Fats & Oils

Oils are used extensively in the foodservice industry, and this section provides a basic overview and comparison of
dietary fats and oils. It also provides information on some of the available healthy oil
alternatives.

Basic Fat & Oil Information

Not all oils are alike. This section provides information to understand what makes
oils different from each other. It also includes a reference chart that shows how the
combination of saturated, monounsaturated, and saturated fatty acids give common
oils their unique characteristics such as flavor, shelf life, and health attributes.

Dietary Fats
Fats are one of three major categories of essential dietary nutrients. This section
describes the different types of dietary fats, their health impact, and recommendations for their daily intake.

The Evolution of Frying Oil

The health concerns related to dietary trans fat have prompted wide-sweeping efforts within the foodservice industry
to eliminate them. This section discusses the growing number of trans fat-free oils now available to food
manufacturers and foodservice operators.

Omega 3,6,9
All fats are made of a combination of fatty acids. This section explains three families of fatty acids: omega-3s, 6s,
and 9s, why they are so important to health, how they are related, and what oils contain them.

Trans Fat
Cities, states, and municipalities are moving at an unprecedented rate to require the removal of unhealthy trans fat
from prepared food. This section explores what trans fat are, the dietary recommendations for intake are, the health
implications, the foodservice implications, and 0 grams versus trans fat-free definitions.

Saturated Fat
Efforts to move away from trans fat have included some substitution with fats containing more saturated fat. This
section provides a description of saturated fats, dietary sources, health implications, and dietary recommendations for
intake.

Supply and Manufacturing

Much is being done by seed companies to modify the oil produced by oil crops so that it will be heat and shelf stable
without hydrogenation, which forms trans fat. This section gives several examples of products and processes that
produce stable oils without unwanted hydrogenation.

Five Factors for FitFrying

A Healthy Opportunity to Meet Today's Frying Challenges
The Challenge
Its not easy being an operator today. It seems everyone is telling you how to cook.
With government agencies mandating menu labeling and removal of trans fat from
menus and an increasing focus on health and wellness, delivering maximum taste in
foods that are as healthful as possible is a major challenge. Consumers have made
it clear that they are not willing to compromise taste for healthfulness. If something
doesnt taste good, they wont eat it. Witness the multitude of healthy menus items
that have been deleted from menus over time because they werent ordered.

Customer Demand
Thats why fried foods are more popular than ever with patrons: they consistently deliver on flavor. Data from Mintel, a
global research company, shows that chicken wings and fingers, onion rings, and mozzarella sticks are among the
top ten appetizers on chain menus. Clearly, frying is one of the most popular cooking methods with patrons and one
that provides unique challenges.

The Opportunity
The good news is that by following a simple set of principles called The Five Factors for FitFrying, you can be
assured your frying methods address current health issues such as trans fat, while also optimizing taste and
extending oil life. The Five Factors for FitFrying program was developed by Frymaster, LLC, a Manitowoc
Foodservice company, and offers best practice guidelines for anyone serving fried foods. It consists of five steps you
can take to make sure the fried foods you prepare are flavorful and healthful.

Five Factors for FitFrying

Factor 1: Choose The Right Fryer

Factor 2: Select The Right Oil
Factor 3: Select The Right Food
Factor 4: Follow The Right Cooking Process
Factor 5: Establish The Right Maintenance

Five Factors for FitFrying

Factor 1: Choosing the Right Fryer
The first step in The Five Factors for FitFrying program is to find the right fryer for the foods you serve. This not only
helps produce higher-quality and more healthful foods, but also extends oil life. To find the perfect fryer for your
operation, evaluate your menu to determine which fryer is best suited for your needs.
The right fryer is the one that is designed to cook the foods you offer on your menu. In the broadest sense there are
two categories of fryersthose with sediment zones and those without. Sediment zones optimize the fry cycle by
allowing particles from the food to precipitate away from the cooking area into a location at the bottom of the fryer
called the cold zone. Different types of fryers offer different cold zone collection options.

Open-pot fryers have the heat transfer system outside the frypot and deep internal
sediment collection zones. They perform well in many frying applications, but are ideal for light to medium sediment
foods such as French fries and freezer to fryer foods. They can also handle heavier sediment foods with regular
filtration. This type of fryer allows every inch of the frypot to be easily accessed and safely cleaned. Open-pot fryers
are available in both gas and electric models.

Tube-type fryers have the heat exchange system inside the frypot and wide sediment
collections zones below the heat exchange tubes, making them the best choice for foods that are fresh battered or
heavily breaded such as homemade onion rings or dry dredge fish. Tube-type fryers are available in large capacity
models making them the perfect choice for foods that require a large surface area or operations that have high
capacity production needs. Tubetype fryers are only available in gas models.

