• H&R Moderators: VerbalTruist | cdin | Lil'LinaptkSix

Best oil to cook french fries in?

Thanks for the recs. Some of these, I may as well be looking for whale blubber, but it could be my area. Big corps have pretty much taken over here. Even palm oil has been difficult to find so far, even in international markets.
 
I've no idea what the healthiest oil is, if you believe saturated fats are bad then beef dripping probably isn't for you, but it makes the best chips. I think as long as you're not eating huge amounts of them it should be fine. If you cut them thicker then you'll get lower fat chips. It can be mixed with rapeseed or sunflower oil. Lard (pork fat) works too, but I can't stand the smell, it has a lower smoke point than beef fat. You probably want to cook them at up to 210C/410F so best not to use a fat with a lower smoke point.

You should change the fat fairly often too, rancid fats are probably bad for for you, and they taste & smell horrible. Some fats go rancid faster than others.

Don't use olive oil for deep frying, especially not virgin olive oil, or coconut oil, it'll make a lot of smoke.

Rapeseed oil works pretty well, just it wont crisp the chips as much & it's tasteless. Sunflower oil has a bit more flavour. I don't like palm oil. I think duck or goose fat might only be marginally better than lard.

There's some information about different oils to use for frying, aimed at US food businesses here... http://fapc.biz/files/factsheets/fapc126.pdf

You should avoid solid (hydrogenated) vegetable oils due to trans fats.
 
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Olive oil is totally unsuitable for deep frying.

Honestly, you're eating fries stop worrying about the oil they are cooked in. Just make them nice and eat them in a sensible way as part of a balanced diet.

How potatoes colour has more to do with their sugar and starch content than anything else and isn't really relevant.

This.
 
Significance of color is debatable, due to the higher acrylamide levels in browned starches, which have been loosely linked with increased cancer risks.

Beef drippings sound good. Wonder how long they will keep in a fridge. Looks as if freezing may be a longer term option. Anyone do that?
Usually prefer grilling meat, so not much saving 'em there... but greater advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) result from grilling, so there's another bonus for the skillet. Eating is such a dangerous habit. :D
 
Eating is such a dangerous habit. :D

Meh, I think if you generally eat healthy there's nothing to worry about. Unless you're eating fried stuff all of the time I wouldn't worry about what it's fried in. I never did understood why some people get so anal with being "healthy". I don't think there's anything wrong with "junk" food and fried stuff once in a while but that's just my 2 cents. If you're eating McDonald's and drinking a 2 liter Pepsi every day then that might be cause for concern.
 
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I usually use vegetable oil or sometimes canola oil. I really love french fries. we can eat it but not everyday. I still believe we can eat with balance. Balance of junk and healthy. haha!
 
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