There’s a serious problem with FOGs. Often, some of the fats, oils and grease we use as we cook ends up slipping down our drains and into the sewers where it cools and solidifies. Over time, FOGs accumulate in those sewers and form fatbergs which block the tunnels and cost water companies thousands of pounds and man-hours to remove. While the impact of fatbergs on the environment is bad enough, recently, we’ve seen the costs being passed onto food-businesses in the form of hefty fines – Hypergoods Ltd. was fined a massive £420,000 just a couple of months ago.
Luckily, there are a few ways food businesses can avoid contributing to the FOG problem in the first place and so dodge those pesky financial penalties, from installing ever-needed grease traps to investing in some of the following bits of quality cookware:
Top of the list has got to be:
The Synergy Grill
Synergy grills represent the pinnacle of clever cooking: producing clean, tasty, succulent char-grilled results which look and smell fantastic.
With low smoke output, there’s also little chance of flavours transferring between pieces of food -- meaning these grills are safe for vegetarians, who can enjoy their chargrilled vegetables without a hint of the chicken which was cooked just a little way away.
Not only that, but these impressive bits of kitchen kit atomise grease and fat while you cook.
With no need for a fat-tray, atomising the grease means these easy-to-clean grills collect a layer of dry and dusty debris which can be simply vacuumed away once the racks are removed.
Saving time and money, with this atomisation of fats, oils and grease these grills are a sure way to prevent stray FOGs from making it down the drain and into the sewer.
But, if you’re a fryer, not a griller, there’s an alternative for you, too:
Valentine EVO2525 Twin Tank FryerCommercial Fryers with Oil Filtration
Deep fat fryers can be a strain on a food business’ bank balance, with the need to replace so much oil so regularly meaning money often goes down the drain – not to mention the used cooking oil which, often, no one knows what to do with.
Filtration is the answer. Filtering the debris out of the oil in your fryers means that the oil can be kept clean and re-used so that the same oil can last longer. Overall, that means a reduction in the amount of oil you use, saving you money and reducing the amount of grease which ends up dripping into the sewer system.
You can buy fryers with in-built filters as standard or alternatively there are models that have a pumped filtration option such as the Valentine EVO2525 Twin Tank Fryer. If you are working with multiple frying appliances however, it might be worth looking for a Vito Oil Filtration System.
Vito Oil Filtration
Vito 80 Oil Filtration SystemThese Vito Oil Filtration machines are able to micro-filter the oil in any fryer if left to work their magic – they’ll suck the oil out of your deep fat fryer while it’s still at full working temperature and, five minutes later, it will have cleaned the oil of all visible debris and leave your fryer ready to work once again, with good-as-new oil with a much-improved taste.
Of course, with the FOG problem looming over us, and with health obsessions spreading across the nation, you might even want to forgo that taste and ….
Avoid Oil Altogether:
Non-Stick Cookware
If that sounds like you, investing in some trusty Non-Stick Cookware may be the way to go.
The product of a 1938 experiment, these very familiar pots and pans with their polytetrafluoroethylene coating mean your food doesn’t need to be coated in grease to stop it sticking to the sides of the pot. That gives you the opportunity to cut down or cut out the FOGs which you might use in a non-non-stick pan.
Instanta SVP38 Culinaire Premium Sous Vide Water BathThe Sous Vide Method
For a step beyond the familiar, you might want to check out Sous Vide machines.
Though the Sous Vide cooking method has been around for much longer, in one form or another, than non-stick pans, this method nevertheless retains a flavour of the future: the food is placed in bags, the bags are submerged in water baths and the water is heated to a very precise temperature.
The food cooks in its own juices and, once heated through, it can stay sitting in the same water bath without over-cooking – a great gift for any always-in-a-rush chef who sometimes forgets to pull dishes out of the oven at just the right moment.
Of course, cooking convenience and the ability to produce reliably excellent food, time after time, aren’t the only things going for the Sous Vide method.
Without the need for oil-cooking, you won’t be seeing any FOGs sneaking their way down the plughole, you won’t see fatbergs being hauled out of a sewer near you, and you won’t see the water company inspectors come knocking, any time soon.
Persuaded?
Cater for your impulse today by investing in some quality catering equipment which will produce great food without endangering your drains!
