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Oil and fats are essential when cooking. Some are used externally as a cooking aid, and you may use certain fats and oils such as butter and olive oil as an ingredient. And while not all fats and oils are bad for you, you might be consuming too much as it is recommended that no more than 25% of your calorie intake comes from fats. Yet, there are easy techniques for minimizing the amount of oil you use when cooking your favorite recipes.

Embrace Technology

As with most things, the kitchen can benefit from new and exciting technological inventions that change how you cook. The best air fryer for big family, for example, can accommodate a lot of food in one device, and some have compartments for cooking various ingredients.

But the best thing about these handy gadgets is they require minimal oil to crisp foods that otherwise need a lot. So, for example, you can cook crispy french fries and chicken simultaneously using just 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. 

Get Some New Cookware

If your stir fry is starting to look a little greasy, or your steaks always stick to the pan, then it might be time to invest in some new cooking tools. Older pots and pans require lots of oils such as butter, so food doesn’t stick to the bottom. 

You can, of course, use tiny amounts of water when suatéeing, but if this is done incorrectly, you will steam your food. This will cause a loss of flavor. Non-stick pans are an excellent alternative since they require little or no oil at all. One great tip is to spray your preferred oil for a bit of flavor.

Use Drainage Methods

When cooking food, meats in particularly nasty trans fats will accumulate in your pan. Bacon and hamburgers are perfect examples. This fat will stick to the food as you cook, which is bad for various reasons:

Fat can burn and ruin the flavor.

Fats and oils are consumed.

Your pan can get ruined.

Smoking will occur.

Your meat may stick to the pan and burn.

But you can try purpose-made pans with drainage. For example, a well-made, cast-iron griddle pan will cook a steak perfectly. You can get cookware like this to a very high temperature to sear your meat. The griddle will catch excess fats, which you can drain off as you cook. In addition, you can prevent sticking by brushing a little high-temperature oil onto your meat.

Food-Based Oil Alternatives

Of course, you can remove oils altogether and use food-based alternatives in place of fats. Like meats becoming plant-based, so too are oils becoming vegetable and fruit-based. So, for example, you can use apple sauce or mashed bananas for baked goods like cookies and muffins instead of butter.

When using alternatives to butter, the finished product will be slightly different than you’re used to. The textures will not be the same and might be somewhat different, yet the primary favors remain. It’s just a case of adjusting your taste to a new food variety. Similar to getting used to gluten-free products that don’t contain wheat or barley.

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This is a contributed post