Peanut oil is one of the healthiest oils. Unlike other oils, frying food in peanut oil can be beneficial for your health.
However, not unlike other oils, disposing of peanut oil can be challenging.
Let’s take a look at some safe methods of disposing of peanut oil.
Disposing of by Reusing
Disposing of peanut oil by reusing it is the safest and most recommended method. Peanut oil is recommended to be reused for its various health benefits.
Peanut oil has a very high percentage of good fats and a low percentage of bad fats.
Good fats relieve symptoms of several diseases and help reduce bad fats from the body. They are essential for the body as they help vital organs function properly.
Good fats especially help people with cardiovascular diseases. They lower cholesterol and blood pressure, steady the heart’s rhythm, and lower the risk of stroke and other heart diseases.
They can also fight inflammation of the heart and improve the health and function of the heart.
Moreover, peanut oil can also help relieve constipation and joint pain. People with dry skin can feel an improvement in the suppleness of their skin with the constant use of peanut oil.
Peanut oil is also recommended to be reused for it doesn’t absorb the smell of what is cooked in it. You can use peanut oil to fry fish, and the oil would still smell fresh.
However, before reusing peanut oil, it is important to remove any remnants of food from it.
While the oil itself doesn’t absorb any smell, food remnants can bring both smell and flavor to the new dish made with reused peanut oil.
Disposing of oil by reusing is a safe method as every food absorbs a little bit of oil when it is cooked, and one can eventually get rid of the oil.
To reuse peanut oil, let it cool down. Once the oil is cool, strain it through a sieve into a glass jar or bottle.
The remnants on the sieve should be discarded safely. Throw away food remnants in a trash bin or a garden can invite bugs.
Take the strained oil and put the jar in the kitchen cabinet.
You can take it out when you need to use peanut oil again.
However, if you wish to use this used peanut oil for frying purposes, you may need to add some fresh peanut oil to it.
If you are only reusing the oil for cooking, take as much as needed and store the remaining in the kitchen cabinet again.
However, you cannot reuse peanut oil more than five times. You will also need to strain it every time after use, once it cools down.
Although, peanut oil used once or twice for frying can easily be used for cooking purposes in noodle-based dishes.
We don’t recommend reusing peanut oil for sauces, dips, and baking.
If you’re left with peanut oil even after reusing it for frying up to 5 times, you will need to dispose of it in other ways. For example:
Disposing of by Composting
Disposing of peanut oil by composting is another safe method. However, you cannot put used peanut oil in a composting bin if you fried non-vegetarian food items in it.
While you can get rid of remnants of fried food in peanut oil by sieving it, you cannot strain the juices from the meat released during frying or cooking it.
While negligible to a human’s sense of smell and taste, these juices can attract various predatory insects to your compost bin.
Therefore, it is essential to never throw away peanut oil into compost if used to cook or fry non-vegetarian food.
On the other hand, pouring down peanut oil that has been used for cooking or frying non-vegetarian food into a compost bin is safe.
However, you should not add too much peanut oil at once as it can slow down the composting process.
Avoid pouring down more than 100ml of oil at once.
Disposing of by Giving Away
If you don’t wish to reuse peanut oil at all, you can give it away to someone who would like to reuse it.
You can check with shelters near you that might be grateful for you for donating perfectly reusable oil.
Once you have checked it with them and agreed to take it off you, try to drop the used peanut oil as soon as you can.
Before giving it away, strain the oil thoroughly to remove any bits or remnants of food. Pour it in safe and clean glass bottles.
Place the lid and tighten it and drop it off at a time suitable for both parties.
Remind the shelter again while dropping that the oil is not fresh and has been previously used once.
If you don’t have any nearby shelters, you can also ask your friends and family if they would like to reuse peanut oil.
Some environmentally conscious people from your circle may be interested in taking it off your hands to repurpose it for some crafts project or cooking.
Disposing of by Throwing Away
While this may seem like the easiest method to dispose of peanut oil, it is not. In fact, throwing away peanut oil requires more steps than reusing it.
To dispose of peanut oil by throwing it away, you will need to collect enough oil to fill a plastic bottle.
You can collect the oil from a plastic bottle from the start. Every time you use peanut oil, let it cool down.
Once it’s cooled, pour it into a plastic bottle. You can reuse a reusable plastic bottle that comes filled with water or sodas.
However, thoroughly wash and dry the bottle if it contains anything other than water before pouring oil into it.
Keep repeating this method until the bottle is full. Pour cooled-down peanut oil into the bottle until it is full.
During the time the bottle is not full, store it capped at an easily accessible place. When the bottle is full, please place it in the recyclable bin to dispose of it by the waste authorities.
Avoid using plastic bags for the purpose. Plastic bags can be easily torn and can leak the oil wherever placed.
You can also mix the used peanut oil in flour to avoid leaking from the plastic bottle. For this purpose, pour some flour into the bottle of oil once it’s full.
Pour a little bit of flour at once and shake the bottle to mix it all. Keep adding flour to the bottle and shaking it until it forms a thick consistency.
Always dispose of the bottle by placing it in the trash bin for recyclables.
Disposing of Through Professionals
Many green organizations throughout the US dispose of a variety of goods for people.
You can find the nearest disposing site or their drop-off center and hand the used peanut oil to them.
If you have too much peanut oil or other cooking oils, you can put them in the freezer to solidify them and make them take less space.
However, we suggest storing used cooking oils, either solids or liquids, in good-quality containers.
Once you have enough of used peanut oil, you can make a trip to the green organization.
Other than green organizations, many biofuel companies also happily take used cooking oil from people.
A majority of the restaurants across the United States give away used cooking oil to biofuel companies as FDA doesn’t allow them to reuse cooking oil.
You can also dispose of used peanut oil by giving it away to biofuel companies.
Disposing of Expired or Spoilt Peanut Oil
While vegetable oils are known to last for a very long time, they may expire or get spoilt. Peanut oil expires when it is kept unused for years.
In such a case, the smell and taste of the peanut oil turn slightly bitter. Expired peanut oil does not cause any health risks.
It can still be used for cooking or frying purposes as it is still safe for consumption. However, the oil itself or the food cooked in it might not taste great.
It is best to give away expired peanut oil to biofuel companies or professional disposing companies.
On the other hand, when exposed to bacteria and kept in a warm space, any vegetable oil can turn rancid. Using rancid oil can be damaging to one’s health.
However, it can be impossible to miss out on the rancidity in peanut oil as the smell of the oil can turn foul. There might also be visible mold in the oil bottle.
There is only one way to dispose of spoilt peanut oil, which is to throw it away.
However, it should be disposed of in the same way peanut oil is disposed of, i.e., in a plastic or glass bottle placed in the recyclable trash bin.
You can choose any of the above methods to dispose of peanut oil. However, make sure to never dispose of cooking oil by pouring it down the drain.
Peanut oil tends to solidify when mixed with other edibles or non-edibles. It can clog sewage pipes and cause wear and tear on the inside of the pipes.
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