There are a number of factors to consider when you’re choosing the best deep fryer for your business. The first is to calculate what kind of capacity you need to ensure your fryer can cook enough volume to meet the demands of your clientele. Free-standing commercial deep fryers come in a range of capacities, starting at around 20 litres with single vats ranging up to three or four vats with 30 litres or more. Calculating how much food you’ll need to cook and considering whether you want to prepare multiple types of food simultaneously is key. 

Next, you’ll need to factor in how much space you have for your deep fryer and whether you would prefer a gas or electric model. If you’re buying a commercial deep fryer for the first time, additional installation and electrics may need to be installed for certain models. If space is limited in your kitchen, you may want to consider benchtop deep fryers as an alternative. 

Finally, you’ll want to decide whether you need additional functionality like temperature control, built-in filtration systems or idle mode for lulls in food preparation. 

At Restaurant Equipment Online, we source the top brands designed to withstand the rigours of modern commercial kitchens. While the best option for you will depend on the unique specifications you need from a deep fryer, some of our top brand recommendations include Luus, Fagor and FryMAX.

To help you narrow down your choices, you can contact our team for a personal recommendation regarding which brand and model will suit your preferences the best. 

Depending on the frequency of use and maintenance, your deep fryer should last you between 5 and 10 years. Regular deep fryer maintenance, including daily cleaning, filtering your oil and doing regular boil-outs, can help extend its lifespan and ensure you get the best return on investment from your deep fryer. 

Your deep fryer will come with maintenance guidelines from the manufacturer. It’s important to follow these instructions carefully and book in periodically for servicing. This also helps to ensure the quality of your food stays of a high standard every time you use it. 

Maintaining your oil and replacing it accordingly is essential for maintaining food safety and quality, along with ensuring your deep fryer is safe to use. The frequency with which you need to replace your oil will depend on how well you filter it and what temperature you’re using. The quality of your oil is also a factor, with vegetable oils like canola, peanut and safflower having higher smoke points and therefore tolerating high heat better than other oils. 

Generally speaking, you’ll want to change your oil after around 6 to 8 uses. With additional oil filtration, you can extend the uses you’ll get from your oil by up to 30%. Some commercial deep fryers come with built-in filters, while others will require you to do it manually. 

You’ll know your oil needs changing if it’s foaming while you’re boiling it, it starts to smell rancid, or it goes cloudy. If your food is coming out darker than usual, it’s another strong indicator that it’s time to refresh your oil entirely. 

To comply with safety regulations and ensure that your commercial deep fryer doesn’t overheat during operation, you will need to ensure that it’s properly vented. Ample airflow helps to remove oil from the air, preventing it from building up on the areas surrounding your deep fryer and reducing the risk of cooking fires. 

Venting also serves to prevent the temperature from getting too high, removes excess steam when your food is cooking and also removes cooking odours. Depending on the model and layout of your kitchen, your venting needs can vary, so liaising with a professional is important when installing a deep fryer for the first time. 

Technically speaking, both deep fryers and deep fat fryers refer to the same piece of equipment. The main difference is that deep-fat fryers may use a higher oil-to-food ratio to achieve a slightly different result after cooking. 

Choosing the right size for your kitchen comes down to both your space availability and how much food you need to prepare. You’ll need to measure the space you’re proposing to keep your deep fryer in, ensuring there’s adequate space for gas or electrics and ventilation. 

When it comes to how much food you need to prepare, a good place to start is by calculating how many servings you need to produce an hour. Remember that your oil-to-food ratio should be around 6:1 to get an even result when you’re looking at the oil capacity of the vat in any deep fryer model you’re considering. 

Due to new legislation, gas models can only be purchased for establishments that already have gas facilities installed. The benefit of gas models it that they have a shorter recovery time when it comes to maintaining a steady oil temperature which is important when you’re switching cooked food out for chilled food. 

While electric deep fryers are more expensive to purchase and take longer to stabilise their temperature after you add chilled food to hot oil, they carry plenty of benefits in the long term. Their temperatures are easier to control than gas equivalents, with thermostats that can be adjusted according to what you want to cook. This is a valuable feature for restaurants wanting to prepare a variety of foods in the same fryer. They’re more energy efficient than gas models and are better for high volume than gas models. 

Oil filtration systems are beneficial features for commercial deep fryers. Models without filtration are more likely to spoil faster, along with running the risk of impacting the quality and flavour of your food. Automatic filtration helps to remove some of the food debris that inevitably ends up in your oil while you’re cooking and reduces the number of labour hours needed when maintaining your fryer. 

They can extend the life you can get from your oil, reducing the volume you get through, which in turn saves you money in the long run. 

Whether you opt for a countertop deep fryer or a free-standing model will depend on the space available in your kitchen and the amount of food you need to cook. If your space is limited, countertop options still allow you the flexibility to install and move your deep fryer as it suits you. Equally, if you want to cater to specific dietary needs, whether that’s gluten-free or vegetarian, having a countertop model in addition to a freestanding deep fryer can be a valuable investment. It helps to ensure food safety and quality for your customers.