Cooking oil extending process

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the present invention, it has been discovered that a main reason for the early disposal of cooking oil, even if filtered conventionally on the normal schedule, is because the breaded particles that escape from the food product become overcooked and burnt during the fry cycles between filterings, imparting a burnt taste and a dark color to the fried product.
If this burning of particles of breaded product could be eliminated, the oil could be used up to forty percent longer.
The obvious solution would be to perform the filtering process after every fry load.
However, such would result in fryer with a hot oil filter being unavailable up to two-thirds of the time during which its operation is needed and for cool oil filters, a restaurant would be fortunate to cook three loads a day.
The present invention provides a fine mesh pre-filter strategically placed in the fry pot, whose shape depends upon the shape of the fry pot and the operation of the particular frying machine.
It has been discovered that contrary to common belief, the cooking effect of hot oil in a fry pot is not impeded by a fine mesh down to about 16 by 16 wires per inch of 0.
018" wire.
Such mesh size provides a very fine screen that traps all but the finest particles of breading that can be integrated with the normal large mesh fry basket either internally therein, there beneath, or in the case of a Henny Penny fryer, in its heat well.
When the fry basket is removed, the fine mesh pre-filter screen can be quickly removed at the same time, the trapped particles therein shaken out, and be returned to the fry pot in thirty seconds or less.
Since this time is less than normally required to fill the fry basket, the fine mesh pre-filter can be used without decreasing the production capacity of a fryer.
When the fine mesh pre-filter is used to remove most of the volume of the particles after every fry, the oil tends to remain light in color, the taste of the fried product remains satisfactory for much more loads and the normal fines filter incorporated in modern frying machines, need be used on a much reduced schedule