Learned the hard way that oil temp matters more than I thought

I found out from a Thermapen blog post that frying at 325°F instead of 375°F makes food soak up like a sponge - explains my soggy onion rings. Anyone else ignore the thermometer and just guess like I did?

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anna_ross193mo ago

My mom always says this about baking too, she used to open the oven every 5 minutes to check cookies and they'd come out flat and greasy. I think it's the same principle with everything, like how if you chop veggies too small they burn before they cook through. The oil temperature thing is really just math, higher heat seals the outside faster and gives the inside time to cook without soaking up extra fat. Lower heat means it sits in the oil longer, letting that oil creep into the batter and breading instead of staying crispy. It's like a sponge effect, you gotta commit to the right temp and trust the process.

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diana203mo ago

Wait isn't 325 lower meaning it takes longer to cook so the food absorbs more oil anyway? Maybe the blog was saying the opposite thing.

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