Extractor fans - or how to banish the oil

[xianhua]

Ok, a slightly strange topic, I'll admit, but how do other members cope with the extraction of cooking fumes from their kitchens? We have a standard extractor fan above the cooking hob, but it can only do so much with the volume of oil which heads its way, and I still find that a thin layer of grease accumulates on the tops of the kitchen units.

One solution is to give up cooking Chinese food and boil everything - but that isn't going to happen realistically.

A short walk along the backs of the houses on my sister-in-law's street (in China) show that the residents have long given up the battle (if they ever started) and stalactites of oil have formed on their fans. This isn't a route I want to go down either.

Can anyone catergorically say that with a powerful extractor fan, the oil problem disappears, or is this asking for too much? If so, can you recommend any brands or models which are available in Europe?

[yonglin]

I have a Chinese friend who bought a very nice condo, and she specifically says that she does not (stir) fry food at home because of the oil fume issue. Alternatively, she might just be lazy.

We don't even have an extractor fan in our kitchen, just a measly little fan (think: small bathroom fan) next to the ceiling. The oil layer forms quickly (although there are very powerful, environmentally unfriendly detergents which do a decent job at dissolving the grease). Personally, I don't really care since we are renting and not planning on staying more than a couple more years.

Steaming might be an alternative to boiling, but yeah... I totally understand the problem. If you find a solution, I would be very interested in hearing about it!

[skylee]

One solution is to give up cooking Chinese food and boil everything - but that isn't going to happen realistically.

I think it is not unrealistic. You just have to try. B)

Personally, I don't really care since we are renting and not planning on staying more than a couple more years.

I think this is the right attitude.

[roddy]

Off the top of my head - if you can somehow block off those flat surfaces the oil won't be able to settle there (though it'll just end up somewhere easier to clean). Wood partition the same colour as the units? Or cover them with newspaper or something, and change it once a month.

Some kind of change to the ventilation? Another fan to keep the air moving when it's oily, or something down the side of the cooking hob to stop the fumes escaping off to the side. Actually, remember those glass cabinet chemistry classrooms have for carrying out dangerous experiments?

[skylee]

Some 擋油板/擋油錫紙 might be useful.

http://item.taobao.com/auction/item_detail.htm?item_num_id=2253076832

http://www.google.com.hk/images?hl=zh-TW&source=imghp&q=%E6%93%8B%E6%B2%B9%E9%8C%AB%E7%B4%99&btnG=%E6%90%9C%E5%B0%8B%E5%9C%96%E7%89%87&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

http://www.google.com.hk/images?um=1&hl=zh-TW&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=%E5%8E%A8%E6%88%BF%E6%93%8B%E6%B2%B9%E6%9D%BF&btnG=%E6%90%9C%E5%B0%8B&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

[jbradfor]

I've seen some Chinese basically cover everything near their stove in aluminum foil.... Not my first choice of interior decor, but I guess it works.

[adrianlondon]

We (well, my partner) cook loads of Chinese food in our place. One solution would be to have the kitchen cabinets built to the ceiling as Roddy said. We, as Roddy also said, put pieces of printer paper over the top of all our cupboards and change them around once a year.

Surprisingly, they don't get very greasy; I wonder if it depends what oil one uses?

In our current place we have a recycling extractor fan. It does the job (so long as we remember to put the grease filters in the dishwasher every so often), but it doesn't remove all the smells. The next time we get a kitchen built we'll go for a fan which throws the air outside.

[anonymoose]

Try cooking with a lower flame. Once the oil is boiling, the temperature won't rise any further, regardless of how high the flame is on. It's just that the faster it boils, the more oil fumes you're creating, and therefore the more condensed oil you'll get. It won't solve your problems, but it might reduce them.

[SiMaKe]

We do a fair amount of stir-frying and have a similar problem with the accumulation of oil in undesirable places (besides our arteries :rolleyes:). Recently we have been using a splatter screen. I have not done a scientific study of its effectiveness, but my impression is that it seems to help contain some of the problem.

If you are interested, here is

What they look like

How to select one

[flameproof]

What is a "standard extractor fan"? The one in the window? That will not extract too much.

If you have one directly over your hob then it should have some soft of mash filter. That's were the oil should get trapped and that part you have to clean once a week. That should help with 75% or the airborne oil. The other 25% will build a thin film all over your kitchen.

A 100% sure way to prevent cleaning it is to eat outside - or order outside food to be delivered.

The other way to get it spotless clean is - well, to clean it very often.

(I don't don't deep fried stuff at home and I have the same problem. So it's not a typical "Chinese" problem. All kitchens which are daily used will have that issue.)

[xianhua]

All kitchens which are daily used will have that issue

Not if you refrain from using oil completely and steam and boil only.

[flameproof]

Not sure about that. Then bathroom fans should stay perfectly clean. And just cooking water would be a bit of a sad underuse if you have a nice kitchen.