Deep Frying

[rbuchman]

I was watching Good Eats (a great show for us science/food minded fitness freaks) and they were talking about deep frying foods. They kept saying as long as the food has moisture in it steam will escape keeping fat out. He was able to make a big basket of french fries and fried fish with relatively little fat (15g)

Not that I'm going to start deep frying things but the principle seemed sound, how can one tell when the moisture is still keeping fat out and when the fat will be free in invade the food?

[threenorns]

oh, you can tell: if the fat's absorbed, food gets squishy and soggy. that's the reasoning behind waiting till the oil is HOT, not just nearly hot.

[Gearloose]

If you must deep fry, be careful of the oil you use. Avoid any of the solid shortenings. Peanut Oil is a much healthier choice and has the advantage of a higher burn temp, so you can run your deep fryer hot enough to minimize absorbtion.

[vegan]

Originally Posted by rbuchman

I was watching Good Eats (a great show for us science/food minded fitness freaks) and they were talking about deep frying foods. They kept saying as long as the food has moisture in it steam will escape keeping fat out. He was able to make a big basket of french fries and fried fish with relatively little fat (15g)

Not that I'm going to start deep frying things but the principle seemed sound, how can one tell when the moisture is still keeping fat out and when the fat will be free in invade the food?

You will see a lot of bubbling around the product that is being deep-fried. As it is cooked, the product will float and the bubbling around the product slows. When the oil is at the proper temperature (350 - 375 degrees) the frying process creates a crust on the product which acts as a barrier to further fat absorption. It helps to let excess oil drain off the product for a minute or two after frying. Meat has to reach an internal temperature of 160-170 degrees to kill pathogens - so you can't necessarily go by appearance of the food - you should measure the internal temperature with a meat thermometer.