Whether you’re frying in a pan or a deep fryer, there’s probably been a time when it looked like your food needed more oil. You might have hesitated to add more oil from the bottle, wondering if it might be safe to do so. Can you add cold oil to hot oil while you’re frying something?
You can pour in more oil while you are cooking, and it won’t cause any spattering or smoking. However, it’s possible that adding cool oil could bring down the overall temperature of your frying oil, and it could take some time for the oil to get back to the correct temperature.
When you’re cooking in a fryer pan, if you don’t have enough oil, the food may begin to stick. If that happens, feel free to add a little more oil, and do this as often as you wish.
As it cooks, the food will absorb some of the oil, and occasionally it might soak up so much oil that the pan becomes dry. Adding more oil not only keeps the food from sticking to the bottom of the pan, but it also aids in the cooking process. Many foods need to come into direct contact with the hot oil to brown properly.
When adding more oil, pour it in slowly along the edge of the frying pan. That way, it can heat up a little before it reaches the food.
Many people advise you to heat up the pan before putting any oil in. Heating expands the surface of the pan, smoothing out any tiny flaws and pits that may cause food to stick. The oil then coats the hot surface and acts as a nonstick surface.
It’s also recommended to let the oil heat up before adding food. Place the food slowly and gently in the hot oil to avoid spitting and splattering. Use extra caution with frozen ingredients. Water and oil can be a dangerous combination.
When food is added to oil that is already at the ideal temperature, it will begin to crisp immediately, sealing in juices. Some foods, such as pancakes and stir-fry dishes, will not cook properly if the oil is cold.
What Happens If You Add Cold Oil To a Hot Deep Fryer?
Pan frying and deep frying are similar processes; the main difference is the amount of oil needed. In both methods, if you don’t start with enough oil, you may feel like you need to add more while the food is cooking.
Since a deep fryer works by immersing the food in oil, it’s important to have enough oil to cover the food. If you need to add more oil during the cooking process, it won’t cause dangerous effects, but it could lower the cooking temperature and interfere with the cooking process. Your food may not cook properly.
Bottled cooking oil is kept at room temperature (about 70° F or 21° C), whereas the oil in a deep fryer ranges from about 350° F (177° C ) to 500° F (260° C). Pouring in additional oil will cause the oil temperature to drop, and that could have negative effects on the food you’re cooking.
If your oil isn’t hot enough, the outside of the food will not crisp as it should. It might absorb too much oil and become soggy or greasy. It also may not cook thoroughly so that the center of the food will end up raw or undercooked.
Many deep fryers have a line marked on the inside of the cooking pot to indicate how much oil to pour in. If yours doesn’t, it’s a good idea to fill the fryer about half full with oil. Follow the instructions in your recipe or your deep fryer’s manual.
If you’re frying several batches of food in a row, you may notice the oil level starts to get lower. That’s because the frying food is soaking up the oil as it cooks. When the oil level gets too low, there’s no problem with adding more oil.
However, for best results, you may want to wait a few minutes so the colder oil can heat up back to the desired temperature. Once the oil in the deep fryer is back to a consistent hot temperature, you can fry your next batch.
How Long Does It Take For the Oil To Heat Up in A Deep Fryer?
For the best results, wait until the oil in your deep fryer is hot before you put the food in. That can take some time, depending on the size and style of your fryer and the temperature you set.
On average, it takes anywhere from 7 to 30 minutes for the fryer to reach the desired temperature. The average length of time for oil to heat is about 15 minutes. Many fryers have an indicator light that will notify you when the oil is ready.
The time it takes for oil to get hot is determined by the amount of oil you’re using and the temperature you’re cooking at. The smallest of deep fryers, such as the Bella Deep Fryer, can use less than four cups. On the other end of the scale, the T-Fal Deep Fryer holds nearly 15 cups.
Temperature settings also vary depending on the model. Many have adjustable temperature settings. The higher the temperature you set, the longer it will take the oil to heat to that level.
If your deep fryer doesn’t have an indicator light to tell you it’s ready, you can test the oil temperature with a thermometer. You can purchase a thermometer specially made for oil for about $10-$20. You can also use a candy thermometer or a meat thermometer if the probe is long enough.
Use extreme caution when inserting the thermometer and taking it out. Drops of hot oil on your hands and arms can cause serious burns.
If you don’t have a thermometer, you might try the wooden spoon test. Insert the handle of a wooden spoon into the oil. When bubbles start to gather around the spoon, the oil is ready. Be careful pulling out the spoon!
You may have heard you can test whether the oil is hot enough by sprinkling drops of water into the oil. If the water sizzles, the oil is ready. While this does work, it is never advisable to mix water and hot oil because of the potential dangers.
Another less common method to test the oil temperature is to drop in a kernel of popcorn. If it pops, the temperature is between 325° and 350° F.
Is It Safe To Add Cold Oil To Hot Oil?
Maybe you’ve had the experience of splashing water into hot oil or adding frozen food to a frying pan, only to jump back, frightened, at the sizzling noise, spattering, and huge cloud of steam. Adding oil to oil, however, is different.
No matter what kind of oil you use, or what temperature it is, adding oil to oil will have no dangerous effects. Because oil has no water content, there will be no spattering or sizzling sounds.
The only danger would occur if you pour the oil too quickly, causing the hot oil to splash on your hands. Be sure to pour slowly.
Since it’s okay to reuse the oil from your deep fryer several times, you may be tempted to add fresh oil to your used oil to replenish it. That may be safe a time or two, but it’s important to keep track of how many times reuse old oil.
You cannot safely continue to add new oil to old oil. Oil is reusable, but it does get dirty and break down. It must be discarded after a few uses or it will turn rancid and impart a nasty taste to the food.