Should I wait until the oil smokes when frying eggs?
Making ordinary fried eggs, I heat up the (soy bean) vegetable oil. I usually use the smoke as an indicator of being in enough temperature to pour the eggs in.
I heard that in olive oil, bad chemicals emerges when the oil reaches smoke point. I wondered if this is the case with vegetable oil? Should I strife for borderline of hot enough oil that is not smoking?
Best Answer
Considering that you're using Soybean Oil - which has a smoke point of 450°F, you might be using far too much heat for your eggs. Even if you were making an omelette, which typical recipes demand a higher temperature of ~ 400°F - you'd still be far too high if you're smoking soybean oil. In any case, I would recommend frying between 350°F and 390°F.
As for you hearing that in olive oil, bad chemicals emerge when the oil reaches the smoke point - this is true of any oil. Heating any oil or fat past its smoke point causes rapid oxidation (peroxidation) and more-or-less mimics the effects of rancidity. Think about whether you want to be cooking using burnt, rancid oil. At that, you shouldn't be using olive oil (which has a lower smoke point than most fats) for high-heat cooking. As for the bad chemicals, any oil or fat that is taken past its smoke point will oxidize, and as a result, different chemical reactions will occur which may or may not release/create carcinogens. This is a topic that you should explore more with your dietician/physician than on this board.
Ideally, you should monitor your oil temperature - either visually by looking for a slight shimmer/sheen, or physically by using a cooking thermometer or a wooden spoon (look for air bubbles).
Pictures about "Should I wait until the oil smokes when frying eggs?"
Should oil be smoking when frying?
A simple rule of thumb is that the lighter the color of the oil, the higher its smoke point. When frying, it is important to choose an oil with a very high smoking point. Most foods are fried between the temperatures of 350-450 degrees Fahrenheit so it is best to choose an oil with a smoking point above 400 degrees.Should you wait until oil is hot?
If you are checking the oil level of your car, it is best to wait until the engine has cooled off for at least five to ten minutes so that you do not burn yourself with the hot oil already in the car or on the dipstick.How do you know when oil is hot enough to fry eggs?
Finding the Oil Temperature The easiest and safest method is to stick the end of a wooden spoon into the oil. If you see many bubbles form around the wood and they start to float up, your oil is ready for frying.Why must oil be hot before frying?
There are two reasons you'd want to heat your oil. The first is that it can prevent foods from sticking. See, raw proteins can interact with metal on an actual molecular level. It doesn't just stick by "getting stuck in the pores and microscopic cracks" as some people hypothesize.Is olive oil safe at high heat? Does it taste bad?
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