Fried dishes and stir-fried dishes often use a lot of cooking oil in the cooking process. But have you ever wondered “How to dispose of leftover cooking oil after cooking?” Because pouring cooking oil down the drain can clog water pipes and give off unpleasant odors. Huttuscon learns how to properly dispose of excess cooking oil, thereby helping to prevent sink clogging!
Contents
1. Keynotes to keep in mind in the article
- DO NOT pour cooking oil down the sink or drain even though this seems to be convenient and easy.
- DO wait for the oil to cool down before handling leftovers because hot oil can be inadvertently dangerous if you’re not careful.
- DO blot the paper towels with cooking oil if the excess oil is small before disposing of them with other waste.
- DO allow the oil to cool and solidify before placing it in the waste container if the excess oil is large and cannot be absorbed with a paper towel alone.
Cooking oil is derived from animals and plants, is one of the biggest sources of energy and reserves for the body: 9 kcal/g compared to 4 kcal/g due to protein, sugar, and flour. . Besides, cooking oil is also a solvent of fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamins A, D, E, K. Cooking oil also helps the body to grow, smooth skin, less inflammation and perfect reproductive function. of the body because it is the main source of essential fatty acids. There are many housewives because who want to save oil, so they use previously used cooking oil to re-fried food without knowing that this is harmful to the body.
Why is it harmful to use excess cooking oil, fry it over and over again?
Doctor Nguyen Thi Minh Kieu said that “When the oil is heated many times, the chemical composition will change: vitamins A, E and some nutrients in the oil are destroyed and some toxins will appear. aldehydes, fatty acid oxides… These substances, when entering the body, will destroy digestive enzymes, causing indigestion, headaches, dizziness, abdominal pain, diarrhea, high blood pressure…”
In addition, if you reuse excess fat to re-fry food, it is also easy to oxidize, making food smell harsh, dark food color is no longer attractive and harmful to health.
How to know if the food is fried with frying oil over and over again?
If the food is fried with new oil, it will have a bright yellow color and an attractive taste. As for the oil that has been used many times, it will have a dark yellow color, a burnt area, and an unpleasant smell like new oil.
2. How to handle excess cooking oil properly?
The most important thing to remember when dealing with leftover cooking oil is to never pour cooking oil or any other form of grease down the sink. Once the oil cools and solidifies inside the drain, it can clog and even lead to water leaks in your home.
Therefore, the best way to handle it is to always handle organic food waste, including cooking oils and fats, by putting them in a sealed container and then placing it in the trash. In addition, you can also apply some of the following ways to handle excess liquid cooking oil:
Cool the cooking oil before handling. To avoid the risk of burns, let the oil cool completely before disposing of it. Never lift a heavy pot full of hot cooking oil or dump hot oil in the trash. Depending on the amount of oil, you may need to wait a few hours for the oil to cool.
If needed, you can leave the oil out overnight.
If there’s only a little oil left in the pan, just wait for the oil to cool and wipe it off with a paper towel.
Choose a non-fragile container with a tight-fitting lid. If you want to reuse cooking oil, be sure to use a clean container to store the oil. Although a glass jar is fine, it will break if you accidentally drop it. It is best to store cooking oil in a plastic jar with a screw-on lid like a peanut butter jar. Remember to put labels on the jars to avoid confusion by others.[
If you’re not planning on donating or reusing the oil, you can cut off the top of a soda can and pour cooking oil into it.
Throw the used cooking oil in the trash. Seal the used cooking oil can and throw it in the trash. Avoid pouring cooking oil directly into the trash, as it will contaminate the soil and attract rodents.
Freeze and scoop the oil into the trash. If you don’t have an airtight container, you can freeze the oil, for example, in the freezer for a few hours. Use a spoon to scoop out the oil and put it in the trash when the oil has solidified.
You can also use a large cup to do this, but you’ll need to wash the cup with soap and water once you’ve disposed of the cooking oil.
Pour the cooled oil into a plastic garbage bag. Use a trash bag that already has some trash in it. For example, you can use a trash bag filled with used tissues or discarded fruit and vegetable scraps. Pour the cooled cooking oil into the garbage bag to let the garbage absorb the oil. Tie the bag tightly and throw it in the trash
Do not pour oil into the sink. You should never pour cooking oil down the kitchen sink because over time the oil will clog the drain pipe. Diluting the oil with soap also does not prevent the oil from sticking to the pipe wall.
Severely clogged pipes can cause water and sewage to back up, so remember to never dispose of oil by pouring it down the sink.
Do not pour cooking oil into the compost pile. Don’t pour cooking oil used to make animal foods into your backyard compost pile. If you do, the oil will attract rodents, reduce air circulation in the compost, and slow down the decomposition process.
Store cooking oil in an airtight container at room temperature. If you like to stock up on cooking oil to fill the jar before you use it again, you can pour the oil into an airtight container. Store the jar of cooking oil in the kitchen cupboard at room temperature until needed.
Filter the oil through a coffee filter before using it again. Place the coffee filter on the top of the oil container. Use an elastic band to secure the filter paper and slowly pour the oil through the filter paper. This step will filter out food particles and help make the oil clearer
Food particles in the oil can cause the oil to smell bad or go moldy.
Reuse oil for food preparation. You can fry another batch of food with used cooking oil, but remember to only use food of the same type, because the oil always soaks up the smell of the fried food. For example, if it’s chicken oil, don’t use it to fry apple donuts. If you’ve used oil to make doughnuts or breadcrumbs, it will be difficult to remove crumbs and flavors from the oil.
Vegetable frying oil usually has a neutral taste, so it is easiest to reuse
Avoid reusing cooking oil more than 2 times. If you filter and store your cooking oil properly, you can reuse it a few times. Test the oil before use and discard if it becomes cloudy, foamy, or has a foul odor. Never mix cooking oils together, and must discard the oil after 1-2 uses.
Reusing cooking oil more than twice can lower the smoke point of the oil, so it will burn more easily. This also causes fats to release free radicals and harmful trans-unsaturated fatty acids.
3. Can leftover cooking oil be reused?
If you have just cooked with a large amount of cooking oil, you probably don’t want to throw it away right away! Here are a few ideas for recycling leftover cooking oil, to help you avoid waste when you don’t want to apply the above ways to handle excess cooking oil.
- Method 1: Filter the oil through a fine sieve and store it in an airtight container to reuse for the next cooking time. Normally, you can reuse the oil a few more times, but when you notice signs of darkening, foaming, or rancid smell of the oil, you should throw it away immediately if you don’t want your health to be affected. enjoy.
- Method 2: Use as bird food. After cooling and solidifying, grease can be mixed with bird food nuts.
