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FWIW, and I'm sure not much, we tend to use olive oil for most purposes, and when we need an oil with a high smoke point, we use either avocado or grape seed (not rapeseed). Both are fairly neutral oils, for use in searing meat or similar. In general, frying doesn't need high temperatures. 350-375F or so is plenty for most frying, and most oils are fine at those temps. Neither grapes nor avocados are endangered, and there are thousands of tons of their seeds which are waste products of wine and guacamole making. Humans will never stop growing grapes for wine, and it seems logical to use the seeds for something as well. There are more choices for oil than I can even imagine, so use whatever floats your gravy boat.
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12-24-2023 10:37 PM
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This one claims to have cured the problem:
12-Inch Hybrid Nonstick Frying Pan
– Anolon
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Originally Posted by wintermoon
Originally Posted by sgosnell
Humans will never stop growing grapes for wine, and it seems logical to use the seeds for something as well.
Pretty sure Google will tell you all about this...
There are more choices for oil than I can even imagine, so use whatever floats your gravy boat.
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Originally Posted by Danny W.
This does make me wonder even more about those CI fans who spend fortunes or lots of elbow grease on getting/making pans with mirror-smooth cooking surfaces.
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I sometimes resort to 'nose oil' to get my phone to recognize my fingerprint. After swimming, or even thorough washing of my hands, the fingerprint reader can't seem to recognize any of my fingers, but wiping my finger across my nose fixes it immediately. Any type of oil or even water will do the same, but my nose is always readily available.
A properly designed deep fryer shouldn't make the coils much hotter than the set oil temperature, and a cast iron skillet shouldn't get much hotter inside than the intended oil temperature. The only need for very high temps for those is to get the oil heated very quickly, which can be desirable in a few instances, but one has to accept the downsides.
I really don't know where the grape seeds used for oil come from, but here in the US it's not much more expensive than any other oil, certainly cheaper than high-end olive oil. I would be surprised to learn that it's made from grapes grown specifically for making oil, but I've been surprised before.
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Originally Posted by sgosnell
I would be surprised to learn that it's made from grapes grown specifically for making oil, but I've been surprised before.
I can't recall ever hearing about olive oil from elsewhere but the Mediterranean region; if the majority of your olive oil is import that would explain the high prices. Cross-atlantic import would also explain the high price of grape seed oil here (idem for avocado oil which is probably even more expensive - but there's also crazy expensive olive oil of course).
Flax seed oil isn't cheap here either, except the variety sold in plastic bottles for making paints and treating wood. I've used it for seasoning, under the assumption that a EU product claiming to be 100% flax seed oil can't contain significant amounts of anything else, plus if it's indicated for treating veggie cutting boards and the like it should be fine once polymerised.
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The temperature of the hob, and of the outside of the pan, isn't all that important. It's just the inside that contacts the oil and food that matters. The on/off cycle is just to keep the temperature constant. Deep fryers, at least in the US, are generally used with generic vegetable oil or perhaps peanut or canola oil. I've haven't seen any burnt oil from their use, but I'm not a professional fry cook.
There are lots of olive orchards in California, and it's possible to get oil that is 100% from there. Most olive oil is imported, though. South America is a big olive oil producer. Most of it isn't that expensive, but the highest quality oil is. The problem is that imported oil, much of it from South America, is of poorer quality, and not fresh, since the journey takes time. That type oil is fine for cooking most of the time, but some isn't, and some (much? depending on who/what one believes) isn't actually olive oil. That seems to be common in Italy, if the internet can be believed. I'm always skeptical of what I see on the internet, and especially on YouTube. I do know that the price of olive oil here varies widely, from about the same price as generic oil to very expensive. Grape seed oil is about the same price as moderately priced olive oil. I have no clue about things in Europe.
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Originally Posted by sgosnell
That seems to be common in Italy, if the internet can be believed.
Now ... does anyone (with a diesel car) filter and reuse their used frying oils?
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Two in a year would seem to indicate an underlying problem. But I have exactly zero personal knowledge of anything going on in Italy, or elsewhere in the EU or vicinity. And all that is required to produce a YouTube video is a smartphone and a free account.
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I think most people would deep-fry using generic vegetable oil, peanut oil, or maybe canola oil, at least here. Olive oil is more expensive, and it takes a lot of oil for a deep fryer, plus it affects the taste. Vegetable oil is cheap, bland, and does well enough.
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In New Zealand, I think it is fair to say, deep frying is considered old-fashioned and plebeian. People like us, the sort of people who use skillets and other cookware made in France, buy sunflower oil and olive oil made locally. We tell all our friends about our superior tastes. In our pantries, however, we keep two-litre bottles of canola for everyday purposes.
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Originally Posted by sgosnell
Talking about trans-atlantic differences: somehow I got it in my head that "canola oil" is made from GM seeds, is that correct or just an over-interpretation of my apparently outdated assumption that rapeseed oil is for cold use only?
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I don't know about the GM part, but I understood it was recommended because of its neutral taste and high smoking point. Myself I use it because Thomas Keller from The French Laundry does so, and he's fancy.
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Just for the record: I'm not aware of any French customs to do the laundry with any kind of oil
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This particular French Laundry is in Northern California. They do things differently there.
Keller was consultant on Pixar's Ratatouille and was the designer (chef?) of the movie's final dish.
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Originally Posted by CliffR
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Wikipedia says canola oil is from a particular cultivar or cultivars of rapeseed. I've never paid much attention to it, and don't bother to buy it, although some generic vegetable oil may list it as an ingredient. We aren't all that fancy, nor particular. We buy vegetable oil, whatever vegetables it may contain, for everyday use when lots of oil is needed, avocado and/or grapeseed for high temp frying (there are mixtures available), and olive oil for use in salad dressing and such, sauteing, also for scrambled eggs. Scrambling eggs in what appears to be an ocean of olive oil results in a delectable dish. I don't like eggs scrambled alone, but the olive oil makes a huge difference. All the oil gets absorbed by the eggs, along with some of the taste.
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.......And speaking of non-stick vs CI and CS, one YT channel says that NS is 90% of the new pan market.....And he also believes after last year's research, that no NS pans are safe, and pretty soon NS pans will have to carry warnings....info in link below
These are two of the better YT channels......MHO.....
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Originally Posted by Dennis D
Foundries and steel mills probably aren't very "green" either, but a CI or carbon/stainless steel pan can last several lifetimes without having to be recycled (and recycled they can be...).
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Originally Posted by sgosnell
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Good olive oil is good for almost anything. I wouldn't use it on my fretboard, but it's good on almost anything edible.
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Enjoy olive oil while you can. Production in Europe is declining, with inevitable consequences: "Supermarkets in most European countries are currently selling olive oil at record prices, with prices of Spanish olive oil having risen by 115 per cent between September 2022 and September 2023."
The trees are endangered: "For the past decade, the oldest cultivated trees on Earth have been showing their vulnerability with many of the Mediterranean's olive groves drying up due to increasingly difficult weather conditions such as droughts and severe hailstorms leading to floods. And in 2023, the region – as well as the whole planet – experienced the hottest summer on record."
An Italian farmer says, "We need cold weather to kill off pests," he said. "And temperatures are rising."
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Originally Posted by Litterick
Of course olives are cultivated in the south of Europe, leaving a bit of margin to shift agricultural practices north - but with olives that will be a slower transition than with other crops...
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Originally Posted by ragman1
Gibson Thin line Guitar Models
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