How to Store Oil for Food Storage
Fats and oils are quite similar to each other chemically, separated primarily by the percentage of hydrogen saturation of their fatty acids of which they are composed. Truth be told, the fats and oils you use on a day to day basis for your cooking are actually mixtures of different fatty acids designed to meet the needs of a modern kitchen. This is partially why proper storage techniques are so important.
- Purchase based on expiration date. The primary contributors to the spoilage of cooking oils are oxygen, heat and sunlight. Of the three, oxygen is the biggest culprit. Oxygen is roughly eight times more soluble in fat than it is in water and the oxidation that results in the exposure of the oil to air is what turns your oils rancid. Begin the process of storage right at your local grocery store by selecting and purchasing your oils based upon its freshness and the distance till its expiration date.
- Transfer your cooking oils into dark colored glass containers upon reaching home and seal them with either a vacuum sealing lid or by pouring melted paraffin wax into the neck of the container to seal until you are ready to use.
- Store your cooking oils in the refrigerator as soon as they have been opened. Any oils that you cannot transfer into glass containers nor place in the refrigerator, place their containers into a box or metal container with a lid to seal the oil away from sunlight, heat and oxidation that can cause rancidity.
- Rotate your cooking oils out as swiftly as is reasonable. Make sure you are going to use what you bring home so that you don’t end up with containers of oils sitting around potentially going rancid on you. If you don’t tend to use a lot of oil, buy the smaller containers and keep them in constant rotation rather than trying to buy in bulk and risk letting the oil turn.