Help for frying with dough

[LuvOrlando]

Since there are so many cooks on here and my Grandma is gone now I have a question about this old recipe for a Strufoli, a favorite Christmas dessert from a really old Ronzoni book.
I've been making this forever (Kitchenaid now) and it is amazing BUT in the past 10 years of so, after the second batch of frying the oil begins to bubble up a lot, like to a dangerous degree so much so that I need to throw out a lot of oil after every second batch. I tried everything, first I thought it was a fry daddy so I stopped using that, then I thought it was a frying pan so I got deeper and deeper ones until I settled on using a big quart pot I normally use for chicken soup. I thought it might be the metal in my spoon so now I use a bamboo and metal one for woks. I also tried switching the oils around, I tried changing flours but I just can't pinpoint what has changed or why the oil does this now, and how to make it stop. It's so dangerous that my much loved family recipe now comes with a vague sense of worry and dread.


PS- ignore where it says zeppole, that does not make normal street zeppole. I did find a recipe in here that makes NYC street zeppole but it has a different name.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Since there are so many cooks on here and my Grandma is gone now I have a question about this old recipe for a Strufoli, a favorite Christmas dessert from a really old Ronzoni book.
I've been making this forever (Kitchenaid now) and it is amazing BUT in the past 10 years of so, after the second batch of frying the oil begins to bubble up a lot, like to a dangerous degree so much so that I need to throw out a lot of oil after every second batch. I tried everything, first I thought it was a fry daddy so I stopped using that, then I thought it was a frying pan so I got deeper and deeper ones until I settled on using a big quart pot I normally use for chicken soup. I thought it might be the metal in my spoon so now I use a bamboo and metal one for woks. I also tried switching the oils around, I tried changing flours but I just can't pinpoint what has changed or why the oil does this now, and how to make it stop. It's so dangerous that my much loved family recipe now comes with a vague sense of worry and dread.


PS- ignore where it says zeppole, that does not make normal street zeppole. I did find a recipe in here that makes NYC street zeppole but it has a different name.


View attachment 536791

Do you have a way to monitor the temp of the oil? My 1st thought is that the oil is continuing to heat more and more, and thus gets dangerous...but if that's not it, I'll keep thinking...

I had to stop my girls from causing a fire in a wok by leaving oil in the bottom and nothing else in it on the heat for multiple minutes (while they prepped veg - we discussed doing that 1st next time)...oil plus nothing and high heat equals very bad idea...

 

[BadPinkTink]

Do you have a way to monitor the temp of the oil? My 1st thought is that the oil is continuing to heat more and more, and thus gets dangerous...but if that's not it, I'll keep thinking...

this is what I thought too. My advice would be to stop with the oil in a pot and buy a proper thermostat controlled deep fat fryer. I used to work as a chef and we had the industrial deep fat fryers on for 12 plus hours every day . There was never any issues with the food, as the oil was properly temperature controlled.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Do you have a way to monitor the temp of the oil? My 1st thought is that the oil is continuing to heat more and more, and thus gets dangerous...but if that's not it, I'll keep thinking...

I had to stop my girls from causing a fire in a wok by leaving oil in the bottom and nothing else in it on the heat for multiple minutes (while they prepped veg - we discussed doing that 1st next time)...oil plus nothing and high heat equals very bad idea...

Does oil just do this if it gets too hot? I don't really fry anything other than this and either eggplant or cutlets and then that's much less oil so I am, admittedly, inexperienced in the art of frying.

Thinking on it I have tried putting it to the side to cool and then retrying it a few batches later but once it bubbles it always seems to bubble from that point. This is such an odd thing to me, which is why I included the recipe thinking maybe there is something in it that makes this a weird dough

 

[LuvOrlando]

this is what I thought too. My advice would be to stop with the oil in a pot and buy a proper thermostat controlled deep fat fryer. I used to work as a chef and we had the industrial deep fat fryers on for 12 plus hours every day . There was never any issues with the food, as the oil was properly temperature controlled.

