Restaurant Equipment Buyers Guide : fryers

Basic Components of a Fryer

Most fryers feature stainless steel on the front, sides, doors, and basket hangers. The food rests in a frypot made of insulated steel. All sides of a fryer are welded for a professional look. The frypot is typically designed as an "open pot" which allows for easy maintenance and cleaning by hand. The "cold zone" collects crumbs and oil from the cooking area.

Thermostats keep the oil temperature precise, typically 350 - 400 degrees. In particular, a 1 degree action thermostat keeps the temperature steady and cooks the food uniformly. It also extends the life of your cooking oil or shortening. A centerline thermostat senses frozen food items immediately and gets the cooking process started more quickly. Your fryers thermostat might work together with jet burners, which raise the cooking surface to allow the flames to flow freely.

• Disconnect-valve combo: Prevents intentional or accidental disconnect of the gas until the gas is completely shut down. This also helps protect your fryer from growing bacteria.
• Drainboard: Collects excess grease and can double as a cover for the frying area when not in use
• Submerger screen: Provides food with direct contact with cooking oil without the threat of the food falling into the pit
• Ribbon design: Offering uniform heat transfer for thorough cooking
• Melt cycle: For liquefying shortening for cooking
• Solid state controls: Digital readout of the temperature, signal lights, and on/off switch
• Extra large capacity frypots: For cooking larger quantities of food quicker
• Twin kettles: Fries different types of food simultaneously without flavor transfer

Gas vs. Electric Fryers

Your first major decision in selecting a commercial fryer will be to decide between a gas powered fryer or electric powered fryer.

Gas fryers are cheaper to operate and recover heat more quickly. Also, high-end gas fryers heat up faster than any other type. Gas fryers can use natural or propane gas and may include filtration systems underneath for draining.

Electric fryers use the highest number of BTU, but are the most efficient. They feature more safety measures and enhanced controls for temperature and time limits. With electric fryers, a low-watt design that extends the life of both the heating elements and the oil or shortening. Electric fryers are also preferable for businesses that move frequently or reorganize the kitchen- they disassemble quickly for easy portability and storage.

Floor Models

Floor model fryers are most common and can have pot sizes ranging from 35-110 pounds of oil.

Counter Top

Do not let their small size fool you. These counter top fryers can do everything their big brother can, just on a small scale. These are great for small areas of for a restaurant that has small frying needs. Countertop fryer pot sizes range from 15-35 pounds of oil.

Fryer Purchasing Checklist

How much food do I need to prepare in a fryer every hour?
Will I need multiple fryers to cook different types of food?
Can the fryer handle the workload without downtime?
Do I have enough space for a large commercial fryer?
How much money can I budget for this purchase?
Should I purchase a gas- or electric-powered model?
What safety precautions are included?
Is my fryer easy to clean?
What kind of warranty will I get from the dealer or manufacturer?

Other Considerations

You need to know how much space you have for your fryer, the quantity of food you need to cook at a given time, and what type of foods you will cook. Its probably best that you do not use the same fryer for all kinds of foods at one time: you would not want to cook a funnel cake in the oil that was used for a batch of fried fish.

Maintaining the quality of your fryer starts with quality oil filters. They prolong the life of your cooking oil while collecting crumbs and other food debris you dont want to serve to customers. No matter how good your filters are, be sure to change the cooking oil frequently as excessive use can affect the taste and quality of the food.

Consider a transfer system to remove old oil from your facilities. Transfer systems will keep track of cooking oils degradation rate - its recommended that you replace the oil when the level exceeds 24% or when food quality and taste suffers. When you remove cooking oil, always use solid steel containers to transport the waste.

The best method of washing your fryer is to use soap to clean up dirty areas and then rinse the soap away with a vinegar solution, which helps remove the film soap can leave behind.