They say that deepfrying is bad for us. But there are some meals and snacks we just have to deep-fry else they become a different meal/snack altogether. If you bake buns, it feels like muffins. If you grill fish, it just does not have that crispy feel of fried fish. If you bake doughnut, it becomes bread. If you grill plantains we call it roasted plantains: it lacks the soft, moist feel of fried plantains. If you bake Puff Puff, I don’t know what it will become and make sure you don’t serve me that. *wink!
Deep-frying when done great will give your fried foods a crunchy exterior and a moist interior that is free of oil. Read: How to fry Perfect Golden Plantains.
Here’s how to give your frying oils some TLC so that they will serve you better, keep you away from the doctor and keep those deep-fried foods tasting great!
1. Thou shall not fry more than one food item in the same batch of me.
Ok you use the same batch of oil to fry plantains, fish, potatoes, akara .. name it. May that practice stop here right now, Amen! When you do that, the taste of the different food items transfer to one another. This means that when I visit you and you serve me fried plantains, I will keep wondering if I am eating fried fish or akara.
2. Remember my expiry date and respect it.
When you look at the oil that some people use to fry in their homes eh, you will wonder if it is gutter water or crude oil. It looks so black, is filled with food items and smells so stale that you will literally feel a clutch on your heart when you eat any food fried in such oil.
Are you really trying to save money by not throwing away such oils? Remember that the amount of money you will use to try to save your life when that poison you are using to fry your food decides to deal with you will be nothing compared to the pennies you save by putting off buying new oil.
Signs that a batch of frying oil has passed its use by date are stale taste and smell, excessive foaming around the food items being fried and significant change in colour from the original colour of the oil.
3. Thou shall not mix the old me and the new me.
For some people, changing the frying oil simply means adding new oil to the old and dirty one. Why would you do this? When we want to change the oil in our cars, we bleed the old oil and pour in completely new oil. So if you do this good deed to your car, why do you do the opposite for the oil you use to fry what you will put into your body? Do you want your engine to knock? 😀
I’m kind of guilty of this too because I mix the old and new oils for my tomato stew. But I cook-fry my tomato stew so that doesn’t count. lol 😉
4. Thou shall keep me in the fridge/freezer to extend my life span.
The best place to store used oil you intend to re-use is in a non-stop working fridge or freezer. Think of it this way: once we fry food items in oil, the oil now contains food particles and when we leave it in the cupboard, these food items continue to decompose and smell. Storing the used oil in the fridge or freezer ensures that the oil remains fresh in spite of the food particles it contains making it last longer.
We can get away with storing oils for plantains and potatoes in the cupboards for short periods of time but we definitely can’t do that for the oil used in frying fish nor the excess oil from frying tomato stew.
5. Thou shall keep me in separate containers.
As mentioned earlier we should not use one batch of oil to fry all the fryables. The best practice is to have a separate container for the oil you use to fry each food. I have a container for the oil I use to fry plantains, another for the oil I use to fry potatoes and another for the oil that I use to fry tomato stew. These are the food items I regularly fry in my home. When I want to make Chin Chin or Puff Puff, I use new oil and store in my fridge when done.
I shallow-fry my fish and after that I pour the oil away. If you deep-fry your fish and need to keep the oil afterwards, please ensure you keep the oil in a working fridge or freezer because oil used in frying fish smells so bad and it goes stale even after a single use if not stored in the fridge.
Here’s the quantity of oil I use to fry fish. You can see that it is not worth keeping.
6. Thou shall not use me to fry if I have a low smoke point.
An oil with a low smoke point is one which starts smoking at low temperatures. Examples are unrefined oils which include: extra virgin olive oil and red palm oil. The best oils to fry with are oils with high smoke points examples sunflower oil, canola oil and vegetable oils.
Smoke point is a big topic that everyone that fries with oils should know about. Google smoke point for cooking oils for more information.
7. Thou shall not use the frying pan as my container.
Some people fry with oil then shove the frying pan with the oil into a cupboard for cockroaches and ants to crawl into. Then the next time they want to fry, they just bring it out, set on the stove to heat up and start frying.
Baby/Dude but why?
Please when you finish frying, set the oil aside to cool down completely then strain/sieve to remove all the food particles and pour into a container with a cover. Close tight, store in your fridge/freezer and wash up the frying pan.
8. Thou shall not use deep fryers.
Unless you own a restaurant, have a catering business or cook food for people in large quantities, I wonder how you keep your deep fryer clean. If you pour out the oil after each frying (which no one ever does 😀 ), then carry go. And how do you fry different food items? In the same deep fryer? Ouch! Restaurants have different deep fryers for different food items hence there is no transfer of flavours. I used to think that owning a deep fryer will save me lots of time in the kitchen. I bought one and when I saw how difficult it is to keep it clean; with all the congealed oil mmh, I just washed it one last time and put it away. I have gone back to using my pots/pans to fry and I clean them afterwards.
