil, will begin to degrade earlier than those molecules of the higher oil type (vegetable oil). Each oil will burn at its own smoking point. This still might be better than cooking with oil past its smoking point, but it’s not worth it.

On top of that, if we take into consideration that oils degrade following each heating cycle, then it makes no sense to use an oil with a relatively low smoking point for frying. In this case, it’s better to use pure vegetable oil.

Mixing for Health: Bad Idea!

Unless money is an issue, consuming pure olive oil is always better than mixing the two. Unless we’re talking about deep-frying, then using pure vegetable oil is better (as we explained above). Still, mixing the two is not a good idea.

Consuming a mixture of olive oil and vegetable oil will decrease the amount of antioxidants and vitamins you’ll consume from the olive oil, which in turn will decrease the beneficial effects of the olive oil.

How to Mix Vegetable Oil and Olive Oil?

Now that you know the advantages and disadvantages of mixing vegetable and olive oil, you can make an informed decision on which oil to use for your next meal. And, if it’s for taste, affordability, or you’re simply low on one and want to mix them to finish cooking, then here’s how to do it.

The first step is to check the label on your vegetable oil and see the ingredients. This will tell you which oils (and what concentration) your vegetable oil is composed of. While not necessarily essential, this information will give you a better idea about your oil’s properties and nutritional value.

The second step is to try mixing a tbsp of each in a small container to check the density. Usually, the density of vegetable and olive oil is more or less the same, so you should be able to mix them without separation. However, depending on the vegetable oil brand, it’s best to try with a very small quantity before ruining a large amount of both oils. This is because oils with a very different densities might not mix well together and separate.

If the test goes well, mix together 1/4 of olive oil with vegetable oil and check whether the taste is to your liking and adjust accordingly.

Another way to mix the oils is to begin cooking with vegetable oil, then lower the temperature and add olive oil as a final touch. You can also cook with vegetable oil and add olive oil after the cooking, if the recipe allows for that, of course.

Finally, be mindful about the temperature and cook for longer with a lower temperature whenever you use olive oil – regardless of the quantity used in the mixture.

Conclusion

There are many reasons why one might think to mix vegetable oil and olive oil. Sometimes, that’s as simple as running out of one type of oil, so you want to finish with the other instead of running to the store.

The good news is that mixing vegetable oil and olive oil is safe and won’t hurt you in most cases – with the exception of deep-frying (cooking at very high temperatures). However, just because you can mix these two types of oils, it doesn’t mean that you should. Sometimes mixing them together is a bad idea.

To help you decide, we shared the nutritional and chemical properties of both oils. Then, we took a deep dive, examining some of the most common reasons for mixing vegetable oil and olive oil and seeing whether that’s a good idea.

Overall, we’ve concluded that mixing the two for flavor and affordability is generally a good idea. Vegetable oil can help neutralize the intense flavor of olive oil and make your cooking more affordable.

On the other hand, mixing the two for health reasons or artificially increasing olive oil’s smoking point is a bad idea. The latter won’t work and can make the mixture more harmful to your health versus simply cooking with vegetable oil, especially if you plan to use the mix in multiple heating cycles (re-using the oil).

There’s nothing better than making your own sausage. Not only because you can choose your favorite meat and cook it based on your preferences, but also because you can flavor it how you want. The spices are where the magic is in the sausage-making business. And making your own sausage is in fact easier than you may have thought it would be.

In this article we’ll go over how you can make a sausage from start to finish and talk about each step in-depth, so by the time you’re done reading, you may be a sausage expert in the making. We’ll discuss how you can pick the right casings, how to flavor the sausage, and many other steps in between which if you follow, you’ll end up with the tastiest sausage you’ve ever made.

The Prep Before You Start Making Your Homemade Sausages

There are some preparations that you need to do before you start making your sausages, and we’ll cover those first.

Mise-en-Place

Mise-en-place is an important French culinary phrase that covers the preparation process or putting everything in place before you start cooking, and that’s the first step towards making your sausages. The process includes:

• Reading the entire recipe;
• Preparing the workspace;
• Gathering the equipment;
• Gathering the ingredients;
• Preparing the ingredients and placing them in bowls.

The Meat

After you’ve collected all the ingredients in one place, it’s time to prep the meat. An essential step when handling meat is keeping both the meat and the equipment as cold as possible before you start stuffing the sausages. This makes sure that your meat grinder or stuffer nozzle doesn’t clog up as you try to make your sausages. To keep the meat cold, simply keep it in the refrigerator until the very last moment, or even place it in the freezer for 15 minutes before you start making the sausages.

