[shel]

[...] oil used in professional deep-friers generally contains silicone, which rises to the top and makes a protective seal against the air and therefore against oxidation.

Is this true? Does the silicone get on or into the food?

scb

[Jim]

What source are you quoting?

[MaryB]

From my 1 year stint at a McDonalds (I was between electronic tech jobs) the fry grease was veg oil only. Commercial places filter the fry vats daily to keep the grease clean.

[oldschool1982]

I think someone did the 60's "too right".

[shel]

Originally Posted by Jim

What source are you quoting?

Earlier today I visited a couple of sites looking for info about home made French fries. A chef or cook on one of the sites made the comment. Right now I don't recall which site the quote came from.

scb

[greyeaglem]

Never heard of silicone in oil. Have never seen it listed as an ingredient on the label, and it would have to be. Some places use SILICA, which is sand, as a clarifying agent. Not sure how it is supposed to work and I have never used it for that reason. I would think that yes, it would get into the food. The manufacturers say it doesn't, but I don't believe them. Oil does oxidize quickly, so some fryers come with covers to help slow the process.

[ED BUCHANAN]

Today I was reading ingredients on a 5 gal. container of frying oil . Guess what one of the ingredients was SILICONE. I believe this was discussed some time ago but nobody finished discussion. It goes under name of simethicone and it acts as an anti foaming device. As oil gets gradually used it starts to break down and foam, silicone rtards this. It is also used in the cooking sprays. One may also note that it is one of the 2 main ingredients in Silly Putty. ( See Mazola web site)

[jbd]

At the bottom of the article is a list of common uses of simethicone

Simethicone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia