If you’re running a kitchen in a restaurant or business and want to help reduce your environmental impact by reusing cooking oil, finding where to store it is essential. However, depending on the kitchen, used cooking oil storage can involve some complications that can seem to make it difficult to reach your goal of increased sustainability. SeQuential is here so you can be prepared to find potential solutions to keep your kitchen running efficiently and sustainably.
Finding the Space
Reusing your cooking oil means putting it in a container and saving it until the next time you want to use it. However, if you work in a small kitchen, space may be limited, so there may not be enough space to keep containers for storage. There are also certain spaces in your kitchen that you definitely cannot keep your containers near. Cooking oil has to be stored in a cool, dry place so storing it near the ovens or on top of your fridge or other appliance that gives off heat isn’t a good idea. In a cramped space, these areas may take up a large amount of room, preventing you from finding a good spot to store the oil.
Storing for the Right Amount of Time
Storing your cooking oil requires you to be organized and to keep track of the quality of the oil and how long it has been sitting in your kitchen. As time passes, the oil will start to break down and decay. This will cause a noxious smell and affect any food that you try to make using the oil. How quickly it decomposes is based on a couple of factors. One is the temperature at which you store your oil. Cold temperatures will slow down this process, so if you keep your oil in your pantry, make sure to only wait a day or two before using it again compared to storing in a cooler location. Another factor to consider is how many times you have used the oil before. If you have already reused the oil once, it will break down quicker so you will have to use it again very soon.
Using the Oil for Similar Foods
Another issue of storing and reusing your cooking oil is that it limits its utility after the first use. Once you prepare food in cooking oil, it will take on the smell of whatever food you used. This means that any time you use that oil again, whatever you cook will have that lingering scent attached. If you make a certain type of food every day like French fries, then you will have no problem using the same oil as you did the day before. However, if you want to make something different, you will either have to use new oil or deal with the smell interfering with the taste of what you have prepared.
Solve Your Storage Issues
With all of these obstacles that used cooking oil, storage can create, you should be looking for a better solution. SeQuential makes your life easier by collecting and recycling used cooking oil for you. All you have to do is dump the oil you have used into the free collection container that we provide at the end of the day, and we will come by at a scheduled time to pick it up. It’s that easy! Contact us to get started with cooking oil recycling as soon as possible.