Pan-fry is bad for you?

[Rido]

Hello everyone, I am new to this website and I am curious as to why people say that "frying is bad". I am referring to pan frying - putting just enough oil to cover the pan surface then cooking food on it, specifically, lean chicken. I don't add any batter or other ingredients on it. I put a bit of salt, some seasoning then boom, cook it on pan fry.

So are there any other reason why pan-frying is bad besides:

-The oil pack extra calories on the food being cooked.
-When the oil is smoking, there are chemicals being released that are harmful to the body.
-Or, is it only bad because the batter they(restaurants) use contains trans fat.

Besides these 3 reasons that came on top of my head. Why is pan-frying bad, or can anyone elaborate any of these listed above as to why it's bad to pan-fry.

Thank you, can't wait for the response. ?

 

[dragnlaw]

Here is a very informative article about pan-frying - hope this answers your question.

to pan or not to pan

and Welcome to DC!

 

[jennyema]

Hello everyone, I am new to this website and I am curious as to why people say that "frying is bad". I am referring to pan frying - putting just enough oil to cover the pan surface then cooking food on it, specifically, lean chicken. I don't add any batter or other ingredients on it. I put a bit of salt, some seasoning then boom, cook it on pan fry.

So are there any other reason why pan-frying is bad besides:

-The oil pack extra calories on the food being cooked.
-When the oil is smoking, there are chemicals being released that are harmful to the body.
-Or, is it only bad because the batter they(restaurants) use contains trans fat.

Besides these 3 reasons that came on top of my head. Why is pan-frying bad, or can anyone elaborate any of these listed above as to why it's bad to pan-fry.

Thank you, can't wait for the response. ?

What you describe is sauteeing, not pan-frying. To me, at least.

https://www.finecooking.com/article/sauteing-vs-pan-frying

https://www.dartagnan.com/pan-frying-basics-and-techniques.html

What's the Difference Between Searing, Sautéing, and Pan-Frying? - Cooking Light

 

[Rido]

What you describe is sauteeing, not pan-frying. To me, at least.

https://www.finecooking.com/article/sauteing-vs-pan-frying

https://www.dartagnan.com/pan-frying-basics-and-techniques.html

What's the Difference Between Searing, Sautéing, and Pan-Frying? - Cooking Light

That would make a lot of sense. I wasn't 100% sure if it was pan frying. That's why I had to describe it.

 

[roadfix]

Hi !!

 

[jennyema]

The difference is in the amount of oil you use. A tablespoon or so to coat the bottom of the pan is sauteeing.

Make sure the oil is hot but don't heat the oil till its literally smoking. Food doesn't absorb much oil if the oil is hot.

 

[caseydog]

Frying anything in hot oil is going to make it less healthy, especially if it is coated in breading or batter. I have found that the key to keeping it "relatively" healthy is to fry hot and fast. The hotter and faster you can fry the food, the less the food soaks up the fat.

If your fried food turns out "greasy," then you didn't get it cooked fast enough, which means the fat wasn't hot enough.

CD

 

[Mad Cook]

Hello everyone, I am new to this website and I am curious as to why people say that "frying is bad". I am referring to pan frying - putting just enough oil to cover the pan surface then cooking food on it, specifically, lean chicken. I don't add any batter or other ingredients on it. I put a bit of salt, some seasoning then boom, cook it on pan fry.

So are there any other reason why pan-frying is bad besides:

-The oil pack extra calories on the food being cooked.
-When the oil is smoking, there are chemicals being released that are harmful to the body.
-Or, is it only bad because the batter they(restaurants) use contains trans fat.

Besides these 3 reasons that came on top of my head. Why is pan-frying bad, or can anyone elaborate any of these listed above as to why it's bad to pan-fry.

Thank you, can't wait for the response. ��

Anything consumed to excess is bad for you!

 

[Caslon]

Try and do the same thing twice with success.

