Enquire within upon everything by Robert Kemp Philp

Frying is of all methods the most objectionable, from the foods being less digestible when thus prepared, as the fat employed undergoes chemical changes. Olive oil in this respect is preferable to lard or butter. The crackling noise which accompanies the process of frying meat in a pan is occasioned by the explosions of steam formed in fat, the temperature of which is much above 212 degrees. If the meat is very juicy it will not fry well, because it becomes sodden before the water is evaporated; and it will not brown, because the temperature is too low to scorch it. To fry fish well the fat should be _boiling hot (600 degrees),_ and the fish _well dried_ in a cloth; otherwise, owing to the generation of steam the temperature will fall so low that it will be boiled in its own steam, and not be browned. Meat, or indeed any article, should be frequently turned and agitated during frying to promote the evaporation of the watery particles. To make fried things look well, they should be done over _twice_ with egg and stale bread-crumbs.