Cottonseed Oil Comeback Tour | “America’s Original Vegetable Oil”

UTZ Potato Chips

It all started with Bill and Salie Utz’s pursuit for a fresher potato chip. After nearly a century, and millions of bags of chips, the popular Northeast snack food brand still delivers a satisfying crunch with every bite. Thanks to cottonseed oil.

Lauded by Food & Wine magazine and Food Network star Rachael Ray, Utz chips have been cooked in America’s original vegetable oil since 1921.

“We don’t mess with a good thing,” says Mike Rice, chairman, CEO and third-generation owner of Utz Quality Foods, Inc, Hanover, Pa.

“No other oil pairs with potatoes quite like cottonseed oil,” he says. “It’s truly the gold standard in our industry. Our original chip formula – fresh whole potatoes, sliced and cooked in 100% pure, non-hydrogenated cottonseed – will never change.”

Next time you reach for an Utz potato chip (there are 16 delicious varieties!), rest assured you’re biting into an all-American classic.

Buca di Beppo

The spirit of Italian tradition reigns in a big way at Minneapolis-based Buca di Beppo™. With 91 locations nationwide, Buca di Beppo offers a unique atmosphere with unforgettable food. Boisterous conversation. Bold flavor. Big servings. Buca does nothing in a small way.
So when the successful restaurant chain – celebrated for its epic portions of authentic Italian cuisine served “family-style” – began its quest for a trans-free cooking oil, it did so with Buca-branded bravado.

“We pulled out all the stops, researching the available options, conducting fry tests and performing internal blind food testing,” said Carron Harris, vice president of food and beverage. “First and foremost, the oil had to maintain food quality for guests. Secondly, it had to perform equal to or better than its predecessor. We needed the oil to stand up to the heat, and last.”

Buca chose ConAgra Wesson’s Smart Choice cottonseed canola blend.

“The cottonseed canola oil blend not only resulted in excellent food quality,” said Harris, “it demonstrated flavor stability and a long fry life that rivaled our old oil.”

Now, thanks to cottonseed oil, when guests pass the platter at the Buca family table, they can enjoy the same big flavor, sans the trans.

Buon appetito!

Riversmith’s Catfish and Chicken

In 1976, Bob Corcorran opened a small restaurant to supplement his flooring career in Lubbock, Texas.

Lucky for us, Bob was better at cooking than flooring and so began the culinary adventure known today as Riversmith’s Catfish and Chicken. Bob quickly expanded to keep up with demand for Riversmith’s southern Cajun favorites.

In 2006, Riversmith’s decided the time was right to select a trans-free cooking oil. The winner: PLAINSMAN, a 100% pure cottonseed oil brand produced by PYCO Industries, located right down the road from the restaurant in the heart of cotton country.

“Our catfish has never tasted or looked better,” says Alex Garza, general manager of the local hotspot. “Switching to 100% cottonseed oil has been a good move for us. We see the results every day in flavor and consistency. The catfish has a golden brown texture, and it looks and tastes the same at all times of the day, every day. Not only do we see better quality, we get more life out of the oil.

“Plus, we’re proud to support local cotton growers.”

Arctic Circle

Launching a new french fry in the trans-free era is no spec-tater sport. Just ask Arctic Circle.

The West Coast fast-food icon known for quality Black Angus burgers and over-the-rim real-fruit shakes went all out on its quest for a trans-free cooking oil that would bring out the flavor of its new Yukon Gold fries.

After 30 days and multiple rounds of frying in various cooking oils to compare taste, color and oil lifecycles, Arctic Circle opted for a new zero-trans cottonseed-sunflower oil blend, Frymax® Sun Classic™, developed by ACH Food Companies, Inc.

The cottonseed oil blend prevailed in both flavor and fry life, said Kasey Christensen, purchasing director for the chain’s 83 locations in eight states.

“Cottonseed oil is well known to enhance, not mask, the flavor of food, and it certainly proved true in our own taste tests,” he said. “The blend also demonstrated a whopping 40 percent increase in fry life.”

Now that’s a tasty spud.

Cork’s Old-Fashioned Donuts

Nothing but the center is missing from Cork’s Old-Fashioned Donuts. Unless you count the trans fats that were removed in a recent reformulation that left the donuts tasting better than ever.

“Since switching to a trans-free donut fry, our customers have been commenting on how much better our donuts taste,” exclaims Paul Fraser, proprietor and chief dough operator of Cork’s in Albany, Oregon.

After trying several trans-free oils with somewhat soggy results, the 25-year-old establishment scored sweet success with a new cottonseed-soybean oil blend from ADM’s new NovaLipid™ Zero/Low Trans-Fat oil line.

“Since trying this product, we’ve never looked back!”

In addition to improved taste, Fraser says the donuts are less greasy. “The oil is light and the donuts don’t draw nearly as much shortening. We’re ordering 35 percent less oil.”

The cottonseed oil blend also offers a longer fry life and helps employees maintain a more consistent product quality – something Fraser describes as a “big challenge” in the bakery business.

Safeco Field

Concessionaire giant Centerplate hit it out of the ballpark with their choice of a new trans-free cooking oil at Seattle’s Safeco Field.

The Mariners’ long-time foodservice provider recently announced that 80 percent of the food sold at the ballpark would contain zero trans fat. A new trans-free cottonseed oil blend played a key role in that move.

With Centerplate now rolling out cottonseed oil at major and minor league sports facilities, convention centers and entertainment venues nationwide, hungry fans can feel a little less guilty noshing down on their chicken fingers and fries, prepared in a more healthful oil.

As for flavor? Says a spokesperson for Centerplate, “With the cottonseed oil blend, it’s been a tape-measure blast!”