Sport Is it always bad to fry?
- Thread starter Global_S
- Start date
Sport Fitness
for sure. Stir fry is healthy. Olive oil contains mono and poly unsaturated fat which is the good stuff.
Frying tends to be bad when:
a. You fry carbohydrate foods (including meat or vegetables that are breaded or batter-dipped), since the carbohydrate foods tend to absorb a lot of the oil, creating a result with a huge number of calories. Note that this also applies if the frying oil is mixed with a carbohydrate thickener (e.g. corn starch) to be used as a sauce which sticks to the food. Of course, this applies mainly to those who do not want the extra calories (which is most people in developed countries).
b. You use hydrogenated oils (with trans-fat).
a. You fry carbohydrate foods (including meat or vegetables that are breaded or batter-dipped), since the carbohydrate foods tend to absorb a lot of the oil, creating a result with a huge number of calories. Note that this also applies if the frying oil is mixed with a carbohydrate thickener (e.g. corn starch) to be used as a sauce which sticks to the food. Of course, this applies mainly to those who do not want the extra calories (which is most people in developed countries).
b. You use hydrogenated oils (with trans-fat).
Instead of frying with oil, I tend to stir-fry or saute with pasta sauce or red wine. If I'm going to put fat into my meal, I do it by putting in some EVOO after removing my meal from the stove. In general, the healthier the oil, the more delicate it is and the more it should not be subjected to heat.
To answer the exact question "is it always bad to fry?" ----
Not when it's a deep fried banana - I mean, it's fruit--- and fruit is healthy--- So there.
(Sorry, I couldn't resist)
Although, I have actually heard people make basically the same exact justification at carnivals. "Well, it's healthier than the fried Snickers bars or the fried Oreos, so I'm really making a decent choice". Seriously.
Not when it's a deep fried banana - I mean, it's fruit--- and fruit is healthy--- So there.
(Sorry, I couldn't resist)
Although, I have actually heard people make basically the same exact justification at carnivals. "Well, it's healthier than the fried Snickers bars or the fried Oreos, so I'm really making a decent choice". Seriously.
If you really, really love fried food, then eat it.
If you like french fries, make your own. They might take longer to make than the instant ones, but they're healthier than the frozen ones at the store. Always use trans fat free oil, and just don't go overboard with the stuff. Also, making your own stuff is cool and always taste better.
If you like french fries, make your own. They might take longer to make than the instant ones, but they're healthier than the frozen ones at the store. Always use trans fat free oil, and just don't go overboard with the stuff. Also, making your own stuff is cool and always taste better.
Does that work for everything? I thought you needed a tiny amount of oil if stir frying meat.
I had a deep fat fryer at uni which I used to throw anything in, used to make my own chips which were dead nice, but worked out a lot more then store bought fry only chips. My diet was terrible back then, the oil would go solid after a while from all the meat fat from the cheap sausages, but it did used to make the chips taste better. I can't believe I wasn't huge back then, no breakfast, a massive pasta meal mid day, many pints then a fry up when I got in from the piss.
Edit: Re the fire thing, I've got a fire blanket and never set the kitchen alight when I used to use a lot more oil.
Extra virgin has a low flash point, but you can pan fry in normal olive oil.
As for frying in general, you need to watch the Good Eats episodes on frying. It can be done healthily, but requires you to watch a few things.
1. Know your oils. Oils such as extra virgin will smoke and eventually ignite at fry temps. Oils such as peanut and safflower are ideal frying oils because of their high smoke/flash points, which allow the requisite high fry temps (more below).
2. You must fry in a fryer or pan that will retain it's heat (ie. cast iron).
3. You must use enough oil. If you don't use enough oil adding food will reduce the oil's temp too much, requiring you to cook foods in it for a longer period of time, increasing oil absorption into the food.
4. Use a large enough oil basin/pan. If the pan is too small, and you still use the required amount of oil, when you add the food you could end up causing a spill over and a fire will most likely result.
5. Heat the oil to a high enough temp. This will speed frying, requiring less exposure to the oil. It will also serve to cause moisture in the food to vaporize, which effectively buffers the foods from saturation from the oil(a proper amount of oil and a heavy/thick cooking pan will also help maintain temp). If the temperature of the oil drops too much, the moisture in the food will cease to vaporize, no longer providing a buffer for the food and allowing the oils to soak in, which leads me to my next point...
6. Know your fry times and required oil temps (get a fry thermometer if you don't have one) as per your recipe. When you fry, you will see the bubbles come off the food. This is caused by the above mentioned vaporization, and effectively shields the food from absorbing the oil. Once those bubbles are gone, the moisture in the food is gone, meaning that the oil can move right in (and your food will be dry as hell). So you need to cook your food thoroughly before the water vapor is all gone, which requires a high enough oil temp.
Obviously don't fry everyday (moderation is the key to any good diet), but if you follow the rules and fry correctly you can make a delicious fried meal that is relatively healthy
.
Last edited:
With respect to preparing various types of meat, I use my George Foreman Grill almost exclusively.
Actually, I had a nice thick ham steak last night done on the Foreman - perfect !