9. Thou shall keep me clean.
Once you finish frying, leave the oil to cool down completely then strain the oil to remove the food particles before pouring into the storage container.
10. Thou shall give me a break!
Whenever you can, grill/broil instead of frying. Sometimes, we can grill that fish or chicken instead of deep frying because too much fry-fry foods is not good for us. 😉
Oya, add your own commandment below. 😉
♥ ♥ ♥
First frying pan image credit: dirty laundry kitchen
Nice one flo,, one cooking tip I know that works fine for me wen I want to use the oil I use in frying chin chin to fry plantain is I simply peel a chunk of ginger put it in the oil and allow it to fry for like 5mins, the oil become free from chin chin smell, after dat I just start frying my plantain. You should try it.
Rachel thanks dear. I will try it and I really hope it works for me because that will be very useful. I don’t fry Chin Chin that often and I often have the oil used in frying chin chin sitting in my fridge for a long time. I say I hope because my tastebuds eh? LOL They can pick the slightest tastes in food. And me and ginger no be friends. 😉
You made me laugh all through, I’m also guilty of all these, I’ve also realised how hard it is to keep my deep fryer clean as I easily get irritated, I have cleaned and kept it away. Grilling is my favourite, I grill my fish and meat even for parties and christmas and I love it. Thanks for the tips. God bless ur home and kitchen
Mrs T I’m glad it was an interesting read for you. 😉
The cleaning of that deep fryer was high up there in my worst kitchen tasks. I quickly put it away before you can say Jack Robinson! 😀
God bless you too!
Hi Flo
Thanks for your 10 commandment. I find them very useful and will do as you say from now on.
By the way which oil will you recommend for generally frying?
Some months ago I did request a recipe for ngwongwo – where all the goat is used particularly done during Christmas. We used to make it in Onitsha. I am from Odoje – member of Mbanefo family and we loved it.
You are welcome Patsy. Yes, I remember the one Ngwongwo request. Glad you enjoyed it.
I recommend sunflower oil or the vegetable oils we use in Nigeria. They are tasteless and odourless hence perfect for Nigerian cooking. Any other tasteless and odourless oil that has a high smoke point will do just fine.
Thank you so much. I am brand new to your blog and got there when browsing. This is so useful. As I was reading I looked up and saw the oil in my frying pan: it’s been there over a week! Thanks for the tips.
You are welcome to the blog Rakiya. 🙂
Sometimes we are so busy we put off doing some of these cooking tasks. But if we get into the habit of doing them, we see that some of them do not take more than 1 minute. 🙂
You are welcome.
Hello flo,
Thanks a lot for this , I have been doing things wrongly (unknowingly though) but this has corrected a lot of that . Thanks
Yes Elizabeth, we sometimes break these rules because we do not know any other way. And these are practices that have been passed on from generation to generation. 🙂
You are welcome.
You shallow fry your fish? Interesting. Do you boil it first or fry it raw? If raw, then how does it fry completely?
I shallow-fry both raw and boiled depending on what I am cooking and the raw cooks completely. Fish is one of those food ingredients that cooks in no time.
If I need to get some stock from the fish, I boil it first before frying. Watch this Fish Stew video of me doing that.
If I do not need stock, I fry it raw. Watch this Abacha video to see me do that.
I’m guilty of some things here. Lol. Thanks, I shall repent!
lol Ezinne! I’m sure your frying oils will forgive you. 😉
Wow nice.? This is so on point?. I’m very guilty of leaving oil in the pan on the kitchen slab and using and topping up when it reduces till I use it all and start afresh. I have loads of plastic I send to the recycle bin. I guess I will start recycling them myself by storing used oil. This was really helpful. Will send to my sis and mum cos we all do it. ??? Can you share tips on how to fry plantain so it doesn’t soak too much oil?
Glad you found it helpful Hauwa. We are all guilty of one or more of these. 🙂
Click here to read how to fry the best plantains including how to ensure that it does not soak up excess oil. There’s also a link within the blog post.
It’s the shallow frying of fish that got me. Please how does this work? Doesn’t it burn? That is a super useful tip.
And storing of oil used in frying different foods in different containers – Genius, but then you have to wait for them to cool down, cuz I see you store in plastic bottles; so what if you want to fry something else immediately using the same pan?
Then storing used oil in the freezer – Brilliant!
Well done Flo. Love how you take time to respond to each commenter. *Now let me sit down and wait for my own reply*
lol @ sitting down to wait for reply! Kiki I have not met you but any time I read your comment, I can hear a voice reading it out to me. I hope that voice matches your real voice if/when I get to hear it. 😀 I appreciate everyone that comments on here and since the aim of the commenting system is to have conversations, I feel the convo should keep flowing till we all get tired and move on to the next topic. LOL
No, the fish does not burn during shallow frying, you can control this by reducing the heat. Watch this video (shallow frying of boiled fish) and this video (shallow frying of raw fish) to see me do that.
