The Type Of Frying Oil Arby's Uses For Its Food

Arby's is synonymous with roast beef sandwiches, but the fried food menu also has fan favorites, like the two kinds of Arby's fries, curly and crinkle-cut. From Mozzarella Sticks to Jalapeno Bites, Arby's has a few good snacks and sides that come out of the deep fryer, and the restaurant chain uses blended vegetable oil for fried sides with a great, crunchy outer layer.

Fast food chains choose what kind of oil to use in a deep fryer based on the characteristics of the oil itself, requiring the final selection to have a very high smoke point. Decision makers also take a good look at the price tag before committing to a certain type of oil or oil blend, as an expensive choice could impact the bottom line for a business. Nutritional content, flavor, and availability also play a part of the selection process. Blended vegetable oil is a budget-friendly option because it allows every batch a restaurant buys to stretch a bit further.

The vegetable oil blend differs with each fast-food chain. For Arby's, the blend features four different oils for frying: corn oil, soybean oil, canola oil, and hydrogenated soybean oil, with an added ingredient called dimethylpolysiloxane, included to reduce foaming. This oil blend is efficient with a high smoke point, and it's vegetable-based, which means it's technically vegan. This allows those keeping to a plant-based diet to indulge in Arby's French fries, as they're made without any animal products.

A mixture of vegetable oil blends makes fast-food fries taste different at various restaurant chains, and Arby's blend creates its own unique batch of deep-fried goodness. Arby's signature oil blend actually lists soybean oil twice, representing both soybean oil and hydrogenated soybean oil. Hydrogenated oil is used in all sorts of foods as a preservative. It also enhances the taste and texture of foods, while simultaneously being one of those cost-saving oils to add into a deep-frying blend.

Soybean oil itself is known to have health-boosting benefits, but studies have also shown soybean oil can cause inflammation in high amounts. It has a mild taste and a high smoke point, meaning you can heat it up to high temperatures without it catching fire or oxidizing. Corn oil and canola oil also have neutral flavors and high smoke points. Combined with soybean oil, these form the foundation of the Arby's deep-fried dynasty.

Dimethylpolysiloxane is a type of silicone that's commonly used in frying oil to keep down the foam. It's a compound also known as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be used as a food additive. It's also used for anti-foaming in vegetable and fruit juices and as an anticaking agent in baking products.