12.06

White paper

Manage Your Oil for Healthier, More Profitable Frying
Executive Summary
Plenty of bad news has been published recently about deep frying and the detrimental health effects of trans fats commonly associated with frying oils. What is rarely pointed out in the popular press is that the nutrition value in deep fried foods varies widely in practice and depends on the type of food, the quality of cooking oil, and frying time and temperature. Many foodservice operators with a frying program are aware of alternative zero-trans fats cooking oils, but are concerned about the higher cost. It is true that frying oil is typically the largest cost component in a frying program. That makes it all the more important for operators to maximize its useful life. By adopting good oil management practices, operators can extend the life of frying oil by a significant amount. These savings can be put toward healthier frying oils and more efficient fryers which reduce oil consumption even further. Thus, operators can begin to serve healthier fried foods and earn a reasonable profit. Good oil management practices begin with an understanding of what common conditions break down cooking oil and how to counter them. Frequent filtering is the best way to preserve oil quality. Fryers with built-in filtration systems make filtering fast and easy. Oil testing and filter media selection are also important elements of good oil management. Producers of cooking oils have recently introduced popular blended oils that offer low or zero-trans fats in a highly stable form. Make sure your suppliers are working to help you obtain the frying oil and fryers that are right for your menu, volume and labor/training situation. You can fry healthier and make more money doing it!

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12.06

White paper

Manage Your Oil for Healthier, More Profitable Frying
Introduction
Like it or not, commercial frying is a fundamental method for preparing popular, inexpensive restaurant food. Why the qualification? Alongside the two other most common cooking methods—grilling and baking—frying has acquired the reputation of being the least healthy. In the wake of the latest wave of publicity and hand-wringing over the dangers of trans-fats, deep frying has again been held up as the bad boy of commercial cooking. There is both good news and bad news in this for people who enjoy fried foods and for the vast number of restaurants and foodservice suppliers that depend on frying for a major source of business activity. The bad news, of course, is just that. All the negative press surrounding trans fats has rekindled a public-sector panic about the problem of obesity in this country, which in turn is increasingly being blamed on the purveyors of fried foods. Obesity in the United States is not a new problem. And trans fats and frying are certainly not the only culprits and may not even be a significant contributor. (Excessive amounts of sugars and carbohydrates, lack of exercise and behavioral issues are some of the others.) Yet, this summer the Chicago City Council has seen fit to propose a ban on the use of oils containing trans fats in restaurants. The good news is that all fried foods are not created equally. There are good frying habits and bad frying habits. And some that are downright awful. Good frying habits include using healthier high quality oils, filtering frequently, discarding degraded oil, and using fryers that recover temperature quickly. Good frying habits produce fried foods that look better, taste better and are better for you. Restaurant operators faced with doing good or earning a living will wonder how much the choice is going to cost them. That’s where the news gets even better. With the right

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equipment and proper oil management practices, operators will not only serve a healthier, tastier product but will earn more money doing it! How is this possible? Aside from the food, frying oil is by far the most expensive component in