While called a deep-fat
fryer,
all food floats in hot oil and it cooks in the top two inches of the fryer so you
need to be careful not to choose a fryer which is too big for your needs.
Another mistake when choosing a deep fat fryer is to take a particular day when
frying capacity is high, such as fish and chips being popular on a Friday, and buy
a fryer as if demand were that high every day.
The industry-wide performance measure of a deep-fat fryer is usually given in weight
of chips per hour the fryer can cope with. On face value, that sounds a level playing
field, but it is not. Pounds of chips per hour assumes an even demand throughout
the day, which seldom happens. For many caterers there is a huge burst of demand
for chips at midday, so basing fryer needs on what the output of chips is over an
hour doesn't reflect what the kitchen actually has to produce in a much shorter
time than an hour.
Another point to consider when looking a chips-per-hour ratings between different
fryers is to ensure that the same type of chip is being rated by each manufacturer.
Fry times will vary considerably between frozen chips, chilled chips, blanched chips
and the size of chips. The best way of finding out the size and power of fryer needed
is to ask a manufacturer to calculate the capacity based on your weekly throughput
of fried foods. You might want to buy our commercial
chip scuttles
or
donut fryers.
Choosing between a Gas Fryer or Electric Fryer?
There is no clear answer to which is better, both have their own distinctive advantages.
The general rule of thumb is that
electric fryers
are cheaper to buy and suitable for low to medium volume needs. If the kitchen is
churning out high volumes of fried product, particularly chips, then
gas fryers
may be dearer to buy, but will cheaper to run. However, there have been advances
in the technology of electric fryers and the operation cost and performance between
gas and electric can be negligible. Servicing costs on gas fryers may be slightly
more expensive because of the need to check the gas system.
If the inclination is towards gas fired fryers; there are three heating systems
with no clear choice on which is the best option.
- Tube burners have wide tubes running across the lower inside of the fry tank. Inside
the tubes are gas jets which transfer the heat into the oil through the tube wall.
- The second gas system is to have a big bank of gas jets concentrated on the exterior
of the fry tank.
- The third option is a system using infra-red heaters, which give a high output of
heat.
Good Frying Practice
A problem common to all gas-fired deep-fat fryers is that the rapid transfer of
heat into the oil through a metal wall can lead to oil burn in the base of the fry
tank. This happens when food debris falls to the base of the tank and carbonises
because of the intense heat. This leads to oil taint and a breakdown of the oil.
The way to get around this used by most manufacturers is a feature called the cool
zone. This is normally a sharp depression in the base of the tank which is below
the level of the gas burners. Food debris drifts down through the oil and collects
in this cool depression, which can often be up to 30 deg C below that of the cooking
area of the fry tank. A recent development has been a high-performance flat-bottomed
gas fryer without a cool zone.
In a busy operation it makes sense to have at least two deep-fat fryers, once kept
exclusively for chips, the other frying anything else.
Electric-powered fryers which have heating elements in the tank have less of a need
for a cool zone, but some do still have them on the bigger models.
Oil Filtration
With some fryers or small counter-top models, the usual method of oil filtration
is the traditional one of a bucket, a sieve with a tea-towel in it and pouring the
oil into the bucket through the sieve. This can be both dangerous and inefficient.
It is better to buy a freestanding oil filtration system. Either way, oil should
be filtered daily.
Some fryers solve the oil filtration issue is using in-built filtration systems.
Commonly, the oil is released through the bottom of the tank while still hot through
a system of filters and pumped back into the fry tank. The whole process takes between
three and five minutes and since the most the operator does is press buttons and
open a valve, the safety risks are almost non-existent.
Cleaning a Deep Fat Fryer
A deep fat fryer is one of the workhorses of the kitchen and has almost no moving
parts and has a low maintenance cost. But that does not mean that kitchen staff
should not look after it.
The biggest maintenance job of a deep-fat fryer is the cooking oil. Cared for, it
will last many sessions without the need for changing. Used carelessly with too
high a temperature, a failure to clean and filter food debris at the end of every
kitchen session and oil can be degraded within a couple of days.
While oil is the big maintenance issue in a deep-fat fryer, it does not mean the
fryer itself can be neglected. Oil can quickly solidify and become baked onto the
frying baskets. This is not just unsightly, but can taint the oil. Regular passing
of the baskets through the dishwasher will keep the build-up down, if not totally
eliminate it.
Baked-on oil is also a problem in the fry tank and periodic degreasing with a strong
detergent during oil changes will soften the fat and a non-abrasive kitchen scrubber
or plastic bowl scraper will remove much of it. The fry tank will want thoroughly
rinsing after the use of detergent and if there are electric element or tubes in
the tank, care must be taken not to damage them.
A build up of sticky grease will happen over time around dials for power control
making them move slower. This puts stress on what are often plastic fittings and
can lead to the dial shearing on the control pin. If the control dial pulls off,
then do so on a regular basis and clean around the dial. As part of a regular maintenance
cycle by a service engineer, the dials may be stripped down, cleaned underneath
and lubricated with a long-lasting grease able to withstand high heat without dribbling
away such as lithium grease.
If there are auto-lift baskets on the fryer, then the lift mechanism should also
be kept clean, but this is another job that can be done thoroughly on a routine
service call.
It is an engineer's job to ensure that any item of equipment serviced is left in
a clean condition as well as a good working condition. If the deep-fat fryer has
been allowed to become very dirty with a high build-up of congealed oil on the casing,
the engineer may well remove it, but this is going to reflect in the cost of servicing.
Far Better that a member of the kitchen staff do the cleaning before the service
engineer arrives.
But do not allow kitchen staff to use abrasive scrubbers or powders on control dials
which could eventually remove the dial setting marks and bring about the need for
a replacement dial.
When looking after your deep fat fryer;
Do - Remove food debris from oil as directed by the manufacturer, Keep fry baskets
clean, Use an oil filtration system, Check for a build-up of grease at the rear
of the fryer
Don't - Clean stainless steel fry tanks with harsh abrasives, Overload, Allow a
build-up of grease on control dials, Damage tank heating elements during cleaning,
Allow staff to knock off excess oil with the size of the fry tank
You can buy
electric fryers,
gas fryers
and
chip scuttles
from caterstop.com