DEEP FAT FRYING

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 88, Issue 5, 15 May 1954, Page 519

DEEP FAT FRYING

PHYSICIANS often advise against the eating of fried foods. Children and adults with • impaired health should avoid food cooked by the deep fat method, because fat is digested slowly and with difficulty. However, fried foods carefully prepared are very tempting, and although one should not make a practice of eating them, they make a welcome change. In this article Maud B. Strain, Field Officer in Rural Sociology, Department of Agriculture, Dunedin, gives recipes and methods of cooking in deep fat.

THE ideal fat for frying would be odourless, tasteless, practically colourless, and with a high decomposition point, but as this ideal medium is not available yet, the ordinary drippings collected from roasts are, when clarified, quite satisfactory. Lard fries food well, but care must be taken to prevent overheating. It smokes at a comparatively low temperature, the smoke is irritating to the throat, and the lard itself rapidly deteriorates. Vegetable fats and oils such as cotton seed oil, when procurable, are most suitable for deep frying. They reach a high temperature before starting to smoke, they do not burn readily, and can be used over and over again. Unlike animal fats and oils, they do not readily absorb odours and can therefore be used for all types of foods and are perhaps the best fats for general use in frying. To Clarify Fat Fats collected in the ordinary way, a little at a time, and held , in a basin or tin may possibly have small amounts of gravy or other sediment adhering to the under surface of the solidified fat. This impurity must be removed. The fat should be emptied

from the container and any sediment scraped off. The fat should be heated gradually in a saucepan with a few slices of potato. The potato, being porous, gathers into its pores much of the sediment from the used fat. When the fat has ceased to bubble and the potato is browned the fat is strained through several thicknesses of cheesecloth placed over a strainer. It is then set aside to cool. Temperatures for Frying The temperature of fat for frying is best determined by a cooking thermometer registering up to 500 degrees F. which can be hooked over the side of the saucepan of fat. If no thermometer is available, the temperature may be fairly reliably tested by using lin. cubes of stale bread. The time taken to brown the bread gives a satisfactory indication of the temperature. The fat is not hot enough for any cooking until a cube of bread is browned in 60 seconds. This indicates a temperature of approximately 350 to 365 degrees F., which is suitable for small pieces of uncooked food or batters and dough. If the fat is at the correct temperature for such foods as croquettes, fish

balls, and the like, the cube of bread will brown in 40 seconds and a thermometer would read 365 to 382 degrees F. The highest temperature used, 382 to 390 degrees F. for large pieces of uncooked foods, crumbed chops, and potato chips, will brown the cube in 20 seconds. Frying at a temperature above that recommended may not only cause decomposition, or breaking down, of the fat, but has unfavourable effects on the food being fried. Potato chips may brown excessively and develop a strong flavour without becoming crisp, doughnuts may brown on the outside and yet be uncooked inside, croquettes may brown and the coating become crisp without the croquettes being heated right through, and meat may brown without cooking sufficiently. Utensils for Frying Utensils required, for deep fat frying are listed here. A saucepan with a moderately heavy bottom is advisable. The cast aluminium or enamel saucepan with a machined base about {in. thick is excellent, as the metal retains the heat and the temperature does not fluctuate markedly. A wire basket that fits loosely into the saucepan to lift food, especially small items, into and out of the saucepan. A great convenience is a basket with two small hooks on one side near the bottom so that the basket may be rested on the side of the saucepan (see illustration on page 521).

A long-handled fork and slotted spoon for use when the frying basket is not required. Unglazed kitchen paper crumpled loosely in a baking dish or pie dish for draining the cooked food and keeping it hot. A cooking thermometer for testing the temperature of the fat. Directions for Frying The procedure described here is recommended. 1. Have sufficient fat in the saucepan to cover the articles to be fried to a depth of 1 to 2in. The saucepan must not be more than half full to allow for the bubbling that takes place when the cold food is lowered into it. 2. Heat the fat gradually to the desired temperature, 350 to 390 degrees F., according to what is being cooked, and do not let it overheat. 3. Put only moderate amounts of food into the fat at one time because (a) when the food enters the fat the moisture on the surface of the food is converted into steam, causing vigorous bubbling in the fat, and if the saucepan is not sufficiently deep, fat may overflow and catch fire, and (b) too much cold food may so cool the fat as to delay the cooking and increase the absorption of fat, thus making a greasy product. 4. When food is cooked (the colour is the best guide to. this) remove it from the fat at once, drain it over the saucepan for a few moments, then turn it out on to kitchen paper and keep it in a warm place until it is served. 5. After frying is completed let the fat cool until it is safe to handle, then strain it through several thicknesses of muslin placed in a strainer. Frequent clarification prolongs the life of fat. Use of Frying Basket If a frying basket is being used in cooking potato chips, the latter may be put into the basket and lowered into the fat; if spluttering is excessive, the basket can be raised to let a little of the steam escape, then lowered again gently. This should be repeated as often as necessary, but on no account should the fat be left alone until the spluttering has ceased, in case it bubbles over and catches fire. Moist food, such as cut-up potato, should be dried on a clean tea towel or washed flour bag kept for the purpose before being put into the frying basket. If a frying basket is being used for foods coated with batter, the basket should be in the fat and the food should be lowered into it. Foods coated with egg and breadcrumbs can be placed in the basket and lowered into the fat. coated with batter should be lifted from the batter one at a time with a skewer or long handled cooking fork, allowed to drip for a moment, and lowered into the fat. At first food sinks in the fat, but as it cooks it rises to the surface; a gentle shake of the basket will free any with a tendency to adhere to the bottom. Food sometimes needs turning in the fat. With potato chips this is done

