Baking&Snack - November 2011 - 56

FRYING TECHNOLOGY

Multiple Ways to Fry a Chip
Heat and Control, Inc., Hayward, CA, challenges the ideas about frying kettle-cooked chips with its latest innovations in continuous frying and batch frying. The Universal Product Cooker continuously produces kettle-style potato chips and many other types of snacks. The Universal Product Cooker combines independent fryer modules into one continuous frying system. Its PLC allows operators to adjust and establish frying time, temperature and oil flow in each module for each product recipe to control snack texture and moisture. The Universal Product Cooker can turn out up to 1,800 lb of finished product per hour, which saves plant floor space by eliminating multiple batch fryers and reduces energy, maintenance and cleaning costs, according to the company. Heat and Control developed its new MasterTherm Kettle Fryer to help processors meet the growing demand for kettle-style chips. While continuous systems have been used for conventional potato chips, kettle-cooked chips traditionally require smaller batch fryers. These batches range from 200 to 400 lb. The MasterTherm Kettle Fryer can fry 500 lb of finished chips per hour. “Batch-fried potato chips are extremely popular,” said Don Giles, sales director of processing systems, Heat and Control. “Developing a larger-capacity batch fryer was done to help our customers meet the tremendous demand for this product.” To achieve the higher production capacity of kettle-style chips and save energy, the MasterTherm Kettle Fryer employs a thermal-fluid heat exchanger rather than the gas burners typical of other batch fryers. The thermal-fluid system ensures the higher and more uniform temperatures needed for larger production capacity and improves product quality and energy efficiency. Heat and Control also equipped the MasterTherm Kettle Fryer with its Chip-Stirr slice agitation and batch control system. A PLC manages all aspects of the frying system including batching, slicing, depositing slices into the fryer, frying oil temperature, slice stirring, discharge and drainage of the finished product. ▶ Batch fryers such as this one can turn out 500 lb of finished products per hour.
HEAT AND CONTROL, INC.

▲ Continuous fryers can conserve plant floor space. They can also be adjusted to produce a wide variety of snack products.
HEAT AND CONTROL, INC.

by fryers, they also exhaust large volumes of surrounding air, forcing plants’ air-conditioning systems to increase energy usage, according to Heat and Control. The MasterTherm’s hood reduces the amount of surrounding air removed while exhausting fryer vapors. Heat and Control also developed other systems that reduce energy use. For instance, its Stack Heat Recovery System condenses steam from the fryer exhaust stack to make hot water for sanitation or building heat. The company offers the Combustion Air Preheat system, which introduces hightemperature air into a heat exchanger burner, reducing the fuel needed for combustion by up to 4%, according to the company. QUALITY FIRST. Although minimizing oil usage and energy waste are important to maintaining a snack producer’s bottom line, product quality and consistency remain primary concerns. “Every day, 24 hours a day, making sure the product is the same from hour 1 to hour 24 — I think that’s the biggest challenge,” said Chris Armstrong, sales, JC Ford. To maintain product quality throughout a production run, snack producers

must keep the oil clean and fresh and ensure the fryer accurately and evenly distributes heat throughout the oil. JC Ford’s fryers come with filters to maintain oil cleanliness and product quality. Most snack fryers adjust the temperature of the oil upon the loading of a product and any other temperature changes that may occur throughout the frying process. Heat and Control’s MasterTherm continuous and batch fryers distribute heat throughout the oil with a U-tube thermal fluid heat exchanger. This system maintains an even oil temperature throughout the fryer, responds to changes in the product load being cooked, both of which ensure product will be evenly cooked. Casa Herrera’s Full-Flow continuous fryer’s design creates an even temperature throughout the oil. The company also has a continuous filter and fine-removal system for its fryers that clean the oil every minute so product quality stays consistent throughout production. Between cutting down on oil usage and minimizing wasted heat and energy, the right frying system can help snack producers reduce operating costs regardless of the snack being fried. ◾

BAKING & SNACK / November 2011

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Baking&Snack - November 2011

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