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Perfect French Fries at the Pool Side Thanks to Professional Management of Deep-Frying Oil
To make consistently good French fries at an outdoor pool or anywhere else, you need more than the right temperature. What’s critical is to keep the frying process under constant control and regularly check the oil quality. By taking objective measurements, businesses can determine the optimal time to change their frying oil, enabling them to cut costs and maintain uniform high quality.
French fries have to be crispy and golden brown on the outside and soft and juicy on the inside. This is what guests expect, whether ordering them at an outdoor pool, a chain restaurant or a mass catering facility. But the key to high-quality results is not only the variety of potato or the type of deep fat fryer. The process temperature and the age of the frying oil are also vitally important. With professional frying oil management, it is possible to monitor both of these factors.
Practical experience has shown that optimal frying outcomes for French fries and similar products can be achieved at about 175° C. This temperature offers a balanced compromise between water removal, crust formation, browning and oil stability. If the temperature is too low, frying takes longer, the potatoes absorb more fat, and they are often less crispy. If it is too high, the oil increasingly deteriorates and ages faster. What’s important is not only the target temperature, but also the ability of the system to keep the temperature constant throughout the frying process.
When to change: not too soon and not too late
The quality of the frying oil has a crucial influence on the result. Through oxidation, polymerization and hydrolysis, frying gives rise to so-called total polar materials (TPMs). These are various polar degradation products, including free fatty acids, monoglycerides, diglycerides and other oxidation products. The TPM value adds up these components and is considered a meaningful indicator of frying oil quality. In contrast to a purely visual assessment, it shows objectively to what extent the oil is exhausted and when changing or filtering is appropriate.
Interestingly, completely fresh oil does not always make for the best French fries. The typical frying aromas and qualities that ensure uniform browning and a crispy surface only develop with increasing use. A TPM value between roughly 14 and 20 percent is therefore regarded as optimal for taste, color and firmness. With higher values, the fries darken more quickly, absorb more fat and can decline in aroma and texture.
The permissible limits for used frying oil vary from country to country. In Germany, for example, oil with a TPM value of more than 24 percent cannot be used commercially because it gives rise to exponentially higher quantities of substances that present a health risk1. Many businesses replace their frying oil at fixed intervals or check it only for color and appearance. However, these criteria do not give reliable information about the actual TPM content. Sugary products like donuts, for example, show changes in the color of the oil much more quickly although the percentage of polar degradation products is not yet critical. Conversely, oil that looks good can already have a high TPM value.
Measuring instead of estimating
This is where the testo 270 BT frying oil tester comes in. It directly measures the TPM value as the key indicator of quality in hot oil and relays its results via Bluetooth to the testo Smart App, which documents them automatically. Needs-based frying oil management encompasses both the targeted replenishment of fresh oil and determining the optimal time for an oil change. When this type of oil management is combined with stable temperature control, regular filtration and consistent documentation, businesses can continuously manage frying oil quality and determine the appropriate time for replacement. This reduces unnecessary oil consumption, contributes to consistent results and strengthens compliance with regulatory requirements. Frying oil management from Testo can reduce costs by up to 20 percent.
For more information on how to optimize your frying oil management, download our white paper here.
1The permissible limits vary from country to country. In Spain and France, for example, the value must be less than 25 percent, whereas in the UK and the US, 24 percent is only a guideline value and is not required by law.