Frying

Frying is a method which involves ‘sealing and browning’ and consists of plunging a food into a bath of hot fat or ‘deep fat’, brought up to a maximum temperature of 170°C/325°F (arachide oil, olive oil, lard, or rendered and clarified beef or veal kidney fat), and keeping it at this temperature until the food is cooked. Butter and margarine are not used because they break down and burn at these high temperatures. To make the process easier, the food to be cooked should be very dry, and the pieces small enough for the heat to penetrate to the centre fairly rapidly. It is also important to throw in only a small quantity at a time, so that the temperature of the fat is not suddenly lowered.