Deep frying oil

[Drybonz]

Guys, I recently bought a little deep fryer which I will mainly use for frying tofu. I haven't ever really done much deep fried cooking, and am looking for some advice on the best oil to use.

I have been reading up a bit, and peanut oil, vegetable oil and sunflower oil are the ones that keep popping up. I primarily use coconut oil in the pan. I have priced these and vegetable oil is the cheapest. Other factors to consider are effect on flavor, health and whether the oil can be reused.

Any advice is appreciated! :D

[turtle]

Health conscious choice:

Peanut oil. Cost more but does not burn as easily as other oils.

Flavor choice:

Lard (nothing beats lard for deep frying)

[Drybonz]

Lard (nothing beats lard for deep frying)

Forgot to mention I am a vegetarian. hehe... sorry. :)

[turtle]

Forgot to mention I am a vegetarian. hehe... sorry. :)

Then what are you doing with a deep fryer

You do know that they are for cooking little animals, fishies, and other things that you don't eat?

[Obiwan]

Lard (nothing beats lard for deep frying)

You could fry a shoe in lard and it would taste good.

[Drybonz]

Then what are you doing with a deep fryer

You do know that they are for cooking little animals, fishies, and other things that you don't eat?

Haha... yes. Well, it is mainly because I like dishes with fried tofu.

[life2short1971]

You could fry a shoe in lard and it would taste good.

HAha That is true!!!

[life2short1971]

Haha... yes. Well, it is mainly because I like dishes with fried tofu.

I thought Tofu was for the health conscious so fried+ Tofu makes no more sense than military+intelligence

[Commander Quan]

You could fry a shoe in lard and it would taste good.

And it won't give you CHD like frying it in the trans fat vegetable oils.

[galopede]

Lard? You lot over there have never tried things fried in beef dripping then?

Gareth

[Face&Head]

I use a 50/50 blend of Peanut & Grape-seed Oils. Both have smoking points above 420 degrees and offer a good balanced neutral flavor.

[ouch]

Save the more expensive oils for sauteing and stir frying (peanut, olive, grape seed) and salad dressings (olive, walnut, hazelnut). For deep frying vegetable (which is soybean oil), corn, and canola are fine.

Reusing oil? Here's a good tip- before storing, heating the oil with a piece of scallion and ginger (the latter in particular if you cooked fish) until the scallion starts to turn brown helps neutralize the flavor.

[Drybonz]

Reusing oil? Here's a good tip- before storing, heating the oil with a piece of scallion and ginger (the latter in particular if you cooked fish) until the scallion starts to turn brown helps neutralize the flavor.

Great tip! Thank you!

[turtle]

The best time of year to buy peanut oil is just before Thanksgiving. A lot of folks like to deep fry turkeys and peanut oil gets real cheap.

[MrDentini]

Peanut and corn oil work the best for me. I wouldn't reuse it though. You could filter, deodorize and make soaps with the used oil :)

[jkh]

I thought Tofu was for the health conscious so fried+ Tofu makes no more sense than military+intelligence

Kind of like ordering a Diet Coke with super-sized Big Mac meal at McDonalds, eh?

Haha... yes. Well, it is mainly because I like dishes with fried tofu.

You need to fry up some "thinly sliced" (bacon sized) tempeh strips for a delicious TLT (tempeh, lettuce, and tomato) with Vegenaise.

[life2short1971]

[QUOTE=jkh;4355968]Kind of like ordering a Diet Coke with super-sized Big Mac meal at McDonalds, eh?

Yes exactly!

[Direwolf]

Go with the peanut.Since you will be frying mainly tofu it will last for a long time.

[Drybonz]

First meal using the deep fryer. I cooked the tofu just a smidge too long, but I will get it right next time. Baby bok choy and tofu.

[turtle]

That looks fantastic.

I've just eaten and it is making me hungry again