The use of oil could well be a subject of study in itself within the world of cooking. What type of oil to use for each food, which is the most appropriate to achieve certain flavors or what temperature should be used to cook certain dishes, these are some of the most frequent questions in the kitchen. Although possibly the one that brings the most head in most houses is how many times you can reuse the oil for frying.
Many times considerable amounts of oil are used for frying, such as when preparing croquettes or French fries, for example. Abundant enough so that its leftovers are difficult to dispose of, either for simple reasons of savings or use. That is why it is convenient to be clear about the question of whether or not frying oil can be stored and reused. The quickest and simplest answer is yes, but there are important nuances.
Frying oil can be filtered and reused several times, but this has a limit and knowing how to identify it is the important thing in this matter, since there is no magic number that indicates how many times it can be used again. The type of food that has been fried with it, the waste that it generates, the temperature that is reached, how it is stored, whether or not it has had contact with water and the type of oil in question are the main conditions that will make it last. more or less.
But, if there is no specific number, how do you know when the oil has gone bad and can no longer be used? It really is easy to find out, because it is easy to identify an oil that should already be disposed of.
When the oil is stored, it is possible that certain errors are made that cause it to degrade more quickly. One of the most common is to place it in places close to sources of heat or light, when the ideal place would be the opposite: a cool and dark place. Although possibly one of the most frequent reasons for it not lasting in good condition is not cleaning it. When you finish using the oil and you want to save it, it will be essential to pass it through a strainer. In this way, all the particles and remains of the frying will be trapped and the oil will be clean and ready for new use.
