How to Ensure Quality in Fried Foods

Let’s examine these different elements and learn a bit more about quality frying.

Design, Construction, and Maintenance of Equipment

Buying equipment that is easy to operate, clean, and maintain makes everyone’s life easier. This is especially important in foodservice and restaurant operations since the persons who will be operating those units are not highly skilled. In industrial operations, fryers must be properly designed and sized for the product and scheduled volumes of food being fried. Operating an industrial fryer at less than capacity will damage oil, and, hence, food quality. If an industrial operator is not sure of volumes, it would be better to buy a small fryer and operate at full capacity.

And, when purchasing equipment, potential buyers must look at basic principles of sanitary design to ensure safe and hygienic operations. The American Meat Institute has defined 10 basic principles for sanitary design of equipment. Any decisions to purchase equipment for industrial frying operations should incorporate these principles into the decision-making process.

Proper Equipment Operation

Each fryer, whether purchased for industrial operations or a restaurant, will come with a detailed operating manual. This must be followed to ensure the best quality food and efficient operation. One of the key elements when operating fryers is managing temperature. Ideally, fryers should be operated at temperatures as low as possible to ensure the production of high-quality foods. Raising temperatures by 10 degrees C will double the reaction rates and, therefore, the rate of oil degradation. So, increasing operating temperatures is never the answer to an operational issue. Another key element for maintaining oil quality is how down time is managed. It is best to drop the temperature in the fryer during lunch breaks or slack times in restaurants.

Properly Clean Equipment

It is imperative that fryers be properly cleaned when needed. The product mix, type of product, equipment operation, and frying processes all have an effect on how dirty a fryer might get. One of the major concerns is polymer formation on the surface, which means that aggressive cleaning chemicals such as sodium hydroxide-based cleaners must be employed. Most cleaning compounds contain materials such as sodium or calcium salts. The cleaning process must not only remove the soil, but also make sure that cleaning chemical residues be removed. The progression of cleaning, therefore, would be as follows: empty the fryer, rinse to remove gross soil, implement caustic cleaning, drain the fryer, rinse to remove cleaner residue, and, finally, use an acid rinse to neutralize and remove any residual cleaner. The last step should be a water rinse. It is imperative that the system be properly drained. If any water remains in the fryer, there is a potential safety issue. If there is a significant amount of polymer on the surfaces of the fryer, it must be removed by scrubbing. If an operator fails to remove soap residues and moisture, that residue will react with the cooking oil and water to form soaps. Soaps will act as prooxidants with the potential to damage the oil and reduce its useable life.

Minimize Exposure to UV Light

UV light will catalyze oxidation of fats and oils at the double-bonds in the unsaturated triglycerides. The end result of these reactions may be compounds that will act as prooxidants that will further damage the oil. The answer to this issue is simple—select lighting that does not generate ultraviolet light. Avoid fluorescent lighting.

Keep Salt and Other Minerals from Oil

Metals will also catalyze oxidation reactions. When looking at the reactivity of metals, the progression of reactivity is:

Copper > Brass > Iron > Zinc > Stainless Steel > Magnesium > Calcium > Sodium