Frying Trends
What's New in Fried Foods
This section explores trends in fried foods, the most popular appetizers, and the impact the growing health trend is having on menus. For the latest information on trans fat and other food news, visit the news section which is updated as relevant items become available.
In terms of food preparation in general, global food research company Mintel Menu Insights reports that frying is still the most popular method on menus.
Although the methods of frying have been long-established, the newest innovations are in ingredients and how they are used in frying. Finger foods, like wings, are enjoying strong growth, and fried items as snacks are seen as portioned treats and comfort foods. With the move to healthy oils, people are also realizing that fried foods can be part of a healthy diet.
Hot appetizers are served over three quarters of the time compared to cold appetizers according to MenuMine TREND 2008.
Obviously fried foods remain highly popular with patrons. But with growing health concerns fueled by extensive media coverage, operators have a dilemma: how to satisfy the patron’s desire for fried foods in the most healthful way.
One of the biggest menu trends fueled by health concerns relates to the use of cooking oils containing trans fat. This fat is created during the processing (hydrogenation) of oils. A new federal government regulation requiring manufacturers to list trans fat content on retail foods' Nutrition Facts panels doesn’t yet apply to foodservice products. However, operators know they share responsibility for providing good food that can be part of a healthy diet. Since fried foods are a potential source of dietary trans fat depending on the oils used to manufacture and fry them, many foodservice operations are switching to trans fat-free oils to improve the healthfulness of their fried menu items. Wendy’s recently announced that it is now cooking French fries and chicken in a blend of soy and corn oil that’s trans fat-free.
Chain officials say the move will decrease the trans fat content of a medium order of fries from 6 grams to half of one gram. The American Heart Association recommends that trans fat intake be limited to less than 1% of total calories. Recently, the city of New York took on the task of requiring restaurants to stop serving foods containing trans fat. The challenge is to reduce trans fat without cutting taste.
Alternatives gaining interest are Omega-9 canola oil and low-linolenic soybean oil, made with advanced breeding technologies. These new oils are designed specifically to replace partially hydrogenated oils. They can be used alone or in blends with other vegetable oils that have low or no trans fat to decrease or even eliminate trans fat in the foods fried in them.
Other oils, such as canola, safflower, sunflower, and olive can replace partially hydrogenated oils in a variety of applications. For more information on the attributes of different oils, refer to The 5 Factors for FitFrying section.
The bottom line is: there are an ever expanding number of food, oil and equipment solutions available to move foodservice operations toward FitFrying.