Fried foods make a healthy contribution to the bottom line of a food service operation.
Following good fryer operating and maintenance guidelines helps to preserve food quality while keeping operating costs as low as possible.
OPERATING GUIDELINES
Choose the right oil. Oils vary in their composition. This affects their health attributes, ability to perform well at high temperatures and the flavour they impart to food. Some of the most popular oils for deep fat frying are canola, peanut and soybean. They have favorable health profiles, give foods distinct flavour and can withstand high frying temperatures.
Choose the right food. Many fried foods are prepared from frozen foods that have already been breaded, seasoned and par-fried (partially fried in preparation for deep fat frying). It is important to know the type of oil originally used as some of that oil will mix with the fry pot oil and influence the cooked food quality.
Avoid crumbs, water, air, salt and excessive heat. Load and shake fry baskets away from the fry pot area. This will help keep food particles, breading crumbs, ice crystals and extra spices from falling into the oil. For the same reason, seasonings should be added away from the fry pot area too.
Cover the fry pot when not in use to minimize exposure to air, which degrades oil, and to help prevent contaminants from falling into the oil.
Excessive and prolonged heat reduces oil’s cook life. Fry at temperatures of 350 F or below. Reduce the temperature during idle periods and turn-off when not in use.
Skim frequently. Use a screen skimmer to remove floating particles, stopping prolonged cooking that reduces oil life.
Maintain correct oil level. Most fry pots have two fill lines. When cold filling, fill to the bottom line as the oil will expand when heated. The top fill line represents the maximum amount of oil the fry pot can hold at cooking temperature. Keeping hot oil near the top line ensures foods will be totally submerged in the oil during cooking.
Monitor oil quality. As oil is repeatedly heated and exposed to food, cook life will decline. While food colour and taste are good indicators of oil quality, measuring total polar materials (TPMs) – by-products created by frying – precisely determines an oil’s end life. Commercially available meters such as the ebro http://www.ebro.de/en oil quality meter can provide reliable readings in seconds.
MAINTENANCE GUIDELINES
Filter fryer oil. Most fryer manufacturers recommend that oil be filtered at least daily. Filtering removes crumbs and sediment. Their removal slows the creation of contaminants that degrade oil quality.
High-volume operations and those frying wet or heavily battered foods are advised to filter more often. Fortunately, many fryer offerings have convenient, built-in filtration options that provide for a rapid filtration cycle.
Not all filter mediums are of the same quality. Those with the lowest micron filtration levels remove the greatest amount of contaminants, minimizing the carbonization of foods and build-up of residue in the fry pot.
Calibrate fryer thermostat. Employees should regularly check the actual temperature of the oil and compare to the reading on the fryer thermostat. Recalibrate the thermostat as necessary (refer to oil cooking temperature above).
Use a boil-out product. At least weekly, employees should perform a boil-out procedure that removes carbon build-up accumulated on the fry pot and frying accessories. This is also a convenient time to clean stainless steel fry baskets and utensils by placing them in the fry pot along with the boil-out product.
Wipe out the fry pot. After a boil-out, the inside of the fry pot should be wiped dry with a soft cloth or paper towels – not fry pot-fired and heat-dried – before refilling.
Take care of equipment and equipment will take care of the bottom line.
Linda Brugler is a senior product manager at Frymaster, a Manitowoc Foodservice company. For more than 70 years, Frymaster has been providing premium commercial fryers and world-class service to food service operators. Frymaster is also the founding partner of the FitFrying Partnership, a collaborative effort of non-profit companies formed to guide industry-wide healthier frying efforts. One of the initiatives is FitFrying an online resource that provides information on issues related to frying best practices. For more information, contact Linda at 1.800.221.4583 or lbrugler@frymaster.com.