Yes, I let the oil cool down completely then strain to remove the food particles before pouring into the container. Most often, by the time the oil has cooled down, the particles have settled at the bottom of the pot so you can gently decant the oil into the container without the particles falling into the container. But if you have glass bottles/jars, they are better materials for storing food and oils. Please don’t follow me in my bad practices ooo.
If I want to fry something else using the same pan? Mmmh good question. If you watch my videos, you will often see me frying with my stainless steel pots not just frying pans so I would move that first pan/pot to one side, get another pot, pour in its own oil and start frying the other food item. But if you only use your frying pan to fry, you can pour the hot oil into a dry pot then use a paper towel to clean off the particles, wash the pan and fry another thing.
Hope the wait for your own reply was worth it? *wink!
Yes o, it was well worth the wait. Meanwhile, I fry with pots too sometimes but I usually feel guilty about it as if I have done something wrong. So I avoid it but since a kitchen queen like you does it, then I stand converted.
I understand your use of plastic bottles 😉 no guilt here, it would be easier to pour oil into plastic bottles rather than glass. Still plastic is being judged more and more unsafe everyday so i’m gradually phasing it out of my kitchen, buying glass jars (mason jars) and saving empty mayonnaise jars to use in the kitchen.
Indeed I look forward to you hearing my voice as I love hearing yours whenever I watch your videos. Wish you would show your face more or did I miss it somewhere?
Well done Flo, you are doing a fabulous job.
Signed – Your biggest fan.
Ah mbanu. No need to feel guilty Kiki. Pots are the best for deep frying as they offer the depth that lacks in frying pans. Once the pot is stainless steel without any form of inner coating, it is safe to use it in frying.
I have this fear that glass containers will fall and break that’s why I never use them for storing anything: oils, soups that I keep in my freezer etc. I use a glass container to store sugar and any time I pick up that jar, my heart skips a beat. I am sure that shortens my life span in micro amounts. LOL
Awww, I try to show my face oo. If you know how shy I am, you will agree that I already show too much face! 😀 😀 Oya, click here to see all the videos where I show my face. I will send you an email to get your number so we can talk. Let that hearing of your voice happen right now! 😉
Thank you for your kind words! 🙂
I am guilty of this, will definitely try d tips. Thanks and well done.
9ce one aunty.Plx,can i get ur username on facebook.I want 2 discuss smtin wit u plx.Tnx
Storing in the fridge/freezer? I’ve learnt a new one today. Thanks Aunty Flo.
I normally peel and add ginger or garlic to my oil to remove smells too.
Woow interesting I’m guilty o I must confess. I like the fact that u make reading ur article fun lol.
Signed happy fan
Am guilty of number 123.. Lols but am trying to change tho…. I have 3 gallons, 1 is for the oil used to fry plantains, yam, potatoes, 2nd one is for meat, 3rd one is for fish, but belive me i always use fresh oil to fry chinchin, doughnuts all pastries, and i always fry fish with palm oil…. Lols
Hmmmm, guilty as charged on almost all counts. Storing oil in different cans is an eye opener for. Me. Tnx Flo. You’ve made my day. We learn always. Keep it up.
Am guilty of almost everything.
Thanks for this info.
I always fry chinchin many times and I use either kings oil or Devon oil. But sometimes after I fry the first batch, the oil starts foaming during the second round of chinchin. Please what can I do to make it stop?
Annie the reason for foaming is at least one of the following:
1. You overcrowd the chin chin when frying.
2. The temperature of the oil is too low.
3. You dust the chin chin with loose flour.
Click the following link: https://youtu.be/QzrUg8Ikk0U and watch video for details.
Thanks Flo! It’s truly an eye opener to me especially when you said used oil can be stored in the fridge.
I make chin chin which I sell so I had to start using pure vegetable oil like power oil and the likes. But my issue here is that a customer gave his feedback that it was too brown and I suspected it was from the oil since I reused it. So I’ll like to know if it’s advisable to reuse the same oil at least once and if I should also refrigerate it. Thanks🤗
It depends on the quantity of chin chin you fried with the same oil. If you fried a lot, you will see that the oil is too brown after the first use. In that case, it’s best to discard after the first use.
Thank you Flo!
I didn’t know I should refrigerate my oil when I want to reuse. A customer of mine whom I made puff puff for, complained that the second puff puff I made for her was not as good as the first one I delivered. she said that the oil which I used for frying it might have gone bad. I suspected it maybe from reusing the oil I used for frying the previous one. Please ma, could there be any other reasons for the bad taste from the oil and any other possible ways which I can preserve my oil?
Yes, the 4th commandment addresses that. Th ebest way to keep used oil from smelling bad is to store it in the fridge.