Recycling Cooking Oil
Photo by Sick Lumpy, under a Creative Commons license
Because I’ve become more of a health nut in my dotage, I rarely deep-fry anything when I cook anymore. (That doesn’t stop me from indulging in the occasional tempura, however; I am large, I contain multitudes.) I remember leftover oil being problematic, though. Pouring used cooking oil down the sink is the worst thing you can do for your plumbing because it can congeal and clog up your pipes, and the general wisdom has been to allow it to cool and then disposing of it with your household trash—something I’ve always found wasteful.
My mother has a savvier, more frugal method: To save your cooking oil for the next time you fire up your stove, strain it through a mesh (to get rid of crunchy bits) into a reusable glass or ceramic container you can cover with a lid. Keep the container on your kitchen counter so that it’s at arm’s reach the next time you decide to don your chef’s hat.
Maria said,
October 5, 2008 at 8:19 am
Hi there, I used to read your blog a long time ago and I just got back to it today, I must say I like it very much. However, reading your post about oil I tell you that the worst thing about it is not the pipes but the water.
ONE LITRE OF OIL MAKES ONE MILLION LITRE OF WATER DIRTY!!!
PS: Sorry for my English, am not native.
Love,
Maria
Amory said,
November 23, 2008 at 8:52 pm
My grandmother keeps a metal coffee can under the sink– same concept. :)