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Dear Dot,
Is it safe to reuse cooking oil?
– Donna
The Short Answer: Yes, Donna — reusing cooking oil is safe and smart: just cool it, strain out food bits, store it in a labeled (non-plastic) container, and reuse it up to about 10 times until color, smell, or smoking tells you it's well and truly done.
Dear Donna,
Mother Dot always kept a jar in the fridge into which she poured bacon grease from Father Dot’s weekend breakfasts — a jar she would discard appropriately once it was full. (You never ever want to put cooking oil down the drain, Donna. Fatbergs are monstrous, expensive things for municipalities.) When I became a Teen Dot, largely fending for myself at mealtimes, I would routinely scoop some of the congealed bacon grease into a pan and use it to fry sliced potatoes to a delicious, crispy brown. Then I would return that grease to the jar, where it would wait for me to do it all again.
Was this wise? Healthy? Safe? My doctor has been muttering lately about cholesterol and blood pressure, but, for the purposes of answering your question, Donna, let’s put those admonishments aside and focus on whether we can reuse cooking oil without making ourselves ill.
Dot sought out no less an authority than the King, as in King Arthur, monarch of bakers and home chefs. And the King, via owner-employee Rossi Anastopoulo, issued a royal “yes!” She pointed out on the company’s site that “frying oil has a longer lifespan than people realize — it can be used several times before you need to dispose of it. Reusing oil is the best way to reduce the waste (and cost) of frying.”
But there are better, safer ways to preserve it than just pouring it into a jar. First, let the oil — whichever kind you’ve used — cool down. Then strain out any bits of food, using cheesecloth or a strainer. Finally, pour it into a storage container (preferably not a plastic one) and label it so that you know how long it’s been stored. Note that the oil will take on the taste of whatever you cooked in it, especially when you’re cooking foods with strong flavors, like fish or garlic. You can reuse the oil up to 10 times, but be alert to any changes in the color, smell, or behavior of the oil when you heat it up (foaming, for instance, or smoking), at which point it’s time to put it in the jar that will become its final resting place. Throw it into the trash, or, if your municipality offers this option, recycle it into biofuel.
Dot no longer fries potatoes in bacon grease (that sound you heard was my doctor — and my arteries — sighing with relief), but I do still rely on cooking oil for any number of recipes, and I happily reuse that oil as appropriate.
(Curious which oil is healthiest? Let Bluedot contributor Nancy Aronie take you with her as she digs for the best oil.)
Greasily,
Dot
