Hi Ilene,

Well, to be confusing, the answer is yes, and no. Technically, to ‘fry’ something is to cook it in oil. So if you cook something in a small amount of olive oil in a frying pan, it is a ‘fried food.’ But (and it’s a big ‘but’) when people (and nutritionist) talk about ‘fried food’ they are usually talking about deep-fried food, stuff that is totally submerged in hot oil—think French fries, onion rings, and fried clams, not sauteed green beans and stir-fries.

Here’s how I think of the different levels of cooking food in oil:

Nonstick cooking: Food is cooked in a nonstick pan that has been sprayed with a very small amount of cooking spray (oil).

Sautéing: Food is cooked in a small amount (maybe 1 tablespoon) oil in a skillet.

Shallow-frying: Food is cooked in about 1/2 inch of oil in a skillet. Fried chicken and battered shrimp is sometimes shallow-fried.

Deep-frying: Food is totally submerged in hot oil in a deep-fat fryer.

Needless to say, deep-frying will give you food with more oil, and with a higher calorie count, and nonstick cooking will be the leanest. Hope this helps!