Can I Separate Fat from the Used Cooking Oil in My Kitchen?

If you want to reuse your used cooking oil that was mixed with fat, you may wonder whether it is possible to remove the fat, and keep the oil. In the cooking process, the oil will mix with the fat, especially when you are using either to cook different types of food. However, cooking oils and fats are not the same, so from time-to-time, you may wonder whether it is possible to separate the two in the kitchen, without the need of a whole industrial process.

You shall find out here in this short guide.

Difference between cooking oil and fat

Not to mistake cooking oil for fat and vice versa, there is a simple way to tell what you have been using. Vegetable oils will maintain a liquid form at room temperature, while cooking fat will solidify.

In the kitchen, both fats and oils are used to cook different types of food. For instance, shallow-fried foods are best cooked with fats, as are vegetables, thinly sliced meat, and seafood, for the preservation of the flavor. Vegetable oils are best for deep-frying foods, and for oven cooking.

Mostly, fat is used to refer to animal fats, but there are some vegetable fats as well, and they also solidify at room temperature. Shortening fats are extracted from soybean and cottonseed oil to name but just a few of them.

As you can see here, it can be quite disastrous to your kitchen plumbing system if you pour liquified fat in the sink. It will solidify soon after and attach itself to the pipes, thus reducing the diameter, forming serious fatbergs.

You can pour hot water down the sink to prevent this, so that the fat and oil can be flushed down to the grease trap. There, it will solidify, awaiting grease trap pumping.

But enough of that, so can you separate fats from oils in your kitchen, without the need to invest in advanced fat separators?

Why fat and oil mixes in the kitchen

Kitchens use fats and cooking oils all the time, as some foods can be cooked halfway in fat and halfway in vegetable oil.

It is also possible to cook foods using fat, and then use oil for dressing or garnishing. Whichever the case, when the oil mixes with the fat under heat, not many people can tell the difference. Mixing oils and fats and using them to cook improves the flavor of your food a great deal.

Also, mixing oils and fats increases the smoke point, so you can use the oil longer. When cooking oil reaches the smoke point, it starts smoking, and it releases chemicals, which will be harmful to your health.

At smoke point, the oil will damage the food, and it can also catch fire easily. If you are cooking foods that require high heat, you need to use oil with a high smoke point. Mixing fats, for instance, butter with cooking oil will make this possible.

Why it is hard to separate fat from cooking oil in the kitchen

First, if you are thinking of separating cooking oil from fat from used fryer oil, well, there is really no need. Recycling companies will use both the fats and oils, and in fact, you can put them in the same bin that will be provided by the company.

If the fat and oil mixture is still usable, you can cook certain foods that taste incredible when cooked with the mix of fat and oil.

Perhaps you want to store the oil that is mixed with oil, and you are wondering whether it is safe to do so. It is. In fact, you can store the mixture in the fridge, but use the recommended storage conditions for the weaker of the two, which is the oil.

Since the oil will solidify when kept in the freezer, so will the fat, so there is no need to separate them as they will keep well. However, be sure to reuse the two as soon as possible, or use the recommended storage span of the weaker one. This means if you should freeze the oil for 10 days and the fat for 20 days, use the cooking oil and fat mixture in 10 days or sooner.

Oils and fats will mix well when subjected to heat. When cooled down, the oil is likely to follow suit and solidify, because the fat will solidify. Since the two cannot emulsify, or form a hard skin as it would on water, so you can’t scoop it away.  

Will used fryer oil solidify in the pipes if mixed with fat?

Yes, it will, which is why dumping oil this way is highly discouraged. Cooking oil will eventually solidify in the pipes, even when you do not mix it with fat.

If liquid oil goes into the sink, it will have small food particles. As it attaches to the pipes, it will leave these food particles behind. Now, if it is mixed with fat, it is even worse since it will solidify faster and the diameter of the pipes will reduce, impeding the flow of water from the sink.

To solve this problem just do not dump any oils, fats, or a mix of both in the sink if you would like to save money on plumbing costs.

Remember, even if the oil does not stick inside the pipes, it will contribute to the grease interceptor filling too fast. Of course, this will mean you have to empty it more often and that costs money.

Do not pour hot water with oil in the sink, do not pour hot fat in the sink, and remove all food particles from the water. If possible, only plain water should go in the sink.

Conclusion

A busy commercial kitchen can use tens of gallons of vegetable oils and fats every day and in return, it will produce a large amount of waste oil.

Some foods require you to cook them with both oil and fat to enhance the flavor. However, once the oil mixes with the fat, it is not possible to separate them in your kitchen. So, just reuse it like that, or if you do not intend to, put it in the recycling bins, awaiting collection and transport to the recycling plant.

Most importantly, do not allow your kitchen employees to pour old oil or fat in the sink. Consult us today at Grease Collection to arrange how we can collect your oil on schedule.

We also offer related services such as grease trap installation, maintenance, repair, and we can offer you a free, no-obligation quote for any of our services.

Get in touch with us, and a professional will give you free consultation to help you make the right decision regarding used vegetable oil disposal.