No
good frying can possibly take place
unless the whole of the substance fried
is totally immersed in the boiling fat.
Sir Henry Thompson has lately pub-
lished a book, entitled “Food and
Feeding,” being a series of articles which
originally appeared in “ The Nineteenth
Century.” The high position occupied
by the author, as well as the remarks
themselves, render them well worthy
of careful consideration. In this book
Sir Henry Thompson proceeds thus:
“ The art of frying is little under-
stood, and the omelet is almost en-
tirely neglected by our countrymen.
The products of our frying-pan are
often greasy, and therefore for many
persons indigestible, the shallow form of
the pan being unsuited for the process of
boiling in oil, that is, at a heat of nearly
five hundred degrees, that of boiling
water being two hundred and twelve
degrees. This high temperature pro-
duces results which are equivalent in-
deed to quick roasting, when the article
to be cooked is immersed in the boiling
fat. Frying, as generally conducted, is
rather a combination of broiling, toast-
ing, and scorching ; and the use of the
deep pan of boiling oil or dripping,
which is essential to the right perform-
ance of the process, especially pre-
venting greasiness, is a rare exception,
and not the rule, in ordinary kitchens1
The principle on which success depends
is, that at the moment of contact with
the almost boiling oil a thin film of
every part of the surface of the fish, or
rather object to be fried, is coagulated,
so that the juices with their flavour, etc. ,
are at once locked up within and no
quality can escape. The bath of oil
should therefore be inquantitysuffieient,
and also be hot enough to effect this
result in an instant, after which, and
during the few minutes requisite to
cook the interior, the heat is often
slightly lowered with advantage. The
fish emerges when done with a surface
to which a little oil adheres, but this
will drain off owing to its extreme
fluidity when hot if left a minute or two
before the fire ; it may thus be served
absolutely free from grease. The film
of egg, often applied to the surface of an
object to be fried, is in the same manner
instantly coagulated and forms an im-
permeable case ; while the fine bread-
crumbs adhering to it take a fine yellow
colour from being slightly charred by
the high temperature they are exposed
to. Excellent and perfectly fresh olive
oil, which need not be so perfect in tint
and flavour as the choicest kinds re-
served for the salad-bowl, is the best
available form of fat for frying, and is
sold at a moderate price by the gallon
at the best Italian warehouses.” I give
this quotation from Sir Henry Thomp-
son’s book in order to show his opinion
of the advantages of oil as a means of
frying all kinds of fish and meat. It is
with great diffidence that I venture to
differ from so high an authority, but
my own experience is that a tempera-
ture of 350 degrees Fahr. is ample for
ordinary purposes of frying, such as
cutlets, soles, rissoles — in fact, any kind
of meat covered with egg and bread-
crumbs. If the article fried, which
has been covered with egg and bread-
crumbs, has previously been allowed by
the cook to get very dry, the bread-
crumbs will brown very much more
quickly than if they were plunged into
the boiling oil when damp. The only
exception to this that I know of is in
the cooking of whitebait.
Page 161
Presented as published in 1880. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
No good frying can possibly take place unless the whole of the substance fried is totally immersed in the boiling fat. Sir Henry Thompson has lately published a book, entitled “Food and Feeding,” being a series of articles which originally appeared in “ The Nineteenth Century.” The high position occupied by the author, as well as the remarks themselves, render them well worthy of careful consideration. In this book Sir Henry Thompson proceeds thus: “ The art of frying is little understood, and the omelet is almost entirely neglected by our countrymen. The products of our frying-pan are often greasy, and therefore for many persons indigestible, the shallow form of the pan being unsuited for the process of boiling in oil, that is, at a heat of nearly five hundred degrees, that of boiling water being two hundred and twelve degrees. This high temperature produces results which are equivalent indeed to quick roasting, when the article to be cooked is immersed in the boiling fat. Frying, as generally conducted, is rather a combination of broiling, toasting, and scorching ; and the use of the deep pan of boiling oil or dripping, which is essential to the right performance of the process, especially preventing greasiness, is a rare exception,
and not the rule, in ordinary kitchens1 The principle on which success depends is, that at the moment of contact with the almost boiling oil a thin film of every part of the surface of the fish, or rather object to be fried, is coagulated, so that the juices with their flavour, etc. , are at once locked up within and no quality can escape. The bath of oil should therefore be in quantity sufficient, and also be hot enough to effect this result in an instant, after which, and during the few minutes requisite to cook the interior, the heat is often slightly lowered with advantage. The fish emerges when done with a surface to which a little oil adheres, but this will drain off owing to its extreme fluidity when hot if left a minute or two before the fire ; it may thus be served absolutely free from grease. The film of egg, often applied to the surface of an object to be fried, is in the same manner instantly coagulated and forms an impermeable case ; while the fine breadcrumbs adhering to it take a fine yellow colour from being slightly charred by the high temperature they are exposed to. Excellent and perfectly fresh olive oil, which need not be so perfect in tint and flavour as the choicest kinds reserved for the salad-bowl, is the best available form of fat for frying, and is sold at a moderate price by the gallon at the best Italian warehouses.” I give this quotation from Sir Henry Thompson’s book in order to show his opinion of the advantages of oil as a means of frying all kinds of fish and meat. It is with great diffidence that I venture to differ from so high an authority, but my own experience is that a temperature of 350 degrees Fahr. is ample for ordinary purposes of frying, such as cutlets, soles, rissoles — in fact, any kind of meat covered with egg and breadcrumbs. If the article fried, which has been covered with egg and breadcrumbs, has previously been allowed by the cook to get very dry, the breadcrumbs will brown very much more quickly than if they were plunged into the boiling oil when damp. The only exception to this that I know of is in the cooking of whitebait.