What is the temperature when the oil is 60% hot?

[MacNicole]

The boiling points of edible oils: soybean oil 257℃, corn oil 246℃, peanut oil 226℃, peanut oil 135.6℃, sesame oil 129℃, sesame oil 215℃, soybean oil 154.2℃, corn oil 147.6℃. In daily cooking, it's easy to tell when the oil is 60% hot: place your hand about 1 cm above the oil surface; if you can hold it there without getting burned, it's about right. When the oil starts emitting blue smoke, it's about 80-90% hot. Be very careful when deep-frying at home, as home stoves are not as powerful as those in restaurants. Therefore, when deep-frying, the oil temperature is usually heated higher than needed, and a slight distraction can easily lead to a fire! It is recommended to use larger cooking utensils when deep-frying, and ensure there is a certain distance between the oil surface and the pot edge for safety.

[LaAsher]

I often deal with oil temperature issues in the kitchen and find that '60% heat' is around 180°C, which is a common cooking benchmark. Why do I say that? Because in traditional Chinese cooking, oil temperature is divided into ten levels, and '60% heat' refers to when the oil just starts to form small bubbles but hasn't reached boiling point, stabilizing around 180°C. To test it, you can dip a chopstick with a bit of flour into the oil: if it immediately bubbles and sizzles, then it's right. In practice, 180°C is the ideal frying temperature—for example, when frying spring rolls or dumplings, oil that's too low will make the food greasy, while oil that's too high will burn and smoke. For safety, I always recommend beginners not rely solely on intuition but to use a kitchen thermometer for accuracy. Oil temperature control also affects health, as high temperatures can cause oil to oxidize and produce harmful substances, so maintaining around 180°C reduces this risk. In daily cooking, I usually heat the oil to '70% heat' first, then reduce it to '60% heat'—this saves oil and avoids waste.

[JudahLynn]

From my experience, when the oil is about 60% heated, it generally corresponds to 180 degrees Celsius, which is particularly crucial for cooking. For instance, when stir-frying meat or deep-frying fish, food can quickly set at this temperature, resulting in a crispy exterior and tender, juicy interior. Why set it at 180 degrees? Because if the oil temperature is too low (e.g., 40% heated, below 120 degrees), the oil isn't fully heated, and food will turn out greasy; if it's too high (80% heated, above 200 degrees), black smoke tends to appear, the oil deteriorates quickly, and there's even a risk of fire. I remember once accidentally heating the oil beyond 60%, and the fried chicken wings turned out black and bitter. Since then, I've been extra careful with temperature control. How to judge it in daily cooking? You can drop a small amount of water into the oil—if it sizzles without splattering, it's roughly at 60% heat. Additionally, the type of oil affects the outcome. Peanut oil and rapeseed oil are most stable at 180 degrees, preserving the flavor. Maintaining this temperature also makes the oil healthier by reducing the formation of trans fatty acids.

[Hayden]

I think '60% hot oil' is around 180 degrees Celsius, which is a very practical temperature point. When deep-frying or stir-frying, 180 degrees can instantly seal the moisture in the food, making it crispy on the outside and tender on the inside without being greasy. For example, frying shrimp chips at this temperature results in a golden color while maintaining crispiness. How to simply judge? A common method is to poke the oil with chopsticks—if small bubbles appear very quickly, it's just right. Don’t overlook temperature control; oil that's too cold makes food absorb more oil, while oil that's too hot can produce smoke and harmful substances. Keeping it at 180 degrees is safer and more suitable for home fast cooking.

[LaElias]

When dealing with oil temperature, I know that '60% heat' is roughly 180 degrees Celsius, which is crucial in healthy cooking. At around 180 degrees, the oil is less prone to oxidation and deterioration, better preserving the nutrients in food and avoiding the generation of harmful free radicals that occur at higher temperatures. Imagine frying french fries—if the oil temperature is too low, the fries become soggy and absorb too much oil; if it's too high, they turn black and increase carcinogens. My daily practice suggestion: first heat the oil in the pan and observe, then reduce the heat to medium when small bubbles become dense to maintain 180 degrees. Different oils perform differently—for example, olive oil remains stable at 180 degrees, while corn oil adapts well at slightly lower temperatures. Mastering this can save you trouble, especially in avoiding kitchen accidents like oil splashes that can burn the skin.