4 ms·

Really interesting, thanks for the brain dump! What do you look for to know when your pan is preheated enough to eg sear meat well if you don't wait for a littl

by ericd 7y ago

Really interesting, thanks for the brain dump! What do you look for to know when your pan is preheated enough to eg sear meat well if you don't wait for a little smoke?

dragontamer 7y ago
I do actually wait for a little smoke. It's a very consistent measurement of pan temperature. If I choose a 450F smoke point fat, like canola oil, I know that the pan is 450F when it starts to smoke. I got the reaction wrong earlier, mallard is 300F or so. Caramelization is 400F
- YeGoblynQueenne 7y ago
  Close- wikipedia says 280°F to 330°F - see my comment above. But in that case, like I say in my longer comment, it doesn't make sense for olive oil to catch fire "easily", like you say in your previous comment. What olive oil are you using, if I'm not being too nosey? Sorry if I sound defensive- I'm just really surprised. olive oil is very common where I come from :)
  - dragontamer 7y ago
    Well, certainly not "catch on fire". Just emitting enough smoke to maybe set off a smoke alarm (but otherwise not really harmful in my experience). Light smoking is fine (and is good for gauging temperature), but heavy smoke will have a burnt taste and is an indicator that you were "cooking too hot". I don't cook with olive oil too often, so I can't say I remember the brand. I looked a few things up, and it seems like different olive-oils have different smoke points. https://www.jonbarron.org/diet-and-nutrition/healthiest-cooking-oil-chart-smoke-points https://www.jonbarron.org/diet-and-nutrition/healthiest-cook... According to this, some olive oil has a smoke point of 320F / 160C, but other olive-oils can have a smoke point as high as 468F. I don't know why olive oil has such a different range. I guess I'll experiment with olive oil more. It is quite possible that olive oil here in the USA is of lower-quality perhaps?
    - YeGoblynQueenne 7y ago
      You're right, the wikipedia article about smoke points says that it's the temperature at which oil begins to emit a bluish smoke, not flame. Well, I'm confused about that because I've never seen oil smoking, either. So I couldn't understand what it means for olive oil to "burn", even. Except if you deliberately set it on fire of course. Olive oil quality can depend on many things: where it comes from, how it is made, who makes it, etc. The one that's considered best is olive oil produced only from olives (i.e. no kernels) and only by mechanical means (specifically: no heat and no chemical treatments; so it's called "cold-extracted"). That's the quality that's sold as "extra virgin olive oil" though from what I understand there is no strict standard for what that means exactly. Then there's provenance. Generally, Spanish olive oil is considered best with Greek second (unless you ask a Greek of course) and Italian a distant third. Other countries in the Med also make it, e.g. Morocco etc. Italian olive oil has often been found to be adulterated, substituted for lower quality olive oils or just to be a mix of non-Italian olive oils (primarily Greek, apparently) so it's a case of not knowing what you eat. Anyway, I live in the UK where olive oil is imported and the good stuff tends to be expensive (£30ish for 25lt of Greek extra virgin but of course most people will buy smaller bottles that are more expensive). So my guess is that most olive oil consumed outside the Med tends to be of inferior quality, just because people don't know it well enough to justify spending the price. So if you experiment with it- get the good stuff. To be honest, I just get the stuff I always do and I have never had to think about quality or smoke points, so my advice is probably a little vague. Er. You won't set your house on fire just because some crazy Greek person on the internets said it's safe to cook with olive oil, eh? :)
- ericd 7y ago
  Ah ok good to know, I’ll keep looking for a little smoke. Thought that might mean the taste was getting a little warped. Also might look into making some clarified butter. Great thread.

by ericd 7y ago

Really interesting, thanks for the brain dump! What do you look for to know when your pan is preheated enough to eg sear meat well if you don't wait for a little smoke?

dragontamer 7y ago

I do actually wait for a little smoke. It's a very consistent measurement of pan temperature. If I choose a 450F smoke point fat, like canola oil, I know that the pan is 450F when it starts to smoke. I got the reaction wrong earlier, mallard is 300F or so. Caramelization is 400F

YeGoblynQueenne 7y ago
Close- wikipedia says 280°F to 330°F - see my comment above. But in that case, like I say in my longer comment, it doesn't make sense for olive oil to catch fire "easily", like you say in your previous comment. What olive oil are you using, if I'm not being too nosey? Sorry if I sound defensive- I'm just really surprised. olive oil is very common where I come from :)
- dragontamer 7y ago
  Well, certainly not "catch on fire". Just emitting enough smoke to maybe set off a smoke alarm (but otherwise not really harmful in my experience). Light smoking is fine (and is good for gauging temperature), but heavy smoke will have a burnt taste and is an indicator that you were "cooking too hot". I don't cook with olive oil too often, so I can't say I remember the brand. I looked a few things up, and it seems like different olive-oils have different smoke points. https://www.jonbarron.org/diet-and-nutrition/healthiest-cooking-oil-chart-smoke-points https://www.jonbarron.org/diet-and-nutrition/healthiest-cook... According to this, some olive oil has a smoke point of 320F / 160C, but other olive-oils can have a smoke point as high as 468F. I don't know why olive oil has such a different range. I guess I'll experiment with olive oil more. It is quite possible that olive oil here in the USA is of lower-quality perhaps?
  - YeGoblynQueenne 7y ago
    You're right, the wikipedia article about smoke points says that it's the temperature at which oil begins to emit a bluish smoke, not flame. Well, I'm confused about that because I've never seen oil smoking, either. So I couldn't understand what it means for olive oil to "burn", even. Except if you deliberately set it on fire of course. Olive oil quality can depend on many things: where it comes from, how it is made, who makes it, etc. The one that's considered best is olive oil produced only from olives (i.e. no kernels) and only by mechanical means (specifically: no heat and no chemical treatments; so it's called "cold-extracted"). That's the quality that's sold as "extra virgin olive oil" though from what I understand there is no strict standard for what that means exactly. Then there's provenance. Generally, Spanish olive oil is considered best with Greek second (unless you ask a Greek of course) and Italian a distant third. Other countries in the Med also make it, e.g. Morocco etc. Italian olive oil has often been found to be adulterated, substituted for lower quality olive oils or just to be a mix of non-Italian olive oils (primarily Greek, apparently) so it's a case of not knowing what you eat. Anyway, I live in the UK where olive oil is imported and the good stuff tends to be expensive (£30ish for 25lt of Greek extra virgin but of course most people will buy smaller bottles that are more expensive). So my guess is that most olive oil consumed outside the Med tends to be of inferior quality, just because people don't know it well enough to justify spending the price. So if you experiment with it- get the good stuff. To be honest, I just get the stuff I always do and I have never had to think about quality or smoke points, so my advice is probably a little vague. Er. You won't set your house on fire just because some crazy Greek person on the internets said it's safe to cook with olive oil, eh? :)
ericd 7y ago
Ah ok good to know, I’ll keep looking for a little smoke. Thought that might mean the taste was getting a little warped. Also might look into making some clarified butter. Great thread.