What do you do with the oil left after you deep fry?

@pickwick (858)
India
March 8, 2009 11:59am CST
I have heard that one should not use the oil which has once been used for deep frying as it can cause health problems.Do you throw it off then or you can use it for something else?What do you do?I have been throwing it off but I feel very bad doing that.
5 people like this
15 responses
@eichs1 (1934)
• Philippines
9 Mar 09
Here's a good article about the hazardous effect of prolonged use of cooking oils. http://www.fehd.gov.hk/publications/text/oil.html Based on the article, I have no more qualms re-using oil left from deep frying until it turns rancid or destroys the taste of the food. When the oil is not fit for cooking anymore, I eventually discard it. The problem for me is disposing the used oil not fit for cooking human food. The oil can cause clogging when thrown in the sewerage. I heard that they are used for animal food production and as alternate vehicle fuels but there is no one collecting household oil wastes for such purposes. With such problems (possible health hazard and disposal), I think I really have to avoid deep frying and even frying as much as possible.
1 person likes this
@pickwick (858)
• India
10 Mar 09
Thank you very much for sharing the article.It realy is practically useful for me...the information.Now onwards no more wasting of oil.Thank you.
1 person likes this
@dpk262006 (58676)
• Delhi, India
9 Mar 09
I think you have heard rightly,if the oil, which has already been used, is re-used again, it might cause some problems. However, I've noticed that my better half frying something or the other in the left out oil.
@dpk262006 (58676)
• Delhi, India
9 Mar 09
You housewives are smart enough in Kitchen.
@pickwick (858)
• India
9 Mar 09
Oh yeah, we housewives are particular that nothing should be wasted.
1 person likes this
@lazeebee (5461)
• Malaysia
9 Mar 09
I usually use it once or twice more, before throwing it away. It seems such a waste, especially if it looks so clear.
@pickwick (858)
• India
9 Mar 09
It really seems a waste to throw away.I too am tempted to reuse if it looks clear sometimes.
@missybear (11391)
• United States
8 Mar 09
We usually use it about 5 or 6 times to deep fry. The last thing we usually fry is fish and after that we throw the oil away. I have used some of it for frying stuff and there was nothing wrong with that. I don't think you have to throw it out.
@missybear (11391)
• United States
10 Mar 09
Oil is so expensive I don't want to waste it after only a couple times of using it.
@pickwick (858)
• India
9 Mar 09
Five to six times seems too much missybear.The lipids in the oil undergoes oxidation and these products(oxidised) are not nutritionally safe for long term health.So please take care dear.
@srijshm (1165)
• India
9 Mar 09
This is my biggest problem in menu planning. My solution is simple, I use deep fry method only once a week & then use all these oils for tempering or in griddling. It is very bad if you re-fry in that oil. So i use the oil in all other forms. I also keep deepfrying in weekends. This way i have time on my hand & fry small pieces in little oil instead of frying bigger portions in large pan. In hotels they use a paper oil filter to reuse the fried oil. but this method does not change the characteristics of the oil & only changes the colour of the oil.
@pickwick (858)
• India
9 Mar 09
Thats a good idea.Thanks for sharing.I too can try that out.
@Ritchelle (3790)
• Philippines
9 Mar 09
well, honestly, i keep it. i'm still living after 34 years :)
@pickwick (858)
• India
9 Mar 09
Hi Ritchelle!Thanks for the response.But you are too young to present yourself as an evidence!!
• United States
9 Mar 09
We do a lot of deep frying out of doors. We even do turkey's several times a year. After we are done frying for a session we set the oil pot to cool. Some times we strain the old, but not always. When the oil is cool we place the well covered pot in our freezer until the next time. I don't think that there is much risk to our health when we freeze it so soon.
@pickwick (858)
• India
10 Mar 09
Straining seems to be a good idea.thanks for sharing.
@bdugas (3578)
• United States
9 Mar 09
I see no use to waste oil that you have only used to fry frenchfries once or twice. Potatoes clean the grease, I do not use grease that fish or seafood has been fried in a second time.
@pickwick (858)
• India
9 Mar 09
Oh I didnt know about the fact that potatoes clean the grease.Seems safe to use the oil in which one has made french fries.Thanks for responding bdugas.
@Sreekala (34312)
• India
7 May 09
Hi pickwick, I also heard that repeated use of same oil will cause cancer. So we should be very careful for this thing. If we throw away some oil it won’t be a matter for comparing the serious health problem. I don’t like to reuse the oil as I am concern about the health of my family. I am preparing fried foods very rarely. Fried foods are very tasty but it causes many health hazards. I am trying to use less oil for preparing ‘curry’.
• United States
22 Mar 09
We usually toss after one use but we don't have a deep fryer but a frying pan with a decent depth to make french fries or jalipenio poppers.
@ank_47 (1959)
• India
22 Mar 09
if i use oil for deepfrying, i will not reuse it again for deepfrying. i will use the used oil, in some curries i prepare daily or i will use them for any shallow fried items . this way there will be no health problems. same oil we should not use more times for deep frying. after deepfrying ,First, let it cool. Don’t try to move the fryer until it’s pretty close to room temperature. If you strain the oil through cheesecloth to remove all the particles, you can reuse the oil. Just put it back in the original container and store at room temperature. You might not want to use it for deep-frying again, however—when oil is heated to frying temperatures multiple times, its smoke point goes down. You can also use your oil to power a car. There is a grass-roots movement of people who modify their cars’ engines to run on straight, unprocessed waste vegetable oil (WVO). Or you can give it to somebody who can make biodiesel out of it—a nontoxic, biodegradable, and clean-burning fuel made from vegetable oil or animal fat that needs to be processed a bit first, and then can power a diesel car. The used oil is filtered and processed into tallow, which is then sold and broken down into other chemicals for soap, animal feed, or any of a range of other products, from soap to shampoo to dynamite.source:http://www.chow.com/stories/10199
@janyen (623)
• Netherlands
8 Mar 09
we don't really throw them immedietely after use. we still use them until it needs to be changed. we still fry foods couple of times then throw it afterwards.
@pickwick (858)
• India
8 Mar 09
Hi Janyen! It has been proved by researches that cooking oil on deep frying gets oxidised and causes severe health hazards.Thats why I dont dare to use it again.I was using it about a couple of years ago but now I have stopped using it again.Thanks for responding.
@kaplima24 (111)
• Philippines
9 Mar 09
Hi, it would depend on the food I fried. But I usually use the oil up to 3 times when I see that the texture is still good.
@pickwick (858)
• India
10 Mar 09
Thanks for responding.
@liaamur (417)
• Philippines
8 Mar 09
we do have an oil brand here that promises still-good oil after how many uses. i don't normally wait for that max number of use, but i use it about 2 or 3 times, depending on what i fried in it.
@pickwick (858)
• India
8 Mar 09
May I know which brand you use so that I can switch over to it?Thank you liaamur.
@sanuanu (11235)
• India
21 Mar 09
Well, it is my mum does cooking for me and my family so she should be the best person to tell you about it but when I was away from my house, I used to have that in a bottle or bows and use it for next time cooking. I know it is not healthy but it was like throwing your money too, isn't it?