The Sausage Casings

Another key ingredient apart from the meat is the sausage casings which come in two varieties, natural casings, and synthetic casings, and each needs to be prepared accordingly.

The natural casings should be soaked in cold water for about 30 minutes in order to remove the excess salt before you start making the sausages. Afterward you need to rinse them thoroughly under cold water and go through the whole casing by placing the end of the casing under the faucet and filling it up like a balloon. Then you need to push the water from one end to the end of the other with your hands, and your casings will be squeaky clean.

Synthetic casings, on the other hand, need much less work before you can start filling them with the sausage meat as you only need to soak them in water for about 5 minutes. This makes the casings pliable and easier to fill once you have the filling ready.

Generally, you would use casings with a 21-23 mm diameter for smaller stuffer tubes, while for larger stuffer tubes you’d opt for the 28-30mm diameter casings.

How to Stuff Sausage Casings

If you’ve never tried making your own sausages, this process may seem a bit elaborate, but it’s definitely gonna be worth it. Follow the steps below to make the most delicious homemade sausages that you’ve ever tried.

Chopping and Grinding the Meat

The first step after you’ve done the mise-en-place, rinsed the casings, and chilled the meat is chopping the meat and preparing it to go in the grinder. For this step, you need to take your meat out of the fridge or freezer and cut it into 1-inch pieces. After that, you can return it to the fridge until it’s time to grind it.

After it’s properly chilled and you have your grinder ready to go, you can take the meat out of the fridge and start grinding it. Use the coarse attachment to get a chunky texture or the fine attachment for an integrated texture. Return the meat to the fridge after you’ve ground it.

The Spices

Make your favorite spice blend and combine them with garlic and a small amount of either vinegar, water, or wine depending on which you prefer. If you’re adding mustard powder or paprika, first combine the liquid with the mustard, add the paprika, and then add the other spices. This step will ensure that all the herbs, spices, and salts are well incorporated in the meat. Mix the meat and spices by hand, and you’re ready for the next step.

The Taste Test

Before you start stuffing the sausages, it’s time for the taste test. Get your frying pan out and cook a bit of the sausage filling. After it’s done, try it and check whether the mixture has enough spices, salt, and add more if necessary. If you’re satisfied with the result, proceed to the nest step.

Emulsification

Some types of sausages and meat products require that you emulsify the meat and create a meat paste that you’ll stuff in the casing. For this you’ll need your food processor and a few ice cubes to balance out the heat that the equipment will produce. Place your meat and ice cubes in the food processor and process the mixture in ½ pound batches for about 1 minute per batch. Place the mixture in the fridge once more.

Its Stuffing Time

Take your sausage stuffer out, place it on your workstation, and add a sheet pan under the stuffer to catch the drippings. Apply vegetable or canola oil to the nozzle to make sure that the meat doesn’t stick to the nozzle once you start pushing the sausage. Take the sausage filling out of the fridge, and you’re ready to stuff some sausages.

Take the end of the casing and place it around the stuffer nozzle. Put the meat in the stuffer and start pushing the meat until it’s poking out of the nozzle end. Tie the knot at the end of the casing, and then you can start pushing the meat mixture inside the casing. Make sure that you push it slow and steady to prevent your casing from ripping apart.

During this step, you need to also be aware of some air pockets that may form on the sausages. Don’t worry about them. Remember not to pack the meat too tightly when making a coil because you may not be able to divide them into individual sausages effectively. And in just a few minutes, you’ll have your sausages ready.

Snipping and Twisting

The last step is separating the individual sausages. To do this, redistribute the meat evenly across the casing if you see that the sausage isn’t even throughout the whole length of the casing. Then pinch sausage links every 4, 6, or 8 inches and twist the 1st and 3rd link in the same direction throughout the length to twist 3 links at the same time. Finally, it’s time to snip the sausages by cutting between the links.

Final Thoughts

While sausage-making isn’t very difficult as you may have concluded after reading the previous articles, it really takes both dedication and having a nice spice blend to make the perfect sausage. However, the star of the show will always be the meat, so purchasing high-quality meat is imperative. Each step is essential to getting the best possible sausage out of your meat.

Finally, you can take your grill out and give yourself the opportunity to enjoy your homemade sausage as it should be enjoyed – grilled to perfection. We hope you enjoy the process and that the end result is according to your liking. And if your sausages turned out to be a hit, why not invite some friends over so you can share your culinary masterpiece with them. Have a nice meal!

