When it comes to frying up delicious dishes in your commercial kitchen, the choice between pressure fryers and open fryers can make a world of difference. While they may look similar at first glance, these two pieces of equipment offer unique capabilities that can greatly impact the quality and efficiency of your food service operation. Understanding the capabilities of each allows you to leverage them fully for your restaurant, cafeteria, or other commercial kitchen.
Cooking Time Can Vary Greatly
Your open fryer allows you to prepare menu items like french fries, chicken fingers, and hush puppies using large vats of hot oil. With exposure to oxygen, oil decomposes over time. An open fryer also loses some heat during cooking. This means you must adjust cook times to allow food to cook through and develop a crispy exterior. When comparing pressure fryers versus open fryers, one major difference is cook time.
A pressure fryer allows you to cook food very quickly. Why? This cooking equipment brings food up to high temperatures very fast. Then, pressure keeps moisture inside the food. This accelerates the cooking process. Many pressure fryer models even inject super-hot steam. This further cuts down on total cook time. While an open fryer might require multiple minutes per food item, a pressure fryer can finish full batches in less than a minute!
Oil Quality Changes Over Time
Oil eventually breaks down no matter what fryer you use, from a small countertop model to a floor fryer. Factors like oxygen, moisture, and high heat accelerate decomposition. However, because a pressure fryer allows you to cook food faster, you avoid extended exposure to oxygen. This means oil stays fresher compared to an open fryer used at similar volumes.
Of course, other factors like oil filtration also play a role. But when comparing the two in terms of oil life, a commercial pressure fryer generally enables better oil quality over time. This saves you money, reduces oil disposal, and leads to tastier menu items. If producing consistent food is essential for your restaurant or cafeteria, oil quality matters!
You Can Fry More Types of Food
An open fryer works wonderfully for fried favorites like french fries and hushpuppies. But what about fried chicken? Or fish? Exposure to oxygen can lead to issues with food texture and appearance. Delicate seafood often gets overcooked on the exterior before the inside finishes. Even chicken may not develop an ideal crispy crust.
A pressure fryer’s closed environment lets you broaden your menu. The rapid steam and super hot oil ensure even thorough cooking no matter what you toss in the fry basket. From chicken wings to shrimp to pork chops and more, you can fry just about any food in a countertop or floor-model pressure fryer. This gives you more creativity and flexibility in menu planning.
Cleaning Differs Between Fryers
Keeping any commercial fryer clean takes regular effort. After all, you routinely expose the interior to hot oil and fried bits of food. An open fryer generally proves easier to clean. Models with large open vats allow direct interior access. You can scrub down between batches. Then, during deep cleaning, the open design helps you access all areas.
A pressure fryer offers less internal access, given the enclosed design. You’ll need to wipe down the interior between uses. For deep cleaning, this means partially disassembling parts of the fryer. However, because a pressure fryer extends oil life, you may find yourself deep cleaning less often. Routine interior wiping also becomes easier and faster thanks to shorter cook times. Evaluate your needs in terms of desired cleaning convenience and effort.
Contact Our Team Today
Both pressure fryers and open fryers have their own unique advantages and are suited for different types of food service operations. It is essential to consider your specific needs carefully before deciding which type of commercial frying equipment to invest in. Our experts at Taylor Enterprises of WI, Inc. are here to help you choose the perfect frying equipment for your business in the Ixonia, WI area. Contact us today at 262-567-7286 for top-quality pressure and open fryers to elevate your menu offerings.