Yes, you can fry onion rings in extra virgin olive oil, especially for pan-frying or air frying, but for traditional deep frying, neutral oils like canola or vegetable oil are better because EVOO's flavor can be strong and its smoke point can be too low for the high heat needed, potentially leading to bitter, greasy results if it burns. While some EVOO can handle medium heat, neutral oils prevent overpowering flavor and ensure crispiness without burning.
Olive oil -- I prefer to use regular olive oil, so it doesn't overpower the flavour of the red onion, but you can use extra virgin olive oil if you really want that tangy-grassiness of extra virgin.
It's a myth that olive oil isn't suitable for frying. While extra virgin olive oil has a smoke point around 190-210°C (375-410°F), regular olive oil, often a blend of cold-pressed and processed oils, has a smoke point ranging from 210-240°C (410-465°F), making it very suitable for frying.
Fry the Onion Rings
I am using Peanut oil because it has a high smoke temperature and I want this oil hot. If you are allergic to peanuts, any other high-temperature oil will do. Fry until golden brown and extra crispy.
Yes, you can fry foods with olive oil. Olive oil, particularly extra virgin olive oil, has a smoke point ranging from 374-405°F (190-207°C), which is suitable for most frying purposes. However, for deep frying at very high temperatures, it may be better to use oils with higher smoke points, like avocado or coconut oil.
Yes, you can fry with extra virgin olive oil, but it's best for shallow frying. Its smoke point is lower than regular olive oil, so at very high heat, it can start to burn and lose flavor. For high-heat searing, regular olive oil or another high-smoke-point oil (such as algae cooking oil at 535°F) is a better choice.
However, if you do need to deep fry your food, our long-standing advice is that oils like corn and sunflower oils are not recommended for high temperatures.
Onions are almost always cooked in some kind of fat, although they can be softened in a small amount of liquid. Usually this fat is a neutral oil such as grapeseed oil, but can also be olive oil, butter/ghee, or bacon fat.
You shouldn't cook with Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) primarily because it's expensive, and its delicate, complex flavors get lost or become bitter at high temperatures, making it better for finishing dishes; also, while it's actually quite heat-stable due to antioxidants, using cheaper refined oils for high-heat cooking is more economical, saving your good EVOO for salads or bread dipping.
This idea that it's not a good idea to cook over high heat with olive oil is fairly common. For a lot of people, the concern is one of health, specifically that olive oil, with its relatively low smoke point of 325 to 375°F (165 to 190°C), degrades more than other oils when exposed to high heat.
Olive oil is an extremely versatile type of cooking oil and can be used for anything from baking to frying to sautéing. When recipes call for the use of either butter or any other type of refined oil, such as vegetable oil, we highly recommend substituting this for olive oil instead.
The smoke point of extra virgin olive oil is typically around 375-410°F (190-210°C). This means it can withstand moderate heat before it starts to smoke and break down, releasing potentially harmful compounds.
Caramelizing onions, by slowly cooking them in a little olive oil until they are richly browned, is a wonderful way to pull flavor out of the simplest of ingredients.
Why are my onion rings soggy and not crispy? Soggy onion rings could be due to a couple of factors. The first is to make sure that you aren't overcrowding the pan when frying the onion. A second reason would be that the oil is too low in temperature which results in soggy onions.
Heat a 3cm depth of oil in a large saucepan or frying pan over a medium heat until it reaches 160C, or a piece of onion sizzles when you drop it in. Fry the onions in batches for 5-8 mins, stirring regularly until golden and crispy. Remove to a plate lined with kitchen paper using a slotted spoon to drain.
Olive oil isn't suitable for deep frying
A smoke point is the point at which the fats in the oil start to break down and nasty compounds are released which can make the oil taste bitter, burnt or unpleasant.
People are getting rid of air fryers due to small basket sizes limiting family meals, issues with peeling non-stick coatings, difficulty cleaning, safety concerns like melting components, the perception they're just small ovens, limitations on certain foods (like wet batters), and sometimes switching to cheaper, more efficient appliances like halogen ovens. Many find they outgrow basic models, leading to batch cooking, and eventually replace them with larger or different appliances.
KFC primarily uses a blend of oils, with a major shift in the U.S. to low-linolenic soybean oil to eliminate trans fats, while regions like Australia use high oleic canola oil for its stability and health profile, though specific oil types can vary by country and even franchise, sometimes incorporating palm/soybean blends, but generally favoring vegetable-based oils for flavor and consistency.