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We hate to begin with grim statistics, but some topics are too important to make light of. Between 2017 and 2021, kitchen fires caused 158,400 home fires each year on average along with 4,150 injuries and 470 deaths. Juan Cabrera, executive chef at Yountville, California’s The Restaurant at North Block, knows how important it is to take proper kitchen precautions, so he shared some of his top fire prevention tips.
One way to avoid a grease fire is to use oil with a high smoke point. The reason why smoke point matters is simple. “If oil begins to smoke and emit a burning odor or the surface bubbles aggressively and darkens, it signals a potential ignition point,” Cabrera told The Takeout. “If oil vaporizes and catches fire, flames can spread rapidly.”
As a general rule of thumb, pick an oil with a smoke point at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the temperature at which you’ll be cooking. Cabrera’s personal preference is for grapeseed oil, which can be heated as high as 420 degrees. A more budget-friendly option would be soybean oil, which has a smoke point of 450 degrees…