Thanks to Aviva for asking the question. She asked if there is an alternative to the canned spray oils available kosher for Pesach. She mentioned $5.99 per can as the price. I've seen them as "low" as $2.19 and yes, also up to $5.99. And yes, there is an alternative.
Relatively speaking the oil in the regular bottles comes out way cheaper than the spray cans. although oil is not cheap. But you can make your own spray oil and pay much less than the ready made cans. There are empty spray bottles available for sale. I didn't see them in my favorite 99 cent store but the garden supply center had them and so did the hardware stores in the neighborhood. (You may see the bottles near laundry supplies as some people use them to mist clothes they are ironing.) The price of the bottles was from $1.00 to about $4.00 depending on the size. Check if the bottle has a fine spray or mist setting. Pour in oil from a bottle and voila! you have spray oil.
Another advantage is that you can empty the bottle at the end of Pesach, wash it out and have it available for next year as well. After all, you don't think the price of those spray cans is going to go down next year do you? And just by the by, this is a good idea for chometz as well. Why pay extra for packaging you don't need?
10 comments:
what is spray oil? when do you use it?
Lion,
The oil spray cans contain only a few ounces of oil (about 3 ounces) in them despite being of a large size. The oil is aerated as it leaves the can giving you a very fine mist of oil.
If you need to grease a pan for some reason, like making scrambled eggs or baking a kugel, if you pour oil from a bottle, even a little bit, you are getting a lot of oil (and fat and calories)and the pan is not evenly covered no matter how much you tilt and tip the pan. When that happens people add in more oil until they can see the pan is covered. With the spray mist all that is needed is a second or two of misting and you have an even coverage of the pan.
People complain that potato kugel is a really fatty dish. That's because you not only pour a lot of oil into the bottom of the pan but most also pour some oil on the top so it will brown crispy. With the spray mist you only need to spray a little over the pan and over the top. If you are coating chicken with a dry mixture and don't want to fry it, just use the spray oil to mist the coating and then bake in the oven. The coating gets crispy baked this way but is far healthier.
interesting. we don't really fry food, except for an occasional omlette, but i'll try this out.
"this is a good idea for chometz as well."
i was wondering as i read the post why people would not do this all year round to save money
Lion,
I think that the size of the can is what fools people. The size is large so people assume there is more oil in there than there really is. At even $2 per can and about 3 ounces that is $20 for a quart of oil. No one would pay that kind of money for a quart of oil but that's at a minimum what you are paying with the cans.
Thanks for the tip! I never looked at how much oil was in the can just the size of the can. Always thought it had to have at least 1/3 of a quart of oil. No reason to get cheated just because of convenience.
I never heard of people poured oil on the bottom and top of potato kugel. I just mix about 1/4 cup of oil into the kugel batter. It always browns nicely, but if you want it to brown faster, just turn on the broiler for the last minute or two of cooking.
I've been thinking about making my own salad dressing sprays because I find that too often the salad gets drenched.
Thanks for the advice. I have plenty of spray bottles for both garden uses and cleaning supplies (the window cleaners etc. are much cheaper in the non-spray container, and the "professional grade" spray bottles are much higher quality than the cheap one included with the bottle)... I might pick up some more for spraying oil...
I switched for cleaners for non-financial reasons, the things get gunked up before you are done. But the professional style ones (available at Home Depot cheaply) spray more evenly, more powerfully, and without winding down, plus they are more comfortable.
We use a lot of spray oil to avoid the extra calories, I'll talk to the wife about replacing the misting cans... especially since the "Pesach Sprays" are absolutely terrible.
We also buy spices in bulk and keep them in the freezer. We have little glass dispensers in a few areas in the kitchen, not for Kashrut reasons, but I want to have spices at my disposal either by the cook top if I'm seasoning while cookings, or by the meat/dairy prep areas if I'm prepping a dish.
I got the idea from a Kitchen design book, inserts into the drawers and no running around the kitchen to season things.
I also have spatulas in both the prep areas, the baking center, and by the cook top, so I don't have to run around the kitchen when I'm cooking.
Have you tried saving the bottles from year to year? I fear that those tiny tubes might be too hard to clean well enough....
Good idea nonetheless....
G6,
Pour a little dish detergent into the bottle and add boiling water to the top of the bottle. Put back the top and give a few sprays to get the detergent mixture through the tube. Let it sit for a few minutes until the water is a bit cooler and then spray a good few sprays. Takes out the residue in the tube and then you can just wash out the bottle and put away.
Post a Comment