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Five Tips For Pan-Frying Success

Five tips for pan-frying success.

What do you think about when you hear the word “fry”?

Do you think about French fries?  Fried eggs?  Deliciousness?  Or, is it cholesterol? Clogged arteries? Heart disease?

Next to politics, fried foods may be the most controversial topic among friends and family.

To Fry Or Not To Fry?

A quick Intenet search will yield a variety of references and studies on both sides of the fry or not to fry debate.

Here’s how to cut through the clutter:  Everything in moderation.

There’s no doubt that there’s something extra tasty about fried foods.  Flat out – fat tastes good.  But if you’re eating fried foods everyday, that’s not moderation.

So on the days you choose to indulge in fried foods – fry your own.  That way you ensure that you consume the best quality oils and foods, and that the quantity is limited.

Five Tips For Pan-Frying

Five tips for pan-frying:

1. Never add your food to the frying pan before the oil has reached the proper temperature. Otherwise you’ll end up with food that is soaked in oil.
2. Heat your pan before adding your oil. Just remember this phrase – “hot pan, cold oil”.  Otherwise, you risk degrading the quality of the oil as it heats with the pan. And only pre-heat a pan that is not non-stick.
3. Use a high quality fat. You’ll find organic lard from pastureraised pork, high quality olive oil, and peanut oil in my pantry.
4. Add just enough oil to the pan so that it will reach about 1/2 way up the food that you are frying.
5. Use a fish spatula (one of my Top 10 kitchen tools) to turn your food. The slightly curved end of the spatula provides an advantage in reaching under, lifting, and turning.

That’s it!  Now, the moral of this story is:  Enjoy fried foods in moderation, fry your own, and fry it well!

Try out these five tips on my zucchini fritters!