CARE OF FAT
In three to six months you may spend as much for fat as you paid for your kettle. So fat is an item you want to know all about; how to select it; how to manage it. The more production you can get from each pound of fat, the more profitable your frying operation will be.
To get a high rate of production per pound of fat you have to avoid two things. One is early breakdown and spoilage of the compound so that you have to throw it away before it does enough work to "earn its keep." The other is excessive sponging up of fat by the food being fried.
The main cause of fat breakdown is excessive heat. On the other hand abnormal absorption is caused by frying too long at too low temperatures. One answer to both problems is exact control of heat — so that fat neither smokes up nor soaks up.
Of course, no fat "keeps" forever. Not only heat, but air and moisture, salt particles and crumbs of food work to break it down. But you can slow up fat deterioration by maintaining proper temperatures and by draining your kettle, filtering or straining the fat once or twice a day and by keeping the kettle itself absolutely clean.
A number of commercial devices and materials are available to aid in eliminating fat impurities. There are several excellent models of pressure filters as well as
However, no purification device will renew broken down or rancid fat or put new life into it. Once you have allowed fat to break down it becomes unsuitable for frying — in fact browning is impossible.
In addition to filtration, you can prolong the usefulness of fat by sweetening it with fresh compound every day
-replacing about 15% of the bulk you started with. If you do enough frying so that normal absorption of fat in food amounts to 15% to 20% of the capacity of your kettle every day - then you can call that your
10 POINT PROGRAM
TO PRESERVE FAT AND PRODUCE THE FINEST FRIED FOODS
1.Choose a fat that does not break down quickly.
Hydrogenated shortening, corn, and peanut oils are less likely to break down under high temperatures.
2.Do not fry foods at temperatures above those recommended. The higher the fat temperature, the more rapid the rate of fat deterioration.Above
400°F fats quickly deteriorate.
3.During short intervals between frying, turn the heat down. Do not keep heat on for long periods between batches.
4.Keep fat clean. Strain or filter daily or at end of each shift. Add at least 15% fresh fat to your kettle daily.
5.At least once a day, cool a small amount of fat and taste it to see if it has picked up foreign flavors.
6.Discard fat that tends to bubble excessively before food is added.
7.Do not overload
8.Never salt foods directly over fat, salt in fat reduces its life.
9.Raw, wet foods, such as potatoes and oysters, should be drained or wiped dry before frying to extend the life of the frying fat. Have foods to be fried at room temperature.
10.Keep fat temperatures below smoking point to minimize frying odors.
