Great food starts with great ingredients. With deep-fried food, the most important ingredient is the cooking oil, as the taste and aroma of the oil you choose can permeate the foods you fry.
Want to know how good a restaurant is? Check out the deep-fried foods. If the only flavor a customer tastes from a dish is “fried” and every bite from the fryer tastes the same, whether it’s a french fry or an asparagus stalk—then the restaurant probably needs to upgrade its frying habits. This means paying special attention to two things: What oil to use, and how well it’s maintained.
Cooking Oil Options
Sysco offers a range of frying oils that won’t impart or transfer flavor. With value-driven, long fry life and sustainability options, each oil has its own special advantages.
Fry-On ZTF: This Sysco-exclusive combination of corn oil and high-oleic canola oil is a top choice for excellent food quality. Recommended for fine dining and chef-driven cuisine.
Sustain: This 100% sunflower oil is high quality—and only found at Sysco. Recommended for kitchens balancing quality and cost.
Sysco Classic: This mid-tier oil, a combination of cottonseed and soybean oil, is a great value. Recommended for high-volume kitchens where price is a factor.
Maintaining Your Fryer
Even when using the best oils, your fryer needs TLC. To keep your fryer in great shape and fried food tasting its best, Sysco recommends that you:
- Regularly verify that the oil temperature is accurate. If heat is too high, your food will develop a burned taste. If the temperature is too low, your food will taste greasy.
- Strain your oil every day to take out food particles. Left in the oil, these continue to fry, and their flavor can leach into other items.
- Check your container to make sure your oil is fresh. Because cooking oil is extracted from various plants, nuts and seeds, it has an expiration date.
- Always change the oil in your deep fryer when it darkens or it smokes at lower temperatures than usual.
Have Fun with Deep-fried Foods!
Sysco offers an array of products for your fryer, including every kind of fresh and frozen food. Try our Sysco Imperial Fried Appetizers, including exciting new offerings such as Jalapeño Poppers and Buffalo Chicken Dip Poppers to spice up your fried food offerings. Diners love to dip, so don’t forget to pair your apps with delicious dipping sauces. Ask your Sales Consultant about plus-one ideas to inspire your own creations, made with ingredients already in your kitchen.
