Prep long life frying oils last up to three times longer than standard, extended life frying oils* if you look after them carefully.
This means that you can produce great tasting & good-looking food for longer. And we are committed to helping you to do just that. Why? Because you will create happy customers, cut costs, waste less, save time and…become a prep user for life! Choosing the right frying oil for your business is the key to success, and Prep are here to help you make the right choice!
There’s plenty of information here on our website, but we have created an easy-to-use Prep Oil Management App and training programme too.
Looking after your frying oil is easy. Just follow our Top Ten Tips in our Prep: Frying Oil Management guide.
Don’t overfill the frying basket – this will result in too great a drop in temperature. Large temperature swings will degrade your oil prematurely. If the temperature drops too much then the food will absorb too much oil.
Skim regularly to remove particles – if you don’t they will carbonise, potentially produce carcinogenic acrylamides, taint your oil and shorten its life.
Remove as much moisture as you can from food before frying – water will shorten the life of your oil and reduce its performance. Also make sure you remove any excess crumbs from breaded products.
Cover when not in use – exposure to oxygen will contribute to oil degradation.
Fry at the correct temperature – too hot and you’ll shorten the life of your oil, too low and oil will be absorbed into the food, producing soggy, unhealthy results. Please refer to the Prep Frying Guide for the correct frying temperatures.
Turn off, or down, when not in use to extend the life of your oil. Oil left at a high temperature will degrade rapidly. You’ll save on the fuel bill too.
Filter daily – to extend the life of your oil – by removing contaminants. Regular filtration will increase your oil life by up to 25%.
Use Prep Sticks to tell if the oil needs changing – avoid changing before you need to, but before the quality of your food is compromised.
Clean and dry the fryer weekly, before you load with new oil – water, detergents and degreasers can degrade oil prematurely.
Dispose of used oil responsibly – via a licensed operator.
When to change your frying oil?
One of the most important parts of using frying oil is knowing when it’s time to discard it. The most obvious signs are the oil changing colour and becoming dark. The food’s taste and appearance also start to suffer, but by then it’s too late!
Regular testing will show you when your oil is getting close to the end of its useful life – long before it has a chance to ruin your customers’ well-earned meals. By implementing Prep frying oil management support, testing can be as simple as using our Prep Sticks and comparing them with the Prep colour chart.
We want to help you maximise your return on the investment you have made in Prep, through our unique oil management programme.
There is a great deal of variation in the way screens and printers display colours. So, if you would like to use our discharge chart, please order a Prep Discard Kit which contains a poster with accurately matched colours.
Acrylamide is a naturally occurring chemical substance, formed by a reaction between amino acids and sugars.
It occurs typically when foods with a high starch content, such as potatoes, root vegetables and bread, are fried, roasted, or baked at temperatures over 120°C.
Therefore, we recommend frying at a maximum of 175°C or lower if possible. Where appropriate, cook for longer at a lower temperature but always ensure foods are properly cooked!
It is widely agreed that acrylamide has the potential to cause cancer and is therefore a risk to human health. Since 2018, foodservice operators have had a legal duty to take steps to manage acrylamide in food.
Careful oil management is one of the simplest and most effective ways to comply with the legislation.
What is TPM?
Total Polar Material (TPM) builds up in the oil during regular use and measuring these levels (as a percentage) is one of the most reliable and accurate measures of oil quality and cleanliness of frying oil.
FRESH OIL: 7% TO 10%
TPM MID LIFE (OPTIMUM FRY): 17% TO 18%
DISCARD POINT: 25%
We recommend that oil be discarded when the TPM reaches 25%, in line with European legislation.
How can TPM be measured?
We recommend using a Testo 270 Cooking Oil Tester, which can accurately measure TPM levels in a few seconds. It provides clear notifications to kitchen teams, so they know when it’s time to make a change. Over time, this can help to reduce oil consumption by up to 20%, whilst guaranteeing you are cooking with clean, effective oil.
It's important to have the right tools for your oil management programme. The good news is that they're readily available from our Prep Oil Management Shop. We have gathered everything you need - so why not get kitted out today?
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