Topic: How much deep fat frying do we do?

[steffmathwill]

I'm interested in finding out how many others still deep fry food in the home, so thanks for taking part in this quick question.

[Les]

Me, Not at all, never. 

[Mattie]

Never owned one or actually done any deep fat frying.  I'm tempted to buy one atleast every month though, currently the falafel recipe posted a week ago is teasing me.  I try and be reasonably healthy (boring) with what I eat.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Chips, onion rings, fish in batter, tempura, Chinese "seaweed", ...  Many things.  Deep-"fat" frying in rapeseed oil, shallow frying of Western dishes in beef dripping (or lard, in the case of pancakes), oriental dishes in groundnut oil.

** Phil.

[Sverige]

I do make use of my deep fryer quite often, more than I thought I would when I got it. I cook chips, falafel, onion rings, chunky peppers and onions for curries and Chinese, onion bhajis, chicken Kiev (just to colour the outside before oven cooking), chicken wings, KFC style breaded chicken, it seems to go on and on.

Not all in the same week obviously!

[Sverige]

Never owned one or actually done any deep fat frying.  I'm tempted to buy one atleast every month though, currently the falafel recipe posted a week ago is teasing me.  I try and be reasonably healthy (boring) with what I eat.

Mattie you don't need a fryer to cook falafel, a saucepan filled with oil and a slotted spoon to fish them out with will do. As far as healthy goes, I don't think they're unhealthy as the oil doesn't seem to penetrate and can be blotted off the surface with kitchen paper.

[Garp]

I have recently become addicted to Vong's crispy fried chicken/beef, so have been deep frying quite a lot.

I don't have a deep fat fryer and just heat rapeseed oil in the wok (I have to admit to having used Trex and Spry (crisp and dry) in emergencies too).

For BIR? Just pakora and bhaji and the occasional fritter-ma-bob

[livo]

All the time.  Chips, battered fish, spring rolls, chicken, pork and prawn fritters for Chinese dishes, Southern Fried Chicken, Chicken 65.  I have a double pan fryer that holds 5 litres of oil in each.  Wouldn't be without it, but I come from a family who owned and ran a chippy and my first paid employment was as a spud boy.

[George]

I do make use of my deep fryer quite often, more than I thought I would

How much do you weigh, if you don't mind me asking?

[livo]

Eating fat is now being reconsidered as the main culprit in weight gain, although it can be one of the contributing factors.  I have a friend who recently lost over 30 kg in 3 months by deliberately eating a full fat diet.  Upon his doctors advice, he now eats mainly lamb fat (the curly bit on the end of loin chops) fried chicken skins and gives the meat to his family preferring to eat only the fattiest parts.  He makes special request to his butcher to sell him only the fattiest chops and keep the chicken skins for him.  Just the skin and fat of the chicken.  When cooking chicken dishes he always uses thigh and never breast.  He cut out all carbohydrates and where possible, sugar.

He only eats the fatty meats, dairy, especially cheese, and obviously some vegetables and fruit.  He did not change his exercise routine and actually has physical disability with his back that prevents most physical exercise.  Incidentally he is 6'8" tall and was carrying a fair bit of weight but 30 kg is significant. I know he has continued to lose weight but I'm not sure how much in total now as I haven't seen him in 3 months or so but it would have to be up around 40 kg in 6 months by now.

I don't and never have avoided fat and I am not greatly overweight, and what I do carry can easily be attributed to a few too many cold lagers. Well ok, quite a few.  Of all of my blood tests over many years my cholesterol levels are perfect and have never risen to a level that is even close to a concern.  What is a liver?

Contrary to popular belief, fat is not the enemy. However, not all fats are good and my mate swears right off any oil that may contain GM material.  He uses only olive oil, peanut oil and ghee and never processed vegetable or canola oils.  I'm not as fussy as you can't really deep fry in either O/O or Peanut.

Properly deep fried food should not be oily.  If the oil is the right temperature it will cook / seal the foods outside surface and then the cooking internally is from transferred heat, not oil penetration.  This is why the best fish to cook is not oily fish. Oily fish allows the cooking oil flavours to penetrate and this is never nice.