Everything is useful: useful data to save oil

Marigold oil is one of the most widely used in Chile. Light yellow in color and with a fairly delicate, almost neutral flavor, it is used indiscriminately for frying, frying, seasoning salads and adding fat to pasta and other preparations; in all these facets, it shows a more than acceptable performance. Until before its recent rise, moreover, it had an unbeatable quality-price ratio for any other type of oil in the national market. But of course what happened happened and here we are looking for options to use it little or just stop depending on it. For the same, pass, read and write.

In the face of rising prices, perhaps the first indication for those who will use the miracle oil in their cooking is in the mandate to “use a little”. But of course, this instruction is not only usually very imprecise, but also difficult to specify when you have to handle a bottle of at least a liter capacity and – almost always – something greasy and slippery. So, even if we do intend to put “a little” oil in a salad, a frying pan or whatever, it is very likely that we will end up adding a more than generous throw.

Well, a very handy solution is to get a spray bottle and fill it with miracle oil. This way, they can literally only apply “a little” oil by pressing hard on the lid of this container, with no more risk of more liquid coming out.

Aerosols are even more precise and effective than atomizers when it comes to applying a tiny amount of miracle oil. There is this variety as well as other types of oil. It is ideal for seasoning or lightly polishing salads, as well as for oiling skillets, griddles, air fryers and oven dishes. If used sparingly and for specific functions, one bottle can last for several months.

Another option to save money on miracle oil is to replace it with good quality grease that we have at home. In the case of some preparations, the best option is butter.

A small portion – a nut, as they are also called – is enough to cook scrambled eggs, sautéed mushrooms or even a juicy steak. Give it a try, as you may also enjoy that sweet, nutty aroma that the butter expels as it melts.

But be careful, you have to take two precautions: if the butter is salty, be careful not to put too much in the preparation. And the other is to never let the butter burn, because it becomes bitter.

True, the investment is more important, but if you really want to save oil wonderfully when it comes to frying food, you should consider buying an air fryer soon. It is that these devices really deliver preparations with results very similar to the original frying, but requiring small amounts of oil, in addition to not causing the typical discomfort linked to odors, stains and splashes. Among the different models and brands that we have tested, this one from Xiaomi is the one that has given the best results, very easy to use and at a very advantageous price.

If you dress your salads with miracle oil and your budget doesn’t allow you to continue doing so, you can opt for the oil-free dressing option. For example, you can mix a tablespoon of mustard with twice as much lemon juice, a little vinegar of your choice and a pinch of black pepper plus another pinch of salt. Mix well until emulsified and the vinaigrette is ready.

Another option is to use soy sauce (half a cup) mixed with a pinch of grated ginger and a few tablespoons of rice vinegar (or another clear vinegar). Mix everything well and dress the salad.

There are many recipes that call for “painting” oven dishes and molds to make cakes, quiches and pastries. The classic task is done by applying a squirt of oil – almost always wonderfully – to the utensil to be “painted”, then spreading the grease with a paper towel. However, if we get our hands on a silicone brush, we can dip it lightly in a container of oil and then really “paint” what we want, using much less oil – and no paper towel – than with the other method.

The key to cooking with little oil — in the case of stir-fries, seals, and tortillas, basically — is having a good skillet with a nonstick surface. That is to say relatively thick and with a well maintained contact surface. How to maintain one of these pans? They just don’t wash off. In other words, immediately after use, and while they are still warm, they are cleaned with a damp cloth and then dried. In this way, a natural, invisible layer of fat is formed. In addition, if possible, it is convenient to store them hanging, so that they do not scratch on contact with other utensils.

If you fry with marvelous oil and with the traditional method – that is, with the food immersed in the hot liquid – remember that it can be reused at least twice more. However, to do this and have good taste results, it is necessary to take some precautions.

The first is that frying never reaches too high temperatures (when the oil begins to smoke), because at that point the product is denatured – that is, it burns – and n is more useful. The other thing to keep in mind is that to reuse it, we need clean oil. For this reason, before storing it for the next use, you need to strain it – you can use a very fine, metallic and temperature-resistant tea strainer.

And of course, if the oil from the first use is used to fry fish or another highly seasoned preparation, this oil will only be used to be reused in the same type of frying.

If you can’t or don’t want to buy an air fryer, you have yet another option to “fry” with miracle oil without spending half a bottle for each preparation. The option is to use our traditional oven, very hot, and “fry” foods such as potatoes, cutlets and more. How is this done? It is best to have a silicone sheet and put it on a baking sheet. On top are potatoes, scallops or whatever you want to cook. They are well dressed and we add a little wonderful oil (if it is an aerosol, better) and we take them to the oven until they are golden brown. The result is not identical to frying, but it is quite acceptable.

In price, below the miracle oil, only soybean oil and so-called “vegetables” remain in our stores, which are actually mixtures of soybean oils and other things. Personally, I don’t recommend them. They don’t always taste good, so hopefully they could be used for frying. But beware, they are not so temperature resistant either. The best? ignore them.

*Prices for products in this item are updated as of May 17, 2022. Values ​​and availability may change.