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Why does frying oil hurt my eyes?
Why does frying oil hurt so much? You’re cooking up some French fries for the kids, and your eyes start to sting like crazy. I’m sure you’ve experienced it before. So, why does the oil hurt the eyes?
The answer is our eye reacting to chemicals and temperature
Our body has a natural reaction when something super hot touches us (think touching a stove) – we want to get away from it as quickly as possible by taking away any parts of ourselves that are exposed.
But you should know why this happens and what to do if this happens to you.
This blog post has answers to all such questions.
Let’s begin!
6 reason why does frying oil hurt my eyes
Natural defense mechanism
This is a natural defense mechanism that our body has developed to protect us from hot things! The idea is that any part of the body that’s exposed will suffer, but nothing more – just enough for you to pull back and run away.
That is exactly what happens when your eyes start to water during a cooking session. Thus, the same happens when your eyes get in contact with the frying oil.
Heat of the oil!
This one is self-explanatory. The temperature of the oil is a crucial factor. As mentioned above, this reaction happens due to the heat of the frying oil. Hotter oil leads to more significant acrolein-mediated irritation and thus more tears from your eyes! The hotter it is, the harder it hurts! That’s one reason why does frying oil hurts your eyes.
Particles of burnt food!
Well, it’s not just the oil but also the particles of burnt food that get in your eyes! Food particles typically burn off at high temperatures.
When you fry anything (or boil), some food residue will getts stuck to the surface or sides. This is then heated up again when more oil is poured into the pan.
What happens is that as the oil heats up, these particles burn and then fall into your eyes. Yikes! Thus, one reason why frying oil hurts your eyes is these particles.
Chemical reactions
Well, not all oils are the same! Different types of oil lead to various chemical reactions with heat. That’s also one reason why frying oil hurts your eyes. The chemicals that these different types of oil give off are why frying oil hurts your eyes.
Skin of the potatoes!
The skin of the potatoes releases some chemicals which can irritate your eyes. Skin takes longer to cook than insides and is often thicker, making them harder to cook. So if you are cooking potatoes skin and the oil gets into your eyes, your eyes will start to burn.