Flat-bottom fryers have large frying areas and no sediment collection zones making this
type of fryer best suited for food items that float on top of the oil during the fry cycle. Good applications for this fryer
are tempora and wet battered fish.

Five Factors for FitFrying

Factor 2: Select the Right Oil
Once youve selected the right fryer for your cooking needs, the next step third factor in the Five Factors for FitFrying
is to find the right oil. Much attention and study has been given to oil in recent yearsits composition, how it impacts
the frying process, which type(s) work best with certain foods and ways to extend its life cycle.
The qualities of your frying oil impact both oil functionality and food quality. Base oils for deep-frying include soy,
canola, corn, grape seed, peanut, safflower, sunflower, blends and more. Each type of oil has unique characteristics
such as flavor, smoke point, nutritional profile and stability.
Prime considerations for foodservice oils used in deep fat frying, pan frying and griddle frying include sensory
attributes, fry life, cost, availability and nutritional considerations. Consider the features and benefits of the different
base oils as they relate to your cooking application to select the best oil for your restaurant application.

Historically, frying oil stability was achieved primarily through partial hydrogenation, an artificial process in which
hydrogen is applied to the processing of frying oil. This process often creates artificial trans fat and/or increased
saturated fat which are commonly associated with increased health risks, such as heart disease.
Given recent food labeling, nutritional and menu legislation movements and policy changes, the food industry is
seeking vegetable oils that not only have enhanced functionality but minimize levels of trans- and saturated fat.
In light of these changes, a new generation of oils has been introduced in the marketplace. Advanced plant breeding
technologies have helped create oils that provide enhanced stability and functionality for deep frying, while meeting
healthy oil requirements and often improving the mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acid (good fats) content and
removing partial hydrogenation from the label.
In addition, these enhanced oils also provide your operation with greater stability and functionality needed for deep
frying. Greater stability and functionality allow you to have a longer frylife and more versatile oil, creating savings in
your restaurants bottom line.
Examples of new generation oils include high-oleic, mid-oleic and low-linolenic varieties. Oil manufacturers also offer
blends, providing a wider variety of unique flavor profiles and performance.

Oil

Uses

Smoke
Point

Canola

Deep-frying,
High
pan-frying,
468F
sauting, baking

Canola Higholeic

Deep-frying,
pan-frying,

High
475F

Flavor Characteristics

Mild flavor

Mild Flavor

Health/Nutrition Characteristics

Low in saturated fat helps maintain

healthy cholesterol levels. .
Low in saturated fat - helps maintain
healthy cholesterol levels.

sauting, baking
Deep-frying,
pan-frying

High
453F

Olive

Sauting, stirfrying

Low to Med
unrefined:
320F
Extra
Bland to very strong,
Virgin:
depending on type
331F
Virgin:
428F

Peanut
(refined)

Stir-frying, deepHigh
frying, wok
about
cooking,
471F
sauting, grilling

Can add a rich, nutty

Contains resveratrol, an antioxidant which
taste, but does not
supports heart health.
absorb or transfer flavors

Safflower
(refined)

Deep-frying,
pan-frying,
sauting,
baking

High
446F

Bland, flavorless

High in polyunsaturated fats helps

maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

Safflower
High-oleic

Deep-frying,
High pan-frying,
468F
sauting, baking

Bland, flavorless

High in polyunsaturated fats helps

maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

Sesame
(refined)

Wok cooking,
dressings,
flavoring

Medium
410F

Pungent used to flavor High in vitamin E an antioxidant which

many Asian dishes
supports heart health.

Sunflower
(refined)

Deep-frying,
pan-frying,
sauting

High
464F

Generally bland

High in polyunsaturated fats helps

maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

Soybean Oil
High Oleic

Deep-frying,
pan-frying,
sauting, baking

Mild flavor

Highest Oleic content of any soybean oil

Mild flavor, allowing

flavor of the food to
come thru (vs flavor of
the oil itself)

Lowest in saturated fat of all oils helps

maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

Generally bland

High in polyunsaturated fats helps

maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

Corn

Soybean Oil
Deep-frying,
High Oleic
pan-frying,
Low Saturated
sauting, baking
Fat*
Sunflower
High-oleic

Deep-frying,
pan-frying,
sauting

Vegetable
(often refined
soy oil)

Deep-frying,
High
pan-frying,
453F
sauting, baking

High
478F

Light taste can be used

Helps maintain healthy cholesterol levels.
in place of olive oil

Generally mild flavor

A monounsaturated oil the green/golden

variety has more antioxidants. Helps
maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

Soy oil is high in polyunsaturated fats

helps maintain healthy cholesterol levels.
Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils
(PHVO) contain trans fat, which may

increase health risks.

From a saturated fat content, the following chart illustrates how the various oils stack up: