MTI Blog | Ventless Revolution

Clean Grease is the Word – Fry Oil Management 101

Written by Bess Couture | Jul 24, 2015 10:06:14 AM

Clean grease is the word, is the word that you heard, no more grime, just good flavor!
Clean grease saves you time, saves you space, saves you money.
Clean grease is a thing you can savor!

 

It’s true, clean grease is the word. If you’re at all interested in great tasting food and saving money on fry oil, then clean grease is the goal you should strive for with your fry oil management. Today we’re going to talk about the benefits of keeping your oil clean and some strategies to assist you in that process.  We’re also going to show you exactly how much you could be saving by using our AutoFilter to keep your oil clean.

 

 

The obvious benefit of clean oil is that your food tastes its best when it’s being prepared in clean filtered oil. The reason for this is simple, as you fry food, particles of food get left behind in your fryer, either batter, breading, even proteins. As they remain in the hot oil, they continue to cook, eventually turning into a carbon which causes oil to break down, taste bad, discolor and smoke.

Some oil extending services require you to add chemicals to your oil to restore it back to its old carbon-free state. The problem with these types of fry oil management systems is that you’re simply adding one type of chemical to get rid of another. While your food may temporarily taste better, you’ve effectively flavored all future food with this new cleaning chemical. Yum….

The best way to take care of your abundance of carbons, is not to use an additive, but rather use a subtractive, something that will remove the carbons from your oil. This is typically done through a filtration system and can be completed in a number of different ways.

 

The most basic filtration system uses a bucket and a fine paper cone filter to filter the oil through. The user empties their dirty oil through the paper cone and into the bucket and is able to catch any sediment within the paper cone. Then they must wipe down their oil pot and chamber to collect any remaining sediment. The problem with this routine is that not only is your oil reliant on the paper cone to catch everything in one shot, but also you have to remove and return the oil to and from the oil pot, which can be a dangerous activity. One of the most common kitchen accidents is slipping due to oil spills on the floor related to cooking with or filtering fry oil.

The next filtration type is with an external filtering machine. These come in fully automatic, semi-automatic and manual types of operation. They all work in pretty much the same fashion, where the user drains the dirty oil into the machine, the machine passes the oil through a filter and then returns it back to the oil pot. This method does cut down on kitchen accidents as the oil return feature safely removes and replenishes oil without the user having to dump any giant buckets. Where it fails is with its limited filtration action. Most machines filter the oil only one time through a single layer filter. While this does catch some of the carbon and suspended particles, it can’t possible catch everything in one pass. Moreover, the entire process is rather cumbersome and can easily be skipped or forgotten by employees due to its long routine.

At MTI, we can guarantee the best method of filtration for AutoFry is with the AutoFilter, fully automatic oil filtration device. This small filtering device is incredibly powerful and yet sits right within your AutoFry to filter. This means you do not have to remove oil or return it to the oil pot, a huge safety feature and time saver. Most important to its superior filtering ability is the 96-layer micro fine paper filter that oil is passed through at a rate of 8 gallons per minute.  The way AutoFilter operates is to push the oil rapidly through this filter to continuously filter the oil for the duration of its filtering cycle. Unlike other machines that only filter through one time, AutoFilter filters oil over and over again, ensuring that every suspended particle and bad tasting carbon is caught in the filter and only pure clean oil is left behind.

 

Great tasting food isn’t the only reason to keep your oil clean with AutoFilter, money and time saved are also important features to discuss. Aside from the food, frying oil is the most expensive component in food preparation and the greatest factor in fried food quality. Using AutoFilter daily, as part of your fry oil management, extends the life of oil and minimizes the impact contaminants can have on the color, taste and smell of your fried foods.

Plus, by providing your employees with an easy filtration method you’ll be more likely to see them actually use it. No more having to wonder how clean your oil is based on how motivated the person who cleaned the kitchen was feeling.

Additionally, because the oil filtration method is easier, you will also cut down on the maintenance time of your machine. We all know time = money, so by giving your employees a quick and easy method of filtering oil you can be sure you’re saving big on the total cost of fryer ownership.

With improved filtration frequency and quality you will see a great increase in the lifespan of your oil. In some cases, users have seen a 50% longer oil life after they started using AutoFilter in their daily routine. You no longer have to dump your oil early because you’re unsatisfied with taste and quality of your food output, instead you can use your oil until the very end of its life.

Also, you can feel good knowing that you’re cutting down on your total carbon footprint as you reduce the amount of oil you use. By reducing your oil usage, you reduce your footprint in transportation, production and emissions related to the buying of unnecessary oil.

Finally, you’ll save more money over time by having reduced your accident insurance claims. It’s pretty simple, the less people slip and fall, the lower your insurance costs are going to be. Couple this with the low insurance costs related to having a fully enclosed fryer with its own fire suppression system and your insurance costs related to owning a fryer remain incredibly low.

 

The bottom line is with AutoFry and AutoFilter you save big. How much exactly could you be saving? Let’s take a look! Use the calculator here to determine your savings with the addition of AutoFilter to your oil maintenance routine.

 

Please note, your actual savings may be more or less depending on the actual values, taxes, and discounts.