by raising the basket from the fat and shaking the chips around in it to expose different surfaces; with larger pieces of food turning can be done with a skewer and cooking fork. When the food is cooked the basket is raised and drained on the side of the. saucepan for a few moments, and the contents transferred to unglazed kitchen paper to absorb any remaining fat. If a basket is not being used, the pieces of food may be lifted out with a slotted spoon and long-handled fork. Fried food is best when it is eaten immediately it is cooked; after standing it tends to lose its crispness. Coatings for Fried Foods Except items like doughnuts and potato chips, foods are usually coated with egg and breadcrumbs or with batter before being fried. An egg is broken into a shallow plate, two tablespoons of water are added, and the whole is beaten lightly with a fork. The food to be fried is rolled in flour or fine breadcrumbs, the whole surface being covered. It is dipped in the beaten egg and then in breadcrumbs again so that it is evenly coated. At this stage the food may be left to stand for a short time. The first coating with flour or fine breadcrumbs helps the egg to adhere more closely to the food, and with the second lot of breadcrumbs gives density to the covering, which on

contact with the hot fat is immediately converted into a resistant crust. This prevents the entry of fat into the food and the escape of anything from the food into the fat. In croquettes, for example, this crust checks the escape into the fat of the substances it encloses, more especially when the croquettes have a sauce foundation or are composed of uncooked meats or fish the juices of which are thereby entirely retained. A third type of

coating is sometimes used by flouring the food and dipping it in milk and then in oatmeal or broken flaked cereal. Recipes Batter for Fish 2 eggs i pint of milk 4oz. of flour i teaspoon of salt Sift the flour and salt into a basin. Drop in the eggs and a little milk. Stir the mixture, working in the flour gradually with the rest of the milk

to form a smooth batter. Beat the mixture thoroughly and allow it to stand for an hour or longer. (A tablespoon of melted butter added just before using is an improvement, but is not essential.) The batter should be just thick enough to coat the fish. Add more milk or more flour as required. Wipe the pieces of fish with a damp cloth, coat them lightly with flour, dip them into batter, lift them out on a skewer, and hold them long enough for the excess batter to drip off, then place them in the hot fat (360 degrees F.) and cook them until they are a golden colour (about 5 minutes) . A lighter batter may be made by separating the yolks and whites of the eggs. Beat the yolks and stir them into the sifted flour, add the milk gradually, then the stiffly beaten whites. Oyster Fritters Beard the oysters, drain them, coat them with seasoned flour, and dip them into the batter. Lift them on

a skewer one by one into the hot fat and fry them until they are light brown. Drain the oysters on absorbent paper and serve them with lemon quarters. Fish, has a tendency to flavour fat; for this reason it is sometimes better to keep a separate lot of fat for frying fish. However, if the fish is well coated with batter before being fried, it will not seriously flavour the fat in which it is cooked. French Fried Potatoes Peel potatoes and cut lengthwise slices about Jin. thick. Cut these slices again lengthwise into Jin. strips. Dry the surfaces of the pieces between folds of a tea towel, then fry the pieces in small lots in deep fat (390 degrees F.) until they are a golden colour. Drain them on absorbent paper, sprinkle them with salt, and serve them hot. When left standing they tend to lose their crispness. Saratoga Chips Peel potatoes and shave them lengthwise into thin slices. (A double-

bladed potato peeler is excellent for this.) Soak the slices in cold water for an hour, drain them, and dry them on a towel. Fry them in deep fat (390 degrees F.), a few at a time to keep them from sticking together, until they are golden brown. Drain them on absorbent paper. These chips can be eaten hot or cold and will keep for a week or more, needing only to be made crisp in the oven before they are served. Potato Croquettes 1 cup of mashed Saltspoon of celery potato salt 1 tablespoon of Few drops of onion melted ■ butter juice Shake of pepper 1 egg i teaspoon of salt • Breadcrumbs for ft teaspoon of coating chopped parsley Mix the mashed potato (warmed) with melted butter and add chopped parsley, seasonings, and onion juice (or J teaspoon grated onion). Beat the egg slightly and add half of it to the potato mixture (the other half, with a tablespoon of water added, is used for coating the croquettes).

