Frying Without Trans Fats
Trans fats are created when any liquid oils are made into solids by a process called partial hydrogenation. This increases shelf life and flavor stability, but at the cost of increased
health risks. These fats have been found to raise blood levels of LDL (or “bad”) cholesterol. That means a significantly increased risk of heart disease.
Processed foods such as margarines and shortenings, French fries and other fried snack foods are big sources of trans fats, as are other non-fried snack chips, mayonnaise-type salad dressings, donuts, cookies, cakes, crackers, and microwave popcorn.
A new regulation requiring manufacturers to list trans fats on their retail products’ nutrition information panels doesn’t yet apply to foodservice products. However, foodservice operators know that they share the responsibility for providing good food that can be part of a healthy diet. For foodservice, the deep-fryer is the most visible source of trans fats—for operators and their customers.
Most of the 878,000 restaurants in the U.S. have fryers, and those fryers use almost 18,000 tons of fat each year, much of it partially hydrogenated fat and oils. These restaurants are looking at ways to reduce trans fats in their menu items without cutting out taste.
One alternative gaining interest is an oil called low-linolenic soybean oil, made from a specially-bred soybean. It was developed specifically to replace partially hydrogenated oils and can be used alone or in blends with other vegetable oils that have low or no trans fats to decrease or even eliminate trans fats in the foods fried in it.
For a free sample of one of these low-lin soybean oils, click ……. And, when you switch to trans-fat-free frying, be sure to tell your customers, with in-store signage or through your local press.
Learn more and apply for a Free Sample Case at www.ZeroTransSoy.com.
Chef2Chef News Desk