Why does the pan catch fire when cooking?

Cooking is something we do frequently in our daily life. We should also pay attention to safety when cooking. For example, after we put the oil into the pan, we should be careful not to splash the oil on our skin. We should also pay attention to the fact that the pan may catch fire while cooking, which is quite dangerous. We should avoid burning our skin due to the fire. Many people don’t know why the pan catches fire while cooking. Why does the pan catch fire while cooking? Let’s take a look at it next.

1. Why does the pan catch fire when cooking?

When the temperature of the pot is very high, you put in oil, the oil is heated at the bottom of the pot, but the temperature around it is very high. You put in meat or vegetables. The vegetables themselves contain a lot of moisture. The pot and the oil are very hot, and the moisture is squeezed out of the vegetables instantly. Then the water and oil mix to produce a water-oil mixture, which is usually in the form of mist. Most people think it is smoke. The fire from the stove ignites the water-oil mixture, which is why it happens. The cause of the fire. This phenomenon will only occur when the temperature inside the pot is very high.

2. If an oil pan catches fire, the following two methods can be used to extinguish the fire:

① Suffocation method: Quickly use a pot lid or a large piece of wet cloth or wet sack that can cover the pot, and tilt it forward from the human body to cover the burning oil pan, so that the burning oil fire cannot come into contact with the air and will be immediately extinguished due to lack of oxygen. The "pot lid fire extinguishing" method is simple and easy, the oil in the pot will not be contaminated, and the human body will not be burned by the fire.

②Cooling method: If there are cut vegetables or other raw and cold foods in the kitchen, you can pour them into the pot along the edge of the pot. Use the temperature difference between the vegetables, food and the burning oil to quickly drop the temperature of the burning oil in the pot. When the oil does not reach the auto-ignition point, the fire will automatically extinguish.

3. Notes

It is important to note that if an oil pan catches fire, do not pour water into the pan, because cold water meeting hot oil will cause a "pan explosion", causing the oil and fire to splash everywhere, which can easily cause a fire and injury. If an oil pan is on fire, you should not try to lift the pan by force, as this may easily tip the pan over, which will have counterproductive consequences.