How to stop oil going rancid.?

[natterjak]

I've had a few attempts at making seasoned oil but find it never keeps very well. In the fridge I can't get beyond about 5 days before the curries I cook with it start to give me that characteristic tummy rumble that tells me the oil is turning. Maybe it's because I haven't managed to filter out all the bits to make "pure oil" but trouble with filtering is inevitably you get wastage as the filter material absorbs oil. How do other people solve this?

[Peripatetic Phil]

I've had a few attempts at making seasoned oil but find it never keeps very well. In the fridge I can't get beyond about 5 days before the curries I cook with it start to give me that characteristic tummy rumble that tells me the oil is turning. Maybe it's because I haven't managed to filter out all the bits to make "pure oil" but trouble with filtering is inevitably you get wastage as the filter material absorbs oil. How do other people solve this?

Honest answer : never ever had a problem.  My seasoned oil festers, usually without lid, on a glass shelf adjacent to my cooking area in a warm kitchen.  It never ever goes off.  Ever. It stays there for weeks at a time, is never re-heated, etc.  No idea what is happening to yours : maybe you already have a bacterial culture in your 'fridge and it is finding its way into your oil.  Find a friendly lab. and have it tested for E. coli, salmonella, etc.

P.S. Never filter, either : it is just poured or spooned off from the top of the curry, and/or from a spicy Chinese dish such as chicken with chilli in black bean sauce.

** Phil.

[Malc.]

Could you be over doing it with the 'seasoning' of your oil perhaps?


What ingredients are using to 'season' your oil with, NJ?


I don't know what medium you are using to filter your oil but the best advice I can give would be to use a cheesecloth / muslin.

[natterjak]

Could you be over doing it with the 'seasoning' of your oil perhaps?

What ingredients are using to 'season' your oil with, NJ?

Onions, whole spices, tomatoes, G&G paste, Tom pur

[Peripatetic Phil]

Onions, whole spices, tomatoes, G&G paste, Tom pur

[natterjak]

Very well cooked Phil. Method is similar to CA's whereby veg and spices are cooked for a long time in the oil to flavour it.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Very well cooked Phil. Method is similar to CA's whereby veg and spices are cooked for a long time in the oil to flavour it.

OK, then I really can't shed any light on the problem.  As I say, my own seasoned oil festers for weeks at room temperature and has never once caused food poisoning or even a mild tummy-rumble. 

** Phil.

[PaulP]

Hi NJ, what oil are you using? Rapeseed oil (often just labelled vegetable oil and usually the cheapest) is notorious for going rancid easily. Maybe try sunflower oil or rice bran oil or even refined light olive oil which I've switched to recently, you can't taste the olives!

Paul

[natterjak]

Hi Paul, it's sunflower oil. I've more or less decided it must be due to not filtering all the bits out properly, so have some muslin cloth on order. Hopefully that will do the trick