Drooling while looking at those delicious samosas and snacks being fried in the wok at your favourite sweet shop turns all sour with the thought of the oil having been used more than once to fry. Indeed yes, this concept of reusing the same oil for frying multiple batches of food has been discussed a lot but there are confusions which still prevail.

Why it’s all not-so-good?

Reusing the same oil for frying releases free radicals which are the reasons for various ailments in longer run. Such free radicals get attached to the healthy cells hence causing diseases. in worst case, these can be carcinogenic too and can also alarmingly elevate bad cholesterol levels resulting in clogged arteries. Prolonged consumption of such oil can cause chronic acidity, risks of developing heart diseases, Parkinson’s disease and irritable throat.

How much is not too much?

In households too, using a fresh batch of oil for frying each time may not be a practical option hence it’s important to understand that the times a batch of oil can be reused depends on various factors including the type of oil, the duration for which oil was heated, whether it was used for shallow or deep frying and on the content of food fried in it. Oils such as sunflower, soy bean, rice bran, peanut, mustard and canola are favourable for frying owing to their high smoke point.

When reusing is unavoidable!

In case you have no choice but to reuse a batch of oil, make sure to cool it down to room temperature and store it in air tight container after passing it through a strainer or a sieve. This ensures that the residual food particles from the oil gets removed. However, if the oil appears cloudy, smoggy and too viscous or sticky, it’s recommended that it be thrown away.