I am heating up peanut oil in a cheap aluminum pot from Walmart. Every minute or so, there is a faint popping noise coming from the pot.
I think this is due to uneven heating, so I am trying to heat the oil as slowly as possible. It is currently around 110 degrees celsius.
My questions are:
- Will the pot break? (I know you cannot answer with certainty, but I would appreciate an experienced person's response)
- Does heating more slowly actually reduce the risk (if any) of breaking the pot?
- The recipe says to go all the way to 175 celsius. Does that seem foolish or risky for a novice deep-frier to attempt?
Best Answer
For me, the popping is most often from water. It could be in your oil, under the pan, between the pan and a handle, etc. In some pans there could even be more than one layer to the pan and moisture could have gotten between the layers. In this case, I would tend to replace the pan. Thin pans, especially those of aluminum, present another source though, they warp while heating. For things like boiling, this is not a big deal, but such a pan I would not use for heating oil. If a pan warps with hot oil there is a real potential for splashing or splattering which could result in burn or a fire. Oil applications such as deep frying I stick to heavy pans only