 

[Mad Cook]

Hello everyone, I am new to this website and I am curious as to why people say that "frying is bad". I am referring to pan frying - putting just enough oil to cover the pan surface then cooking food on it, specifically, lean chicken. I don't add any batter or other ingredients on it. I put a bit of salt, some seasoning then boom, cook it on pan fry.

So are there any other reason why pan-frying is bad besides:

-The oil pack extra calories on the food being cooked.
-When the oil is smoking, there are chemicals being released that are harmful to the body.
-Or, is it only bad because the batter they(restaurants) use contains trans fat.

Besides these 3 reasons that came on top of my head. Why is pan-frying bad, or can anyone elaborate any of these listed above as to why it's bad to pan-fry.

Thank you, can't wait for the response. ��

What else would you fry things in if not a pan?

OK, silly comment over.....

Assuming one is normally healthy and not over-weight, I don't suppose the occasional fry-up will do much harm (can't remember when I last used my frying pan!) but if you have a fry-up every day or twice a day the you're probably asking for trouble.

I much prefer bacon, sausages, steak, etc., grilled (broiled) than fried but that's a taste thing for me not a health thing.

 

[caseydog]

So Rido, you live in Texas, as do I. I love chicken fried steak, but it is an occasional treat. I eat it with mashed potatoes, fried okra and white gravy. That's a "heart attack on a plate," if it is staple of your diet. But, once in a while, it is not likely to kill you.

CD

 

[Farmer Jon]

If pan frying is bad then so be it. I won't stop doing it. I use lard, Crisco and saved bacon grease.

 

[RPCookin]

What else would you fry things in if not a pan?

OK, silly comment over.....

Assuming one is normally healthy and not over-weight, I don't suppose the occasional fry-up will do much harm (can't remember when I last used my frying pan!) but if you have a fry-up every day or twice a day the you're probably asking for trouble.

I much prefer bacon, sausages, steak, etc., grilled (broiled) than fried but that's a taste thing for me not a health thing.

My 12" and 14" nonstick fry pans are my most used pans. Frying doesn't always mean that you use 1/2" of oil. Most of the time I'll be making some sort of meat/veggie combo where I sauté in a small amount of oil or butter. The total amount of fat per serving is really not that much - not like you are eating a spoonful of oil with each bite.

I can see limiting breaded or battered deep fried foods, but light sautéing in olive oil or butter isn't all that bad for you, and a big fry pan is a really versatile piece of cookware.

 

[GotGarlic]

My 12" and 14" nonstick fry pans are my most used pans. Frying doesn't always mean that you use 1/2" of oil. Most of the time I'll be making some sort of meat/veggie combo where I sauté in a small amount of oil or butter. The total amount of fat per serving is really not that much - not like you are eating a spoonful of oil with each bite.

I can see limiting breaded or battered deep fried foods, but light sautéing in olive oil or butter isn't all that bad for you, and a big fry pan is a really versatile piece of cookware.

+1. Probably because fat is so inexpensive in developed countries, most people don't realize it's essential in order to survive.

Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble, so they *cannot* be absorbed by the body without fat. I found this out the hard way when I had a severe deficiency of these vitamins - D was undetectable and K was so low, my body wasn't able to make clotting factor to stop bleeding.

It turned out my pancreas doesn't make the enzymes that break down fat - therefore I wasn't able to absorb the vitamins. I've been taking Rx pancreatic enzymes ever since.

So pan-frying, aka sautéing, food in a little butter or fat is very good for you.

 

[GotGarlic]

Here is a very informative article about pan-frying - hope this answers your question.

to pan or not to pan

and Welcome to DC!

Quora doesn't publish articles. It's a site where people ask each other questions about all kinds of things. The answers may or may not be accurate.

 

[Rido]

My 12" and 14" nonstick fry pans are my most used pans. Frying doesn't always mean that you use 1/2" of oil. Most of the time I'll be making some sort of meat/veggie combo where I sauté in a small amount of oil or butter. The total amount of fat per serving is really not that much - not like you are eating a spoonful of oil with each bite.

I can see limiting breaded or battered deep fried foods, but light sautéing in olive oil or butter isn't all that bad for you, and a big fry pan is a really versatile piece of cookware.

