Methods of Cooking

General Rules for Frying 1) Use clean oil or fat 2) Heat the oil to the proper temperature before putting in the food to be fried. If the oil is over-heated it will spoil the color and flavor of the food. 3) Oil is at its proper temperature when it ceases to sizzle and a light blue haze appears over the pan. 4)Fry only a small quantity at a time. 5) Dry such foods as fish, meat and plantains before frying to avoid mixing cold water with the hot oil. 6) When possible, coat the protein foods before frying to seal in the juices. 7) Avoid frequent stirring of food as this causes it to break. 8) Re-heat the oil and bring it back to the proper temperature before frying the next quantity. 9)Drain the food first in the frying pan, then in crumpled kitchen paper or in a sieve, to get rid of the excess oil, which makes fried foods unattractive and indigestable, and also to save the oil. 10) Fried food should be served hot as the flavor deteriorates when it becomes cold. 11) If fried food is covered closely while hot, the steam makes it soggy. Therefore, let it cool before covering or using a wire gauze to cover it. Fats and oils suitable for frying include vegetable oils e.g groundnut oil and coconut oil. Lard must be hot before the food is fried. The fried food will then not be greasy. Butter/Margarine burns very easily and may be used for frying omelettes and very small pieces of food. It gives a delicate flavor. Sheas-butter. If some vegetable oil is added, it gives good results.