C&T Design and Equipment Company, Inc.

More Food for Thought
Courtesy of SEFA Dealers and Suppliers

Frying
The life of the frying oil can be indefinitely prolonged by filtering the fat twice every day (or at the end of every shift) and then adding 10% new oil which is enough to rejuvenate the original oil. If less than 10% of the oil was absorbed by the fried products, dip out enough to permit the addition of the 10% new oil. The oil removed can be used on the griddle or for other cooking needs. For example, for a 35 lb. fryer, 3.5 lbs. of fresh oil must be added. With this method, high annual savings in fat costs can be realized.

French Fries - Temp 350°F
Size	Desired Condition	Fry Time
1/4 cut	Raw to done	5 minutes
1/4 cut	Blanched	2½ minutes
3/8 cut	Raw to done	6 minutes
3/8 cut	Blanched	3 minutes

Keep your oil at the proper temperature. (Around 340°F). Oil will breakdown at double the rate for every 10 degrees over 350°F. Keep your oil free of any contaminants such as:
Water--never load frozen foods over the frypot.
Soap--clean, rinse and dry the pot extremely well.
Salt--never salt your food over the oil.
Food Particles--filter in a consistent manner.
Air & Light--keep frypots covered when not in use.

If you fry breaded, watery or battered products in large quantities, you will need to filter more often. Remember to rinse well. Soap residue is the number one enemy of cooking fat as it accelerates cooking fat breakdown.

According to several master fry chefs, water is one of the major causes of rapid breakdown of cooking oil. Ideally, if a balance can be maintained between the frying of dry items (such as breaded products) and wet items (such as French fries) the life of the cooking oil can be considerably extended. When this is not possible, and most or all of the fried items are wet, several slices of dried bread can be nested between the twin baskets periodically, and "fried" to absorb the water which has been added by the wet products.

Refrigeration
Proper refrigeration involves both temperature and humidity control. Humidity is the presence of water, vapor in the air. It does not mean the presence of free-standing water. Refrigeration is the process of removing heat from a product...not 'pumping cold' into it.
Cold air holds less moisture than warm air.

Dirty condensers are the greatest contributors to compressor failure. Location will vary the frequency of cleaning, but it is recommended that the condenser on all your refrigeration equipment be cleaned once a month. A small brush and a vacuum cleaner are usually all that are necessary to keep your condenser clean and provide long, trouble free refrigeration.

NSF Refrigerator/Freezer Regulation
NSF has revised the equipment standard for the construction and performance of commercial refrigerators and freezers. The revision of Standard 7 affects all buffet and preparation equipment. These types of units must maintain product temperature between 33°F and 41°F in an 86°F ambient for a period of four hours. This new stricter standard will be enforced.

Because of increased regulations and concerns, food safety is a major issue for the operator. 56% of food borne illness is caused by improper cooling. Blast chillers are designed to combat this problem. Blast chilling is the rapid cooling of cooked foods from 140°F to 40°F in two to six hours. It is accomplished with the use of cold convected air either by pulling heat from the food and/or pulling heat across the food.

Disposers
The food waste that is processed by a disposer is 100% biodegradable. Using a disposer helps ease the strain on our country's landfills.

The following chart shows garbage disposer sizes by horsepower and meals served

HORSEPOWER
Persons Per Meal	At Dish Table	Veg. Prep.	Salad Prep.	Pot Sink
Up to 100	3/4	1/2	1/3	1/3
100 - 150	1	3/4	1/2	1/2
150 - 175	1¼	1	3/4	1/2
175 - 200	1½	1½	3/4	3/4
200 - 300	2	1½	3/4	3/4
300 - 750	3	1½	3/4	3/4
750 - 1500	5	3	1½	1½
1500 - 2500	5	3	1½	1½

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