Beat the potato mixture well to distribute the ingredients evenly and shape it into cylinders. Dip the cylinders into egg and then breadcrumbs, and leave them to stand for an hour longer to cool and firm. Fry them in deep fat (380 to 390 degrees F.), drain them, and serve them hot with tomato sauce. Variations of Potato Croquettes Variations of the potato croquettes recipe can be made with the two following preparations. Oyster Surprise From the potato croquettes recipe omit the onion and celery salt. As each cylinder is being shaped tuck in two oysters, one at each end, re-form the cylinder, coat it with egg and breadcrumbs, and proceed as given in the croquettes recipe. Fish Balls To the mashed potato add J cup of thick white sauce, 4oz. of cold, cooked fish, finely flaked, 1 teaspoon of anchovy sauce, J teaspoon of salt, and proceed as in the croquettes recipe. Batter for Fruit Fritters 1J cups of sifted 2 tablespoons of flour sugar 1 teaspoon of salt 1 egg 2 teaspoons of baking j cup of milk powder Sift the dry ingredients and add the egg, well beaten, and sufficient milk to make a batter just thick enough to coat whichever fruit is being used. Apple Fritters Core the apples, peel them, and cut them into rings about Jin. thick. Dip

the rings in batter. Lift them one at a time on a skewer into hot, deep fat (365 degrees F.) and cook them for 2 to 3 minutes. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and fork on to absorbent paper. Dredge them with castor sugar and serve them hot. Peach Fritters Peel the peaches, split them in halves, and remove the stones. Dip the halves in batter and fry them for 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle them with sugar. Banana Fritters Peel bananas and cut them in half crosswise and then lengthwise. Dip the pieces in batter and fry them for 4 to 6 minutes. Bananas require a slightly thicker batter than some other fruits, and the time required to cook them is consequently longer. Timbale Cases 1 cup of milk J cup of flour 2 well-beaten egg J teaspoon of salt yolks teaspoons of sugar Add the milk to the egg yolks and gradually stir in the flour sifted with the salt and sugar. Mix these well (the mixture should be the consistency of thick cream), cover the mixture,

and set it aside for an hour. Heat a timbale iron in hot, deep fat for 2 to 3 minutes, drain it, and dip it into batter to within {-in. to Jin. of the top of the iron. Return the iron at once to hot fat (375 degrees F.) and hold it there until the case is crisp and lightly brown. If the batter slips off, the iron is too cold, and if it sticks to the iron, the iron is too hot. A fluted iron is easier to work with than a plain one, because the case does not slip off until it is thoroughly cooked. If the cases are not crisp, the batter is too thick and should be thinned with milk. If a thin layer only of batter adheres to the iron when it is. dipped in the batter, plunge the iron in again and repeat this if necessary until there is a smooth layer; then lower the iron quickly into the hot fat and cook the batter for 2 to 3 minutes. Timbale cases are used for sweet and savoury dishes. For savouries fill the cases with creamed chicken, creamed oysters, or any filling fancied, and decorate them appropriately. For sweet fillings use fresh fruit such as strawberries, raspberries, etc.,

or cooked fruit. . Dust the filled cases with castor sugar and top them with whipped cream. Doughnuts 3 tablespoons, of 4 teaspoons of baking butter ■ powder i cup of sugar 1 teaspoon of nutmeg 1 egg i cup of milk g teaspoon of salt 3 cups of flour Beat the egg until it is very light, beat in the sugar, then add the melted butter. Sift the baking powder, salt, and nutmeg with one cup of flour and stir these into the egg mixture alternately with the milk; add the rest of the flour to make a fairly soft dough. Roll the dough out Jin. thick and cut it in rounds with a biscuit cutter. (The type that will at the same time cut a small circle from the centre is handy but not essential.) A thimble can be used to cut out the hole if the doughnut cutter is not available. Fry the doughnuts in deep fat (365 degrees F.) for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain them on unglazed paper and dredge them with sugar. If the doughnuts crack while cooking, the fat is too hot; if they are greasy, the fat is not hot enough.