Just found out oil flash points matter way more than I thought

So I was reading the manual for my new fryer last night and it had a chart about different oils and their smoke points. I always just used whatever vegetable oil was on sale, figured oil is oil right? Nope. The thing said if you heat oil past its smoke point it starts breaking down and releasing chemicals that can actually make food taste burnt even if it looks fine. I checked my bottle and I've been cooking at like 50 degrees past the limit this whole time. No wonder my last batch of fries came out smelling like a garage fire. Has anyone else checked their oil temp against the bottle?

3 comments

3 Comments

ellis.mia17h ago

You're talking about a fryer manual like it's some kind of science textbook. I've been using the same bottle of generic canola oil for six months, heating it up until it starts shimmering and never once checked a single temp. My fries come out fine, crispy and golden. Sounds like you just left yours in too long and blamed the oil. People get worked up over smoke points but restaurants reuse oil for days without measuring anything and somehow nobody's keeling over.

graceblack14h ago

Is it really that deep though? I mean as long as the food tastes good and doesn't come out all greasy who's actually checking temps like they're running a lab experiment.

the_hayden14h ago

Nah I used to be the same way, just eyeballing everything and calling it good. But last year I got one of those cheap infrared temp guns for my fryer at home and it actually made a pretty big difference. Started hitting that sweet spot around 350 and my batter stopped soaking up so much oil. Food came out way less greasy even though I thought it was fine before. I was just used to the heavy oil taste and didn't realize how much better it could be.