(AP) -- Phil DeVore pulls a folded piece of aluminum from a murky pond. The aluminum looks like a piece of siding that's blown off a building, but DeVore knows it's much more valuable than that. He slips a rubber band off the aluminum and unfolds it. He likes what he sees -- 50 or 60 glistening black leeches. They're your common ribbon leeches, Nephelopsis obscura to aquatic biologists.
Store the oil to be reused in cooking or deep frying for no longer than three months and avoid re-using the oil for deep frying more than once or twice, as the smoke point of used oil is reduced after multiple uses. Avoid pouring your used deep fryer oil down the drain or tossing it in the trash.
Oil doesn't suddenly go rancid, it slowly becomes more oxidized and as it does, the flavor suffers. Different oils age at different rates. Some olive varieties make oil with more natural antioxidants which resist ageing. These oils may be good for up to 3-4 years if properly stored in unopened containers. Other oils, particularly unfiltered oils, may be unpalatable in a year even if stored well. A two year old olive oil may taste rancid to some while others don't mind it.