Baking & Snack - April 2015 - 95

browning," explained Don Giles, director of sales, snack
processing equipment systems, for the Haywood, CAbased company. "Oil temperature can be kept below
248°F (120°C), the point at which acrylamide forms."
The company further adapted its vacuum frying system
by unitizing it. In other words, it is built without an external vacuum enclosure. The new design greatly facilitates
access for cleaning and maintenance, Mr. Giles noted.

Batch advances
When commercial fryers were first invented, all were
batch systems. This cooking style yields a unique
crunchy texture, so its products remain popular.
Changes to the technology maintain this point of differentiation but add considerably to output volume.
Now able to produce more than 500 lb per hour of finished kettle-style potato chips, Heat and Control batch
fryers are being built with frying areas enclosed with a
hood for safety to protect oil quality and to reduce energy
costs. "The hood retains heat for high energy efficiency,
blankets the oil with steam to purge oxygen to prolong
oil life, reduces exhaust volume ... and includes a cleanin-place system to reduce sanitation labor," Mr. Giles said.
Continuous removal of fines, an exhaust oil mist eliminator, an automatic chip stirring system and PLC controls
are other features.
The new kettle-chip fryer introduced in March by
PPM is based on continuous production methods. "The
problem with frying chips in batches is that when you
want to increase throughput, you have to add more
kettles," explained Nathan Lee, PPM's vice-president of
sales, US and Canada.
"With kettle chip fryers, it's a matter of balancing cooking temperatures and time duration," he continued. "By
adjusting those, you can adjust the product. The new
fryer features multiple heating zone technology that gives
much greater control over temperature. We've been able
to increase the duration in the fryer by adjusting the temperature settings as the chips progress through the fryer."
Oil inlet ports spaced along the length of the fryer
create the multiple temperature zones. "It is a completely
different way of managing oil," Mr. Lee explained. "A
programmed temperature profile controls the oil heat,
adjusting it up and down through the duration."
A similar situation pertains to oil-popped ready-to-eat
popcorn. It, too, usually employed batch methods, and
raising output required adding popping kettles. The new
system premiered by PPM feeds unpopped corn into the
system at a constant rate. "We applied our star wheel fryer
technology, resulting in continuous popcorn preparation,"
Mr. Lee explained. Capacity reaches 500 lb per hour.
Many advances in frying equipment involve design,
construction and fuels. For example, Moline was able

to
eliminate
welded joints in
oil inlet headers and
tube bundles by using
special tube bending and
automated welding processes. "We also improved oil circulation piping in our heat exchangers for greater durability and more
sanitary operation," Mr. Moline noted.

Construction and cleaning
Computer modeling enabled Heat and Control to move
to unitized design, according to Mr. Giles. "That maintains precise pan and conveyor integrity, reduces cleaning
requirements and improves long-term reliability," he said.
The company took a modular approach for its new
UPC Universal Product Cooker, a continuous frying
system. "It allows unlimited adjustment of frying time,
temperature and oil flow in each module to produce
chips with specific texture, moisture and color qualities," Mr. Giles said. Users can process traditional potato
chips with little or no slice washing and make kettlestyle chips, plantain and multi-grain chips, and selected
pellet and extruded snacks in one fryer.
Another manufacturer took a close look at product
movement within the fryer and made changes. "The
new Kemper belt-turning station eliminates the problem incurred on many high-speed lines, where it is
very difficult to flip products of different sizes," said
Patricia Kennedy, president of WP Bakery Group.
Additionally, an adjustable infeed lets the operator
swim or flip products into the frying oil. "Different
methods are required for different products, which
increases the line's flexibility," she said.
Cleaning presents additional challenges. WP
Riehle put hydraulic lifting systems on its fryers. "At
the touch of an on-screen button, this lifts the complete transport and heating system out of the fryer,"
Mr. Allsopp said. "This means access to the oil tub is
easy from all sides, and no tools or other equipment
are required." The lift supplements a continuous filter
made of 30-μm stainless steel.

An automatic sediment removal
system characterizes this electric
fryer, designed for easy cleaning
and maintenance access.
Moline Machinery

Sustainability quotients
Another wrinkle in choosing commercial fryers is meeting environmental restraints and operating them according to the sustainability expectations of customers
and consumers. Saving energy costs by selecting efficient heating methods serves the bottom line, too.
Fryers discharge a lot of heat in their exhaust, but much
can be used to reduce oil heating costs. Mr. Giles reported
that Heat and Control's booster heater and KleenHeat

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