Cooking With Oil
tdrusk
Posts: 21 Member
How should I measure my oil when I am cooking with it? I don't think it is fair to count 4tbsp of oil when I know some it is being burned away. Is there a percentage I can count?
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Replies
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I don't pan fry with much oil, so I log it all. You could weight your pan plus the oil, cook, and re-weigh your pan to find out how much your food absorbed.0
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I would log it all, as some of the weight in your pan at the end would be the bits of food stuck to the bottom etc which would have different macros. I would say just fry with less oil.0
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I just count the tablespoons.
Even if I put a tablespoon and then wipe it with the water.
So, I will be 50 calories under what I really ate. No biggie.0 -
Log it all. Use smaller amounts. Most non-stick pans don't need very much oil and you've probably been using far too much anyway.
Yes, a small amount will burn off or stay in the pan afterwards. But better to over-estimate than under-estimate on fats.
If you're actually pouring excess oil out of the pan after cooking, you could measure it pre- and post-cooking and only log the difference. But if you have enough excess oil to pour out of the pan after cooking, you probably didn't need to use that much in the first place. 4tbsp of oil sounds excessive for pretty much any recipe -- I usually find a teaspoon or two suffices for just about anything I cook.0 -
GingerbreadCandy wrote: »I just count the tablespoons. Even if I put a tablespoon and then wipe it with the water.
So, I will be 50 calories under what I really ate. No biggie.
Wait, what do you mean "wipe it with water"?
OP, log it all. Use less. I assume you're cooking for a family? I only use half a tablespoon for any meal I prepare for myself.0 -
Log it all...swings and roundabouts
why would you ever need 4 tbsp though? Cut it down to 2 tsp, invest in a good non-stick ...onions sauté in water or stock etc0 -
I use less oil. If I'm pouring out excess oil after cooking, that's my cue that I'm wasting oil. If I'm cooking for just me, I never need more than 1 teaspoon (~40 calories). If it's a family or multiple meal dish, say 4-5 servings and I use 1-2 tablespoons, I log whatever fraction of the oil I take for myself for that serving.0
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Obviously how much oil you need to fry something depends on what you're cooking. For people who don't know what you're cooking to tell you you're using too much is just judgmental and not particularly helpful.
I had this very issue last week. I refuse to log oil I'm not actually consuming. Instead I measured it before and after cooking. Since oil expands when heated, I waited until it cooled to room temperature to measure what was left in the pan.
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Nope, it counts. It doesn't burn away, it gets soaked into the food. I suppose you could measure what's left...
4 tbsp is deep frying in my opinion, unless it's just a ginormous pan.0 -
Spray oil also a good solution if low on calories left0
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i put the pan on the scale, add the oil and count it. little bit holds a lot of calories.
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I'd log it all or learn to cook with less oil.0
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Log it all. People overthink this. When I eat bacon I account for all the fat even though I'm draining it. Trying to micromanage down to the exact minute detail is an easy way to set yourself up for frustration.0
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if you are cooking meat, measure out a tablespoon (or whatever measurement you want) and brush the oil onto the meat don't pour it into the pan then you know how much you are using. that's what i have seen chefs do on cooking programmes and I've done it myself a few times - saves time and oil! not sure how it would work if you are frying off onions or something but it definitely works for meat!0
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Don't use much oil, but when I do it's only ever a splash or extra virgin olive oil and I tend not tow rorry about it too much. The benefits of it far outweigh any deficits.0
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I would only bother measuring the oil in the pan after cooking if there was a lot leftover. The way I prepare food though that usually isn't the case, so I don't worry about it. I figure that I'll be overestimating calories a little bit, but it is so easy to underestimate calories that I'm sure it works out fine.0
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I assume OP is talking about deep frying. How are you guys deep frying stuff in a teaspoon of oil?0
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I'd use a lot less oil to start with, and it all counts. I generally use 1 tsp in a small skillet (and then add small amounts of water if that doesn't seem like enough) and 2 tsp to 1 tbsp in a large skillet and log it as part of my recipe. Using nonstick skillets really helps.0
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I assume OP is talking about deep frying. How are you guys deep frying stuff in a teaspoon of oil?
^^Deep frying? That is truly a thing of the past for me. Way too many calories.
Get a bottle at a cooking store for spraying oil, and a good non stick skillet. You won't be sorry. It is a good investment.
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I assume OP is talking about deep frying. How are you guys deep frying stuff in a teaspoon of oil?
I'm not. I don't deep fry at home.
If I go out to a restaurant and order french fries, sure, those are deep fried. But I don't cook deep fried foods at home.
Sometimes I'll "oven fry" stuff -- coat it with flour and bread crumbs, and bake it in the oven to crisp up. Uses far less oil and still gives that satisfying crunch, and with seasoning it can be almost as good.
(Exception: Potato latkes at Chanukah. But those are holiday foods so I just enjoy them and log them, 'cause it's only once a year.)0 -
I assume OP is talking about deep frying. How are you guys deep frying stuff in a teaspoon of oil?
I'm not. I don't deep fry at home.
If I go out to a restaurant and order french fries, sure, those are deep fried. But I don't cook deep fried foods at home.
Sometimes I'll "oven fry" stuff -- coat it with flour and bread crumbs, and bake it in the oven to crisp up. Uses far less oil and still gives that satisfying crunch, and with seasoning it can be almost as good.
(Exception: Potato latkes at Chanukah. But those are holiday foods so I just enjoy them and log them, 'cause it's only once a year.)
You're the OP?0 -
I assume OP is talking about deep frying. How are you guys deep frying stuff in a teaspoon of oil?
How do you deep fry in 4 Tbs of oil? Deep frying means submerged in fat. Not many things will submerge in 4 Tbs of oil.
4Tbs sounds like pan fried. I don't know why anyone would count all the fat if there is clearly fat left in the pan.0 -
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I think I just don't know anything about cooking because I went along with everyone when they said he must be deep frying.0
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arditarose wrote: »You're the OP?
The question was "how are you guys" deep frying in oil? I assume the question was being asked of the respondents, not of the OP.mamapeach910 wrote: »
Probably, yeah. In which case, if there's lots of oil left over in the pan afterwards, probably the OP could cut back on the amount used in the first place.0 -
mamapeach910 wrote: »
Small pan? Thin foods? Or perhaps it's more of a shallow fry that still requires four tablespoons of oil. Foor tablespoons would probably make a relatively thin layer over the bottom of a 12-inch pan. At any rate, there are certainly instances that would necessitate using around that much oil. I don't get why people are saying a teaspoon to a tablespoon will suffice in any and all cooking situations.0 -
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williams969 wrote: »
No culinary skills here either. I've used my oven maybe twice in 6 years. I don't know what it does really.0 -
mamapeach910 wrote: »
Small pan? Thin foods? Or perhaps it's more of a shallow fry that still requires four tablespoons of oil. Foor tablespoons would probably make a relatively thin layer over the bottom of a 12-inch pan. At any rate, there are certainly instances that would necessitate using around that much oil. I don't get why people are saying a teaspoon to a tablespoon will suffice in any and all cooking situations.
Well, nothing my family eats would. We'll wait until the OP comes back and see what he's frying in 4 tbsp of oil.
Since you're seeing a use for that much oil, what would you do?
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