Why does oil in a frying pan, sometimes pop while it heats up ?

Question

I am curious as to what causes this issue where sometimes my oil seems to explode upwards and splash all over my kitchen.

It never seems to happen when the Oil is fresh.
It stops happening once the Oil gets hot enough.

But why ?!

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

It’s water. There’s a test for the presence of water in lubricating oil called the crackle test

“The crackle test is a standard laboratory test to detect the presence of water in lubricating oil. A drop of oil is placed on a hotplate that has been heated to approximately 400° F. The sample then bubbles, spits, crackles or pops when moisture is present.”