Fear of Frying
Doesn’t everyone love fried foods. Yet as Russ Parson’s said in How to Read a French Fry, “Most people would sooner tune their own car or perform minor surgery on a family member before they would try to fry in their own kitchen.”
Frying basically involves cooking food in hot fat. But it’s not quite that simple. Parson’s writes, “Anyone doubting that cooking is a complex craft, need only consider frying. Perhaps no other type of cooking involves quite as many variables or requires as many decisions on the part of the cook.” Type of fat, main ingredient, coating and temperature to name just a few.
You need to take care when frying, because if the fat is too hot, the food will scorch or burn before it is completely cooked; and if it’s too cold, the food will soak up fat and become soggy with grease. It’s a question of balance.
