Why use a combi oven instead of a commercial fryer? There are many reasons

How does a commercial air fryer work, and why is it better than traditional oil fryers? As the name suggests, the air fryer uses high-speed hot air circulation instead of submerging food in large quantities of oil to achieve the typical fried crispiness. The reduced use of oil is where most of its health, safety, cost, and maintenance benefits come from.

Health

One of the biggest problems associated with using commercial fryers is the formation of acrylamide, a potentially carcinogenic chemical that develops during high-temperature cooking, especially in starchy foods like potatoes. What happens in commercial kitchens where fryers stay on for many hours? Prolonged exposure to cooking fumes, and therefore acrylamide, can increase the risk of respiratory problems and other illnesses for professionals in the field. In contrast, the air fryer uses very little or no oil, significantly reducing the fat content in food and lowering the risk of acrylamide formation. This allows for crispy and tasty dishes without compromising health.

Safety

Using hot oil carries significant risks of burns and fires, and creates a potentially dangerous environment for kitchen operators due to prolonged exposure to fumes and heat. The commercial air fryer produces fewer fumes and odors compared to traditional frying, helping to maintain a cleaner and safer work environment.

Costs and Maintenance

Commercial fryers require laborious and costly cleaning, often necessary to maintain hygiene and safety standards. This process is complicated by the fact that used oil must be disposed of properly, which entails additional costs and the need for storage space for the oil. The global shortage of cooking oil and a 108% cost increase since 2020 have made the use of traditional fryers even more burdensome. Despite these advantages, it must be admitted that the air fryer has many limiting features for a business: low capacity, versatility, and cooking speed, along with the need for more resources in terms of space, energy, and costs. This is where combi ovens come into play.

Have you ever considered combi ovens as a valid alternative to commercial air and traditional fryers? Combi ovens are an optimal solution, not only to reduce health and safety risks but also because they offer many other benefits to commercial kitchens. These ovens use rapidly circulating hot air around the food to achieve even and crispy cooking, but with minimal, oil thanks to a powerful fan and efficient heating element. Here are the advantages of using a combi oven instead of a commercial air fryer.

Cleaning and Maintenance

Combi ovens are easy to clean thanks to automatic washing functions and the lack of oil to manage. This advantage is doubled when considering that more effective maintenance can increase the product's durability, favoring a long-term investment.

Versatility

These are multifunctional commercial appliances that allow not only frying but also baking, roasting, grilling, and much more. This offers professionals the possibility to manage diversified menus and expand their offerings.

Space

Due to their cooking versatility, the combi oven can replace many other kitchen appliances, such as grills and steamers, freeing up valuable space and optimizing resource use.

The graph, contained in our ESG report, shows data from cooking tests conducted with our ENERGY STAR®-certified CHEFTOP MIND.Maps™ 10-tray electric combi oven compared to a classic commercial electric and gas fryer. The study shows that compared to a gas oil fryer, our certified oven can consume up to 56% fewer kWh.

Discover all our lines of commercial combi ovens!

What if you could use microwaves to speed up your preparations and air fry in a commercial combi speed oven? It’s not science fiction; this is SPEED-X™, the commercial UNOX oven capable of combining air, steam, and microwaves in the same chamber. How? Thanks to our cutting-edge technologies, it guarantees the highest quality in the shortest time possible.

Our chefs have tested it! With SPEED-X™, you can bake up to 120 fried chicken wings in just 12 minutes using the COMBI.Cooking mode! And to clean it? Not a problem! SPEED-X™ is the first combi speed oven ever equipped with automatic washing.

In our continuous search for revolutionary solutions for the foodservice world, we have developed a technology that can make a difference in all commercial kitchens worldwide. Its name is EVEREO® and it is the first hot preservation system that can keep food at the correct serving temperature for up to 3 days. Thanks to precise atmospheric condition control in the chamber, EVEREO® can preserve the consistency of fried food and keep all the food’s organoleptic properties intact, so that dishes, even after hours of storage, seem freshly cooked when served to customers.

Our "hot fridge" is HACCP certified and can perfectly preserve fried dishes, such as chicken wings and French fries, for up to 4 hours! This way, even during peak times, kitchens can organize better by preparing dishes in advance or storing food that is not served to avoid waste.

If speed of service is your priority, then you will find the hyper-accelerated column SPEED-X™+EVEREO® the solution that suits you best. Thanks to the record-breaking performance of SPEED-X™ and the preservation capabilities of EVEREO®, you can quickly handle any order. Imagine needing to serve fried chicken wings and a pizza simultaneously. With SPEED-X™, the pizza will be ready in just 90 seconds, while the wings, prepared in advance and stored in EVEREO®, can be served instantly!

Learn more about the hyper-accelerated service of SPEED-X™+EVEREO®!