How hot should the oil be when cooking

Oil is essential for cooking, and controlling the oil temperature is also particularly important. If the oil is not hot enough, the dishes will not be particularly fragrant. If the oil is too hot, it will also affect the dishes and make them easily burnt. This is bad for the body and is likely to contain harmful substances. Moreover, different dishes require different oil temperatures. For example, meat dishes need to be steamed at boiling oil, while ordinary dishes only need a suitable oil temperature. So what kind of oil temperature is more suitable for cooking?

Oil is a must-have food for people every day. When cooking, many people are accustomed to pouring the food out when the oil starts to smoke. In fact, using overheated oil to cook not only makes the food taste bad, but also has many harmful effects. Many people believe that the temperature for cooking is only suitable when the oil starts to smoke profusely, which is a misunderstanding. The salad oil and blended oil we use now will reach about 250°C when they start to smoke. Such a high temperature will not only cause the oil quality to change, but also cause the loss of vitamins and other nutrients in the ingredients of the dish.

After the oil pan is heated, how do you estimate the oil temperature? You can use the simple method of observation and hearing to infer. If the oil surface is stable, there is no smoke or sound, it is low oil temperature. The oil temperature is between 85 and 120°C, which is 30% to 40% hot. If the oil surface stirs in the middle and around the edges and a small amount of smoke comes out, it is medium oil temperature, 120~180℃, commonly known as 60% heat. If the oil surface is rolling outwards in the middle and there is a lot of blue smoke, and there is a sound when stirring with a spoon, it can be determined that the oil temperature is high. The oil temperature is generally 180~240℃, commonly known as 80% hot. Low, medium, high and low oil temperatures are suitable for soft frying and stir-frying, medium oil temperature is suitable for dry frying and crispy frying, and high oil temperature is suitable for deep frying (such as fried chicken and fish).

The oil temperature depends on the size of the raw materials. For large volumes, a slightly lower oil temperature and a longer heating time are required to ensure that the raw materials are heated evenly. Due to limited conditions, home cooking usually uses a smaller fire, less oil, and the oil temperature can be controlled slightly higher by 10% to 20%.

Therefore, the correct way to stir-fry is: heat the pan first, then pour in the oil, put the dishes in when the oil just starts to smoke, or throw a piece of onion skin into the oil to test the oil temperature. If there are bubbles all around the onion but the color does not turn yellow immediately, it proves that the oil temperature is appropriate and you can stir-fry. If you are not sure, you can dry the pan and wait for a while before pouring the oil, that is, use the "hot pan and cold oil" method to stir-fry the dishes. In this way, the dishes will be delicious and preserve nutrients.