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Why do frozen turkeys explode when deep-fried?
phys.org ^

Posted on 11/23/2021 12:09:33 PM PST by mylife

Deep-frying a turkey is a great way to get a delicious, moist meal for Thanksgiving. But this method of cooking can be a very dangerous undertaking.

Every fall, millions of dollars of damage, trips to the ER and even deaths result from attempts to deep-fry turkeys. The vast majority of these accidents happen because people put frozen turkeys into boiling oil. If you are considering deep-frying this year, do not forget to thaw and dry your turkey before placing it in the pot. Failure to do so may lead to an explosive disaster.

What is so dangerous about putting even a partially frozen turkey in a deep-fryer?

I am a chemist who studies plant, fungal and animal compounds and have a love of food chemistry. The reason frozen turkeys explode, at its core, has to do with differences in density. There is a difference in density between oil and water and differences in the density of water between its solid, liquid and gas states. When these density differences interact in just the right way, you get an explosion.

Understanding density

Density is how much an object weighs given a specific volume. For example, imagine you held an ice cube in one hand and a marshmallow in the other. While they are roughly the same size, the ice cube is heavier: It is more dense.

The first important density difference when it comes to frying is that water is more dense than oil. This has to do with how tightly the molecules of each substance pack together and how heavy the atoms are that make up each liquid.

Water molecules are small and pack tightly together. Oil molecules are much larger and don't pack together as well by comparison.

(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Food; Miscellaneous; UFO's
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To: HombreSecreto
WKRP.

Absolutely hilarious!

"As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!"

41 posted on 11/23/2021 1:10:52 PM PST by Eagles6 (Welcome to the Matrix . Orwell's "1984" was a warning, not an instruction manual.)
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To: Blueflag

“The sudden release of steam (water VAPOR) expels a flammable aerosol of cooking oil from the fryer which contacts the flame and the aerosol burns REALLY rapidly, ie “e plodes.” It’s no secret.”

Come on folks, it’s simple.

It’s the same reaction ya get when ya light up your farts.

Sudden release of steam and gas, flame, explosion.


42 posted on 11/23/2021 1:13:25 PM PST by Macoozie (Handcuffs and Orange Jumpsuits)
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To: SamAdams76

spot on don’t play trendy it’s for the kids.


43 posted on 11/23/2021 1:14:43 PM PST by Vaduz (women and children to be impacIQ of chimpsted the most.)
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To: mylife

I have fried over a dozen. There are no issues as long as the entire bird is thawed. You have to stick you hand on the inside and feel for ice crystals.


44 posted on 11/23/2021 1:17:16 PM PST by crusty old prospector
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To: mylife

If that dumb cluck actually wants an answer, somebody should tell him that it is a steam explosion from the ice in/on the turkey. That steam blows the hot oil out of the pot, which subsequently catches fire when it hits the open flame under the pot.


45 posted on 11/23/2021 1:36:02 PM PST by GingisK
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To: mylife

It’s evil spirits. Also white meat supremacy.


46 posted on 11/23/2021 1:41:31 PM PST by Billthedrill
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To: right way right

Back to front, right?...


47 posted on 11/23/2021 2:05:08 PM PST by EEGator
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To: mylife

The chef Alton Brown had a contraption using a stepladder and pulley system to lower the turkey. I thought that was a bit much, but better safe than sorry? But I leave it to the professionals: Cajuns.


48 posted on 11/23/2021 2:07:24 PM PST by BozoTexino (RIP GOP)
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To: larrytown

I had a neighbor who had a beautiful field stone hearth and fireplace built into his house. Ten feet tall, wall to wall, and the fireplace was huge, the kind you could duck your head and walk into it. Well he couldn’t resist building a nice fire after two months. The stone Mason told him six months. After three days of a nice roaring fire the entire east end of his house exploded from the superheated steam trapped in the mortar and stone. Rubble everywhere. The family was in the kitchen when it blew.


49 posted on 11/23/2021 2:24:13 PM PST by blackdog (Jab Dodger. )
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To: EEGator

Right to Left.


50 posted on 11/23/2021 3:39:09 PM PST by right way right (May we remain sober over mere men, for God really is our only true hope. )
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To: cyclotic
Really? I always thought turkeys could fly

Zat yew, Les?
51 posted on 11/23/2021 4:56:52 PM PST by Old Yeller (You can’t obey your way out of tyranny.)
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To: Old Yeller

Ha………..ppy. Thanks……..:……giving………….from:……….W…….:::::::.K……..:………….R………………P


52 posted on 11/23/2021 5:04:40 PM PST by cyclotic (I won't give up my FREEDOM for your FEAR)
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To: mylife

And here I thought it was the Russians all along.


53 posted on 11/23/2021 5:23:41 PM PST by McGruff
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To: SamAdams76

That was my first thought too....booze at thanksgiving did not happen when I was a kid

It was kind of religious

Second thought upon looking at your post

Mom is a stone cold early 1960s Fox of a wife mom

Leave the pearls on dear....and the heels...please..

I’m so wicked.

Milk at thanksgiving is a bit odd....we had sweet tea...with mint leaf


54 posted on 11/24/2021 9:44:11 AM PST by wardaddy (Too many uninformed ..and scolds here )
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To: mylife

It is the C4 spice....


55 posted on 11/24/2021 6:04:08 PM PST by minnesota_bound (I need more money. )
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To: mylife
Pretty much.

I remember the first year I was to do a turkey. I sweated for a week before hand, reading everything I could find on how to roast the perfect turkey. Got a letter from my grandmother.

Dear Granddaughter - A turkey is nothing but an over grown chicken. Roast it the same way you would a chicken and it will be fine.

I did and it was.

56 posted on 11/24/2021 6:13:24 PM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (add a dab of lavender in milk, leave town with an orange and pretend you're laughing with it)
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To: mylife

why do car batteries explode in salt water?


57 posted on 11/24/2021 6:15:15 PM PST by sit-rep ( )
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

Correct. Happy Thanksgiving.


58 posted on 11/24/2021 6:20:22 PM PST by mylife (Joe Biden is like bald tires in the rain, Alec Baldwin with a gun....)
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To: sit-rep

hydrogen gas


59 posted on 11/24/2021 6:21:03 PM PST by mylife (Joe Biden is like bald tires in the rain, Alec Baldwin with a gun....)
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To: sit-rep

they don’t


60 posted on 11/24/2021 6:27:20 PM PST by Repeal The 17th (Get out of the matrix and get a real life.)
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