Do you have any idea what a good temperature is for something like this? I just heat it until it gets a nice golden brown - the end. Admittedly, I'm not using much skill ROTFL

Also, what exactly is a proper deep fat fryer? Grandma just put the stuff in a pan and fried it, she was gone by the time I was 14 so I really didn't have much time to learn from her.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Do you have any idea what a good temperature is for something like this? I just heat it until it gets a nice golden brown - the end. Admittedly, I'm not using much skill ROTFL

Ah thats where you are going wrong. I did a quick Google search and found this https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/deep-frying-temperature-chart/

You need to get a proper thermostat controlled deep fat fryer. That way you can set the temperature and it will automatically stay at that temperature. When you deep fat fry, you can't just go by eye, as oil will just continue to get hotter and hotter and then go on fire.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Also, what exactly is a proper deep fat fryer? Grandma just put the stuff in a pan and fried it, she was gone by the time I was 14 so I really didn't have much time to learn from her.

I did a search and found these on Target website

https://www.target.com/c/deep-fryers-kitchen-appliances-dining/-/N-0cph2
a deep fat fryer is a kitchen appliance about the size of a large pot. It has a temperature control , where you set the temperature you want. The heating element is controlled by a thermostat. This means it will stop heating when the required temperature is reached. As the oil cools down, the heating element will start again . The automatic heating element on, heating element off, means that the oil stays at the safe cooking temperature and will not go on fire.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Does oil just do this if it gets too hot? I don't really fry anything other than this and either eggplant or cutlets and then that's much less oil so I am, admittedly, inexperienced in the art of frying.

Thinking on it I have tried putting it to the side to cool and then retrying it a few batches later but once it bubbles it always seems to bubble from that point. This is such an odd thing to me, which is why I included the recipe thinking maybe there is something in it that makes this a weird dough

Yes, if it gets too hot, oil lights on fire...see some episodes of Chopped, where even chef pros do it when they turn their back and forget it.

I agree with the previous poster - you need a controlled fryer or at the least, a way to continually temp check it, so you can keep it at the proper temp at all times.

It's why I almost never fry (that's one of the few things I go to a restaurant to eat b/c frying is a PITA in a small kitchen since I don't have the space for a proper fryer). At most, I do some very shallow fries...and even that's rare...

 

[MomToOne]

I found this: https://frymax.co.uk/frying-tips/controlling-foaming-frying-oil/

 

[mjkacmom]

That is super popular here at Christmas and Easter, I can just buy it.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I knew it could go on fire so I always have a flame extinguisher and all, I just never saw if bubble like babywash in a tub. The bubbling hot oil itself could catch fire if it got to the flames so that totally freaked me out. I feel better knowing

I'll get a fryer, thank you!

 

[LuvOrlando]

That is super popular here at Christmas and Easter, I can just buy it.

I've bought it but no-one ever makes it with the lard and that gives it a distinctive taste. Trust me I have tried to buy because they are a ton of work and the dough is a heavy gooey mess. Thing is the version the stores make are light and airy, like the Stella Doro ones and that is not what it's supposed to be like at least not in mi famiglia, if done the way I was taught they are heavy golden little bursts of delicious Christmas magic covered in honey and pareil sprinkles

 

[DLgal]

You don't need a fryer. I deep fry every week. Get a cheap, clip on candy/deep fry metal thermometer. It sits inside the oil clipped to the side of the pot so it stays put. Always use either vegetable or peanut oil for frying. In this particular recipe, since they say use lard, use lard. Or, Crisco. Crisco is more stable at high temperatures so you won't have to do too much monitoring.

Always use a heavy bottomed pot or pan. I use a ceramic coated Lodge cast iron Dutch oven because it keeps the oil hot without excessive heat on the burner. You do NOT want to use a flimsy aluminum pan or any type of teflon "nonstick" pan.

Always heat up oil gradually, on medium low heat. Leave it there. Never turn it up or down once you start frying. The ideal frying temperature is 350-375. Heat to 375 and begin dropping items in. Watch the thermometer because the oil will go down in temperature once you start adding stuff. That's okay, but don't fry too much at once. Try and keep the oil above 350.

Let the oil recover back up to 375 between batches.

When finished, turn off the oil and immediately move the pan off that burner so it can cool down. Don't cover it until it has cooled significantly.

Finally, don't be alarmed at small amounts of bubbling. That is simply the water vapor in the food being released into the oil. Creates bubbles. No big deal. The bubbles should remain surrounding the food being cooked and should disappear mostly, once you remove them. Some tiny ones may remain at the edges of the oil until it cools completely.