Deep-fried food is basically everyone’s guilty pleasure. Although we know that it’s not the best type of cuisine health-wise, everyone will agree that there is basically no food that doesn’t taste better after some deep frying.

But what are all the different methods and dishes you can use for deep frying? Is it possible to deep fry in an instant pot? These are the questions we’ll be tackling in this article. Stay tuned to find out whether you can use your instant pot for deep frying.

Frying Food Methods

There are several different methods to fry your food. For example, you can shallow fry. For this, use the deepest standard cooking pan you have (if it’s too shallow, the oil will splatter everyone around the pan). For this, you need to add some oil to the pan, heat it up a notch, and add the food you want to deep fry. Turn the food regularly to cook it evenly.

On the other hand, you can also do pressure frying. This method is a variation of pressure cooking. What happens is that you are bringing the cooking oil and the food that you want to deep fry to a very high temperature, but the pressure is held high, which ultimately leads to food being done faster, and the food will generally be very warm and very juicy once done.

Finally, there is deep frying which is usually done either in a deep pot or in a deep fryer (yes, there is a special dish for that). All you need to do is put enough oil in a pot and then submerge the item you wish to cook in the oil.

Instant Pot

So, you have purchased an instant pot, but you’re not sure what can you do with it, and what are the best ways to use it?

Well, an instant pot is a type of multicooker. That means that it has a variety of ways that you can make use of it. An instant pot can replace a variety of other pots, so it’s a great choice if you want to save up both money and space in your kitchen. It’s an all-in-one type of appliance you can use to make slow-cooked food, for cooking rice, steaming your vegetables, sauteing, or simply warming your food.

This type of pot is a relatively new solution, as it was introduced for the first time in 2010, yet, by now, many different models have been introduced to the market, and people are using instant pots for a variety of purposes. The sizes usually range from 3 to 8 quarts.

Can You Deep Fry in an Instant Pot

As you saw in the previous paragraph, there are not too many things that you can’t do with your instant pot. However, deep-frying is one of those things that you can’t use your instant pot for.

This type of pot is simply not intended to be used as a deep fryer. It seems feasible to just put oil in the pot and set it up so that it doesn’t use any pressure while cooking (in case it’s also a pressure cooker), however, it’s still not the best use that you can make of your instant pot.

The problem here is even bigger if you are dealing with an electric pressure cooker, and if you put a large amount of oil inside and heat it up to a very high temperature, it can result in a fire. It’s not certain to happen, but there is a certain risk of the pot scorching and being set on fire, and that’s a kind of risk most of us simply shouldn’t take.

One more thing to have in mind is that any instant pot, especially if it’s also a pressure cooker, is meant to only use water and steam while working. Adding any oil and heating it up is already contrary to the safety recommendations.

In addition, valves for emergency pressure release along with some other features might not operate properly if there is oil involved, which can ultimately result in unwanted accidents.

Another reason why deep-frying is not a very good idea with instant pots is that you actually can’t get the pot hot enough to deep fry the food. If you’d try to prepare fries in your instant pot, you’d very likely end up with some poorly boiled, too soft potato pieces. No matter how high you set the temperature up, you won’t get the oil to the desired temperature to fry your meal. You will probably end up poorly cooking your meal, damaging the pot, or even completely destroying it.

Cooking in boiling oil takes too much time and requires a lot of care and attention. Cleaning the instant pot after such an activity can be very difficult, or even impossible after repeated trials.

Conclusion

Using an instant pot to deep fry may seem like a good solution. E.g. covering a chicken in batter, putting it in an instant pot, and heating it up – sounds simple and effortless. Many people had this idea: why wouldn’t I use my instant pot like a deep fryer, since it already has such a versatile use.

The reality is that you can’t use the instant pot like a deep fryer, as it’s impossible to achieve a satisfyingly high temperature to actually fry the food, and also, it’s dangerous. You can damage the pot to the extent that it’s useless, or even worse, set fire to your home.

Deep frying requires a special type of pot, as cooking in boiled oil requires a certain depth of the pot, but also, resistance to heat, and ability to heat up to high temperatures.

However, with the instant pot, there are so many recipes you can try, that will make you forget deep frying. Deep-fried food is truly far from a healthy option, which is why it’s extremely tasty. Luckily, preparing food in an instant pot will make other food preparation methods just as tasty.