The video was shared by the potspansandpancakes account on TikTok with the caption: “Restaurant secret hack to clean oil that I had to try! My oil looked much lighter and cleaner”
A “restaurant hack” which claims to refresh ‘old and dark’ oil so it can be used again to cook food has been posted on social media.
The video was shared by the potspansandpancakes account on TikTok with the caption: “Restaurant secret hack to clean oil that I had to try! My oil looked much lighter and cleaner”.
However there were some caveats, with the creator warning: “Remember to avoid reusing oil that has reached its smoke point and also never reuse oil that’s it’s not safe to use. Always be cautious when adding a water based paste into an oil. Never heat the oil to a dangerous temperature.”
The 30 second clip shows the process with a voice over which instructs viewers, saying: “Next time your oil is dark and dirty don’t throw out dirty oil. Use this restaurant hack to clean it and reuse it again.
“Mix three tablespoons of cornflour with one half-glass of water. Mix well then pour it into hot oil then cook until it hardens. Remove the hard layer with all the dirt. Strain the clean oil and re-use it.”
Commenters had a mixed reaction to the recipe, which has over 2,400 likes and 1,300 shares – with some questioning its safety and whether the oil will retain any flavours from previous cooking.
One comment warned: “The flavor of whatever was cooked in the oil remains in it and after some time it will get rancid”. To which the creator responded: “Unless it’s gosh [sic]. Everything else has a more subtle flavour bearing in mind you will only use the oil about 3 times again.”
While another had safety concerns saying: “Don’t do it please, it’s toxic burn oil,” with the creators responding: “Agree . Never used burnt oil. My oil want burnt just dirty”.
In general it is a good idea to use an oil with a higher smoke point if you are doing this to make sure it does not burn. Most chefs who discuss reusing oil favour straining it through a sieve and then a cheesecloth or similar to get rid of any particles.
It is important to remember what you have used the oil for in the past, you do not want to fry up a batch of breakfast pancakes only to remember half way through that you last used that oil to cook fish.
When it comes time to get rid of the oil never pour it down the sink, pour it into an empty bottle and take it to your local recycling centre where they should have a means of disposing of it properly.