And @gotgarlic

Yes, fat is very important, and for me, I measure how much I'm putting in my pan. It's usually 1 serving which is 120 calories. And it's not like I consume the whole 1 serving when I'm eating the chicken cause there'd still be some oil on the pan.

And thanks for all the answers, very helpful!!

 

[powerplantop]

Woks are great for cooking in small amounts of fat.

 

[JustJoel]

After doing exhaustive research on the internet (I skimmed two or three articles), I have come to the conclusion that if you’re using hot oil to cook your food, it’s frying, and that sautéing, stir-fry, shallow frying, pan frying, and deep frying are all subcategories of “fry.”

According to some, the difference between sauté and pan fry is the size of the food being fried and how often the food needs to be moved. In sautéing, the food is usually in small pieces, while pan frying involves larger pieces of food, like whole fillets. Sautéed foods are generally moved around in the pan more frequently with your spoon or spatula.

The difference between shallow and deep frying is obvious, although until recently, I wasn’t really familiar with the term “shallow fry” and thought that deep fry meant frying something for a longer time rather than the depth of the oil.

All of this info leaves open the question of whether “oven fried” is really fried at all. I prefer this method for to deep frying for, say, chicken; I don’t have to mess with large amounts of used oil, I can control the cooking more easily because the outside and inside of the food tend to cook more evenly - if the outside is golden brown, the inside is usually done as well, and it’s pretty much guaranteed that the food won’t be greasy because such a small amount of oil is used. Battered food pretty much has to be deep fried, though; I don’t think it’s possible to make tempura in the oven! But when you “oven fry” something, is it the oil that’s delivering the heat to the food, or is it just assisting the coating to brown and crisp?

As far as health questions come into play, I think it’s just a matter of what kind of oil or fat is used and how much of it the food absorbs. It’s unfortunate that some of the least healthy fats produce the best tasting fried food. I was really p.o’ed when Mickey D’s Stopped using lard to make french fries. The taste really suffered!

 

[CraigC]

After doing exhaustive research on the internet (I skimmed two or three articles), I have come to the conclusion that if you’re using hot oil to cook your food, it’s frying, and that sautéing, stir-fry, shallow frying, pan frying, and deep frying are all subcategories of “fry.”

According to some, the difference between sauté and pan fry is the size of the food being fried and how often the food needs to be moved. In sautéing, the food is usually in small pieces, while pan frying involves larger pieces of food, like whole fillets. Sautéed foods are generally moved around in the pan more frequently with your spoon or spatula.

The difference between shallow and deep frying is obvious, although until recently, I wasn’t really familiar with the term “shallow fry” and thought that deep fry meant frying something for a longer time rather than the depth of the oil.

All of this info leaves open the question of whether “oven fried” is really fried at all. I prefer this method for to deep frying for, say, chicken; I don’t have to mess with large amounts of used oil, I can control the cooking more easily because the outside and inside of the food tend to cook more evenly - if the outside is golden brown, the inside is usually done as well, and it’s pretty much guaranteed that the food won’t be greasy because such a small amount of oil is used. Battered food pretty much has to be deep fried, though; I don’t think it’s possible to make tempura in the oven! But when you “oven fry” something, is it the oil that’s delivering the heat to the food, or is it just assisting the coating to brown and crisp?

As far as health questions come into play, I think it’s just a matter of what kind of oil or fat is used and how much of it the food absorbs. It’s unfortunate that some of the least healthy fats produce the best tasting fried food. I was really p.o’ed when Mickey D’s Stopped using lard to make french fries. The taste really suffered!

I'd agree about health, but only if you eat deep fried food every day. Emeril is right "Pork Fat Rules!"

 

[Mad Cook]

I'd agree about health, but only if you eat deep fried food every day. Emeril is right "Pork Fat Rules!"

Except for chips (= chunky French fries) -In UK the best is said to be beef dripping (rendered beef fat). Not much used these days as only a few old-fashioned, independent British butchers stock the stuff.