h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What do you do with your cooking fat? My mum taught me to chuck it down the sink, accompanied by copious amounts of hot water. I shudder to think of the times I did that!

These days I collect it in a tub (with a lid!) then chuck the whole thing away when it's full because I'm not sure what else to do with it.

Now it's winter I keep thinking of the 'fat cakes' we used to make for the birds and I was wondering if I could just put the tub outside for the birds to eat, or if I should actually mix in some seeds and stuff, or if that's an entirely different sort of fat.

Any ideas? Seems a shame to keep chucking it away if there are animals out there that will eat it.

Are you talking about cooking oil used for deep frying? Or is some sort of solid fat such as lard?

don't they have a thing for recycling that?

My mum was a cook and she never, ever threw cooking fat down the sink. The oil for frying chips would be filtered and re-used as much as possible. When it was unusable, she'd let it set, wrap the block in newspaper and just throw it away. There was no recycling, back then. I don't know what you can do with it now, other than throw it away. It doesn't fit into any of the usual categories, and the local tip is geared towards taking car oil, not cooking oil.

Other than that, I guess making bird cake is as good an idea as any, although the sites I've seen refer to 'hard fat', whatever that is.

hard fat is like lard.

i reuse vegetable oil, untill it looks so rank you cant! then i just throw the bottle away. as for lard, i just leave it in frying pan and add a littl fresh each time. if i do have to gte rid of it i jutst wash it in hot water and pour it down the sink.

we have arguements in our house over whether fat can be poured down the sink or not.

id be interested in learning what to do with it if you cant

I don't think I've used a fat for cooking that sets hard in recent memory - do you mean the fat that comes off of things like a roast? That sets hard but, like you, my mum always said that could be put down the sink with lots of hot water, or if I'm lazy and don't clear up while J is carving (so it sets) then I just scrape it into the bin before the tray goes in the dishwasher.

We don't tend to have that much of it though.

I think that putting oil down the drain (i.e., into the Municipal sewerage system) is an offence in many jurisdictions.

Try recycling ... http://www.abc.net.au/tropic/stories/s1723313.htm

Compost maybe?[Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]

I think the problem with putting hard cooking fat that has been used down the sink with boiling water is that, as the sewermen showed on TV, is once it cools and sets in the sewers, or in your drainpipe if it doesn't run away quick enough!I think the lettingit set in an old tin and chucking it in the bin is the best way to avoid blocked sewers!
I think that essentially hard cooking fat, lard, bought from shops is the same as what runs from your joint of meat as both are obtained from animal fat, just that lard is white coloured whereas fat running from meat is of course a mucky brown colour.

fat from the roast tends to be know as dripping

I work in chippy and our solid vegetable oil is collected in drums and reused in chicken feed.
A lot of people use the liquid type from chippys to convert into fuel for diesel motors.
At home on the rare occasions I have some oil to chuck I pour it in the bin, never down the drain.

It's the stuff that comes off in the grill - I don't 'cook' as such, so don't often add fat to anything. It's the stuff that comes out of the sausages and burgers mainly (and no, we don't just eat those, that's just what the fat comes out of).

I'm still wondering if I can put it out for the birds...

that sort we pour down the drain if there is a lot if there is only a little bit we mop it up with kitchen roll

It shouldn't be put down the drain. Although I did it when I was a kid and didn't know better I don't do it any more.

I suppose you could get your car converted to run on vegetable oil and filter out the crispy bits before using it.

Melt down your fat and add some wild bird seed, dry fruit such as raisins/sultanas, peanuts, bits of left over cake and bread,

Pour the mixture into something like old yoghurt pots, and when completely set, hang out for the birds.

They'll love them.

Being an idle beggar, and no fan at all of washing up, I always mop up excess fat with stale bread over a high heat. This soaks up all the fat and most of the crud as well.

If the pan's hot enough, a quick slosh of hot water will steam blast any remaining stubborn bits away leaving the pan spotless.

Birds and hedgehogs love fried bread. But then so do I

"Being an idle beggar, and no fan at all of washing up, I always mop up excess fat with stale bread over a high heat. This soaks up all the fat and most of the crud as well."

This is the best idea yet - I can just put the bread out for the birds.

I want to avoid anything that's remotely like 'cooking', otherwise the previous idea was a good one too.

I thought I'd let you know it was a great success. Not only did the birds love it and scoff it all within about an hour (expect the stuff I squeezed into a peanut feeder which they're still working on), but the dripping fat kept the dogs occupied for ages as well!

A brilliant idea all round.

I learnt it from mi Mam