This Chopstick Test Lets You Know If Your Deep Frying Oil Is Ready

Leftover napkins, utensils, and sauce packets tend to accumulate at any home where takeout is welcome, but did you know some of those extras can actually be helpful in home cooking? (And no, we don't mean creating one big monster sauce, though you could if you wanted.) Those wooden chopsticks in your drawer can be used to help you deep fry some fantastic bites at home.

Deep frying foods at home can be a challenge if you don't have the right tools on hand (like a cooking thermometer), but a chopstick can be used to tell you if your frying oil is hot enough. You don't even have to use the set, just one singular chopstick will do. There are a lot of dirt cheap kitchen tools you probably don't realize have many uses, and here's another to add to the list.

When done correctly (and safely), deep frying foods at home can open up a world of possibilities. You can deep fry anything from knobs of butter to your Thanksgiving turkey. But before you toss the food in, use this chopstick trick to make sure your oil is hot and ready to use.

As you stand in your kitchen with foods breaded and ready to go into the oil, you may be wondering if the temperature is just right. When you're unsure, reach for a wooden chopstick and place the tip of it into the oil. If small bubbles begin to form on the chopstick, then the oil is at the proper temperature for frying foods. You could also wet the end of the chopstick and stick it in the oil to listen for loud cracking and popping sounds. If the oil reacts this way, then it is likely too hot, but if you hear nothing, the oil is too cold to use. You're looking for something in-between.

Bubbles form on the chopstick whether you wet the tip or not because of the moisture in the wood. When that moisture is exposed to the oil, it boils and escapes as steam which creates the bubbles. So, the hotter the oil, the more bubbles will form. While it might take you a few tries to become an expert in interpreting the amount of bubbles that appear and how it translates to actual frying temp, this is still a handy trick for when you don't have a thermometer.