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Kitchen cleaning and Keto - dealing with the fat

AloeSvea

Well-Known Member
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2,291
Location
Aotearoa/New Zealand
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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I have been meaning to do this for a while, as this has been a big change in the kitchen, with all forms of low-carb-high- fat ways of eating I have done, but particularly Keto - is how to look after your dishwashing applicances and plumbing with dealing with all the extra fat going down the drain, and through your dishwasher. And in your oven and on your food prep and cooking surfaces.

We had a clogging problem with our new otherwise great dishwasher, and I asked our wonderful appliance repairer (that took a lot of hard work getting him I promise), if the high volume of fat had anything to do with the issue. He said no, but we were not convinced. (In the present low-fat world - I just don't think they get what high fat cooking and eating is. And we cook a lot at home, and use the dishwasher often.)

So, now we make a big effort to soak anything with fat residue in hot soapy water first, make sure we do really hot water maintenance washs more regularly - like once a fortnite rather than once a month as the instruction booklet suggests. And - I wash the sink/rinse the kitchen pipes out with a good plant-based surfecant - my favourite laundry soak in the same time frame. And it has made a huge difference. No more clogged dishwasher. And I feel more confident about treating the kitchen plumbing better too.

It cleans cooking stains from the bench and deposits in the oven, and the sink cleans up beautifully of course, as well.

I attach a pic of my favourite degreaser/surfecant/laundry soak with the ingredients just to illustrate an example of what works really well. But of course - any degreaser does the job. I'm a big aloe vera fan (no!!) and am very pleased this one has this great all rounder ingredient in it, for instance. And I have a preference for easier-on-the-waterways/ environment surfecants.

Baking soda seems to be a common main ingredient, along with white vinegar if you want to do it yourself at home. Baking soda and vinegar is truly wonderful for dealing with fat and cooking residue, and very cheap to boot.

Any other kitchen cleaning tips for dealing with all the fat residue welcomed...

 
I let the pan or whatever cool, and scrape any unwanted fat into my bin so it doesn't clog up the drainage system. Then I use warm water and fairy liquid to soak the nearly fatfree pan.

Spare fat from cooking is usually poured into a bowl and used for frying.

Apart from damaging appliances, fat down the drain causes problems with fat burgers in the sewage systems and should be avoided.

Most fats from cooking can be reused. I freeze the cooled and solid meat fats until needed. They keep for a long time.
 
Fairy liquid etc only dispersed the fat into small globules. They reform into lumps in the sewer pipes.

And it's s waste of good fat too.

Where does your uneaten fat come from?
 
Very little gets wasted in my household. I’ll either eat it, drink it, or use it to cook something else in and then eat that. Wasting fat is a crime.

Evey time you pour fat away, my avatar is watching you.
 
I save the juices and fat from cooking. Once cooled the juices can be poured into a container for future use and the fat separated and used for frying/basting etc. Any that does remain or needs discarding is left to solidify and is then thrown out with the waste rather than poured down the sink. Makes the washing up easier too.
 
We don't get this problem, possibly because I eat/drink all the surplus fat! Seriously though, have you thought about a water softener?
 
Quite right all - about reusing more of the clean used fat (which I do already of course), and using the good old garbage and paper towells for surplus fat leftover in pans, woks and on utensils and plates.

I guess for me since eating so much fat - there does end up being a lot of fat going through my kitchen, just in residue, after scraping, paper towelling into garbage, and clean fat staying in a pan to be re-used - still, absolutely. Still fat on plates and so on. I guess I should be more vigilante with the paper towelling - quite right. (I have to say I am reluctant to paper towel all the utensils we go through - gee I had no idea I was such a slack keto cook and housekeeper! . )

Just a word here - I live in subtropical climes - so the fat is liquid at room temperature for about 3-6 months of the year. Great for coconut oil! in terms of using it in recipes, let alone in the pan for bacon.

I guess I should be investing in fat storage containers for the fridge? In order to scrape later. And even more paper towels for better disposal out of the drains - good idea.
 
Jim Lahey said:
Very little gets wasted in my household. I’ll either eat it, drink it, or use it to cook something else in and then eat that. Wasting fat is a crime.

Evey time you pour fat away, my avatar is watching you.
Click to expand...

I just watched the netflix show on the Kray brothers last night, and they did quite a bit of watching - my avatar is duly threatened by your avatar
 
I add no fat to a frying pan. The bacon, mince or whatever produces enough fat for me to cook it.

Fat freezes well too.
 
We all come to different ways of eating with different conditions, environments and food environments, waste disposal systems - and appliances!

And different likes and dislikes when it comes to meat states and conditions and cooking conditions.

Not to mention cleaning!

I had no idea really - goes to show! Everything around food and cooking gets charged somehow, with an extra 'wham'! Of personal, regional and cultural differences?
 
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