Frying Question

[lea_hazel]

I am a decent semi-cook. I can make a few things reliably, including a few steady mistakes. Recently I realized that my kitchen always gets slightly smoky when I fry pancakes or French toast. Not like billowing smoke, but enough for me to notice once I've gone into the other room and back.

I get the feeling that I am doing something basic wrong. That is, my basic frying-things-in-a-teflon-pan technique is flawed. Part of it is that I tend to have lousy timing, and flip the pancakes either too soon or too late. I think. Anyway, it strikes me as a beginner's question, so I'm posting here for tips or advice. Please save my tearing eyes from breakfast-for-supper. ;_;

Comments

[eleanorjane]

I have a similar problem, and mine's a halogen cooktop and I know it's clean (as are my pans).

I know any time I panfry things, especially if it's in butter rather than oil, I get heaps of smoke. (I get a lot less if it's something where I can afford to cook it on a lower heat; butter on a high heat is terrible for smoke, I find.)

Could it be ventilation? Thing is, I recently had my kitchen renovated and it has less air flow than it used to, and I'm really noticing the difference. A simple lack of ventilation might be the problem?

[flamewarrior]

Butter has a low smoke-point - i.e. it smokes at a relatively low temperature. Olive oil also has a low smoke point. Rapeseed (= canola?) and refined sunflower oil are best for frying from that point of view. Even refined rapeseed oil is healthy for you (omega 3) so I tend to go for that.