MadSci Network: Biochemistry
Query:

Re: Why don't foods fry in water like they do in oil?

Date: Thu Dec 20 14:23:25 2001
Posted By: Chris Cerrato, Staff, Compounding Dept., C. L. Hauthaway & Sons
Area of science: Biochemistry
ID: 1006658985.Bc
Message:

    The reason that foods cook differently in oil than in water is mostly 
due to one specific property -- the boiling point. Water can't get hotter 
than 212 degrees F; when it reaches that temperature, it starts to boil, 
and won't get any hotter. Oils, on the other hand, can reach much higher 
temperatures. Safflower oil, for example, can be heated up to almost 500 
degrees F! So why the food browns is mostly because the heat from a higher 
temperature liquid doesn't diffuse into the food as fast, and just because 
it's hotter. As a slower example, think about cooking a turkey in the 
oven. If you set the heat moderately low, say at 350 degrees, it will take 
a long time to cook, but when the outside is done, the inside will be too, 
because the heat has had time to diffuse in from the surface. But if you 
set the heat high, say at 500 degrees, the outside will get burned before 
the inside is done. That's how frech fries can be crunchy on the outside 
and tender in the middle! It's all temperature.


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