FRYING BEST PRACTICES CHECKLIST
We thought we would compile a frying best practices checklist to help get the best out of your oil. It might be a good idea to have an oil management schedule that you can refer too.
Our tips are an excellent place to start; they are by no means everything you can do to make oil last longer. You must choose the right frying medium, which is stable, it is best to avoid oils high in polyunsaturated fats.
FRYING TEMPERATURES
Temperature is critical. Gradually bring the heat up slowly until the oil is between 180 and 188 degrees Celsius. If the temperature of the oil is too low, you’ll get oily food. If the temperature is too high, the oil will start to burn. If you have a modern frying range, try not to bypass the melt cycle, which will gradually increase the temperature in stages.
SKIMMING
Use a skimmer to remove scraps from your frying oil safely. A skimmer helps you remove excess batter and small pieces of food out of the oil in your fryer, keeping it fresher for longer use and better-tasting food. I cannot stress how this simple action is one of the most important first lines of defence for oil management.
CONSISTENT OIL LEVELS
Do not allow the pan to be under-filled if the pan is too low, your temperature will overshoot, and your oils will breakdown faster. On the other hand, only add oil to the fill line. An overfull fryer is an accident waiting to happen, as the oil can boil over very easily if it is too full. A pan with too much oil will be harder to keep hot and will not recover as fast.
CHECK TEMPERATURES REGULARLY
At least once a week you should use an external thermometer and check the oil temperatures independently, if your oil temperatures do not match the display temperature then you need to call your range servicing company.
DISCARD EARLIER RATHER THAN LATER
If the oil is clouded or if the oil starts to foam or has a foul odour, taste, or smell, discard it. It is best to discard before you need too.
FILTER TWICE A DAY, EVERYDAY
Clean frying oil is essential to have consistent food quality. Without filtering, there will be too many unknowns in your oil, and they will be increasing daily.
REGULAR BOIL OUT’S
You should boil out your pans regularly. If you have a pan for fish and another for chips and don’t mix fry, then you can probably have a light boil out every six weeks. On the other hand, if you mix fry and fry meats and lots of frozen items, then you might want to have a boil out fortnightly.
COVER PANS
At the end of a shift, you should use the lids to cover the pans; this reduces any foreign bodies falling into the oil. It is also a good health and safety measure.
RESPECT RECOVERY
If you don’t wait for the pans to increase in temperature, then your food will not only be soft and oily, but you will be introducing a lot of water into the pan. Sometimes it is faster to be slower.
ECO MODE or OFF
If you aren’t sure how busy you will be or quieter than usual. Instead of turning down the pan temperature or eco mode why not go through melt cycle and leave pan off, if you get busy then you are ten minutes away from use, and there will be reduced oil degradation.
COUNTERTOP FRYER
It might not seem like a big deal, but taking the meat and frozen products out of your main pans will give you not only a better product but longer life from the oils.
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