 

[LuvOrlando]

You don't need a fryer. I deep fry every week. Get a cheap, clip on candy/deep fry metal thermometer. It sits inside the oil clipped to the side of the pot so it stays put. Always use either vegetable or peanut oil for frying. In this particular recipe, since they say use lard, use lard. Or, Crisco. Crisco is more stable at high temperatures so you won't have to do too much monitoring.

Always use a heavy bottomed pot or pan. I use a ceramic coated Lodge cast iron Dutch oven because it keeps the oil hot without excessive heat on the burner. You do NOT want to use a flimsy aluminum pan or any type of teflon "nonstick" pan.

Always heat up oil gradually, on medium low heat. Leave it there. Never turn it up or down once you start frying. The ideal frying temperature is 350-375. Heat to 375 and begin dropping items in. Watch the thermometer because the oil will go down in temperature once you start adding stuff. That's okay, but don't fry too much at once. Try and keep the oil above 350.

Let the oil recover back up to 375 between batches.

When finished, turn off the oil and immediately move the pan off that burner so it can cool down. Don't cover it until it has cooled significantly.

Oh my goodness, I did every single one of these recommendations wrong.

Always

 

[LuvOrlando]

I found this: https://frymax.co.uk/frying-tips/controlling-foaming-frying-oil/

Link didn't work for me, can it be copy and pasted?

 

[DLgal]

Oh my goodness, I did every single one of these recommendations wrong.

Always

Well, there's your problem.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Well, there's your problem.

Watching my grandmother is all seemed so straightforward, plainly she had tricks up her sleeve she didn't get to share. At least stand a better chance this year.
Might need to invest in an electric fryer because I'm doubtful I can manage a heavy dutch oven or anything remotely heavy like one but it would be a good plan for someone who can manage it.

 

[_19disnA]

I agree as mentioned above. ALWAYS use a candy thermometer when heating any kind of oil and NEVER walk away from the kitchen. If you do a LOT of frying, a deep fryer will be more convenient and they all have temperature control settings built-in. If someone has a LOT of frying experience (like your grandmother), they know how to set the controls on their particular stove, but takes practice. Thermometer is a much safer way to do this, you can't do it by eye and can easily overheat the oil. Oil expands when heated, so always use a large enough pot to avoid having it boil over.

Also if what you are frying is too wet, it will tend to cause the oil to foam/bubble even at the right preset temperature.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I agree as mentioned above. ALWAYS use a candy thermometer when heating any kind of oil and NEVER walk away from the kitchen. If you do a LOT of frying, a deep fryer will be more convenient and they all have temperature control settings built-in. If someone has a LOT of frying experience (like your grandmother), they know how to set the controls on their particular stove, but takes practice. Thermometer is a much safer way to do this, you can't do it by eye and can easily overheat the oil. Oil expands when heated, so always use a large enough pot to avoid having it boil over.

Also if what you are frying is too wet, it will tend to cause the oil to foam/bubble even at the right preset temperature.

I didn't know wetness could cause the bubbles, or that heat did it either but I knew something was wrong. I'd think with all the cooking shows I've watched over the years at some point I would have stumbled on a frying lesson - and yet no. Thank you everyone, this has been bugging me for ages.

Come to think of it I probably used her cast iron pan to fry in up until recently, when it got into the dishwasher and rusted and I never replaced it because they are too heavy for me.

This year I got a new stove and the the front right burner, which I prefer, is some kind of super speed boil so altogether it sounds like it could have been a recipe for disaster.

 

[DLgal]

I didn't know wetness could cause the bubbles, or that heat did it either but I knew something was wrong. I'd think with all the cooking shows I've watched over the years at some point I would have stumbled on a frying lesson - and yet no. Thank you everyone, this has been bugging me for ages.

Come to think of it I probably used her cast iron pan to fry in up until recently, when it got into the dishwasher and rusted and I never replaced it because they are too heavy for me.

This year I got a new stove and the the front right burner, which I prefer, is some kind of super speed boil so altogether it sounds like it could have been a recipe for disaster.

I use my super speed boil gas burner to fry, but keep it low. I use it because it has a large enough flame to handle the size of the pot I use. If yours is an electric burner, don't use that one! Gas is much easier to tweak with immediate results. Frying on an electric stove is much trickier.