Fats and frying margarines for donuts and fried pastries: how to avoid heavy, greasy products
On paper, donuts and fried pastries look simple, dough, fat, sugar or filling. In real production it is the frying fat that most often makes the difference between a light, soft donut and a heavy one soaked with oil.
Alongside classic liquid oils, industrial producers increasingly use specialised frying fats and frying margarines, designed to withstand high temperatures and long frying cycles while keeping quality stable. For bakeries, industrial plants and dairies that produce donuts, the choice of frying fat is directly linked both to product quality and to total cost.
Why frying fats and margarines are a separate category
Unlike fats that go into the dough, frying fats have to tolerate high temperatures, typically around 170–190 °C, degrade as little as possible, not smoke or foam excessively, avoid imposing a strong flavour and odour on the product, keep oil uptake under control so donuts do not become greasy and remain economically viable by lasting longer in the fryer.
That is why specialised frying fats and margarines with optimised fat structures and high thermal stability have been developed.
What frying fat does in donuts and fried doughs
Forming crust and colour
During frying, the surface of the donut comes into contact with hot fat, water from the dough evaporates, a thin crust forms and colour develops through Maillard reactions and sugar caramelisation.
A good frying fat delivers an even golden brown colour, without dark spots or pale areas and without burning the outside while the centre is still underbaked.
Oil absorption
Donuts absorb most of the fat while the dough is still hot, especially during cooling, when steam leaves the structure and fat can enter the pores.
If the fat is unstable, degraded or poorly suited, oil uptake increases and donuts become heavy and greasy. With well formulated frying fats, absorption is lower and donuts remain light, soft and clean to the touch.
Flavour and mouthfeel
Frying fats must not impart rancid or stale notes, nor leave a heavy, unpleasant coating in the mouth. A good frying fat gives a clean flavour, pleasant mouthfeel and a neutral background in which the dough, filling and sugar can stand out.
Types of fats and margarine systems for frying
Different product groups are used in practice, from standard liquid oils to specialised solid frying fats.
Classic liquid oils
Sunflower, palm blends, rapeseed and similar oils are still widely used for frying. Their advantages are wide availability, simple handling and a lower starting price.
Their weak points include faster degradation at high temperatures for some oil types, more foaming and stronger odour if they are not changed often enough and variable stability depending on oil type and refining. For smaller bakeries they are often the first choice, but only with tight control of temperature and regular rotation.
Special frying fats and frying margarines
These are solid or semi solid vegetable fats and margarines tailored specifically for frying. They are usually blends of different vegetable fats with high thermal stability, supplied in blocks or pails, with high resistance to oxidation and breakdown.
Their advantages are lower foaming and smoking, more stable product colour over many frying cycles, reduced oil absorption into the donut and a longer useful life in the fryer, which means less frequent total replacement. Potential drawbacks are a higher price per kilogram and the need to plan storage for solid fats.
Palm based systems and blends
Many frying systems are based on palm oil and its fractions, often blended with other oils such as rapeseed, sunflower or soybean. Palm based fats offer high stability at frying temperatures and relatively long life in the fryer, but also raise questions around sustainability, RSPO standards and consumer perception.
As a result, suppliers develop different blends to balance technological needs, cost and customer and labelling expectations.
Different products, different demands
Ring donuts
Ring donuts have a larger surface area in relation to their mass, fry faster and spend less time in the oil. The fat has to enable rapid crust formation without burning.
A good frying fat gives a clear fry line with a lighter ring, avoids a greasy centre and supports a fine, open crumb structure.
Filled donuts and bomboloni
Filled donuts and bomboloni have more mass and are fried longer, often with turning. The fat must allow the outside to reach an even colour without burning while the centre cooks through.
Here careful control of oil temperature, fat stability so it does not darken too quickly over many cycles and accurate frying time are especially important.
Savoury fried products
For savoury fried doughs such as fried flatbreads, pancerotti and other filled products, fat quality is even more exposed, as off notes are very noticeable. Overheated or degraded fats immediately show up in flavour and odour.
For these products, fats with a neutral taste and smell, high thermal stability and, where possible, lower absorption are preferred.
Process rules: how to get the best out of a good fat
Even the best frying fat will give poor results if the process is poorly controlled. Several points are critical.
Frying temperature
For donuts the optimum is often between 170–180 °C, depending on recipe and equipment. Too high a temperature produces a quickly dark surface and an underbaked centre, accelerates fat degradation and increases waste. Too low a temperature prolongs frying, increases oil uptake, leads to pale colour and rubbery texture.
A stable fat helps, but disciplined temperature control is essential.
Load in the fryer
Overloading the fryer suddenly drops oil temperature, donuts absorb more fat and frying becomes uneven. The volume of fat and fryer capacity have to be matched to the number of pieces per batch and the desired throughput.
Filtration and oil change
During operation, crumbs, flour, sugar and sometimes filling residues migrate into the fat. This speeds up darkening, formation of unwanted compounds and off odours and flavours.
Regular filtration, monitoring of oil colour and smell and scheduled partial and full replacement after a defined number of cycles are therefore necessary.
How to choose frying fat or margarine in practice
When selecting a frying fat, it is important to clearly define the product range. Are you frying only donuts, both rings and filled, or also sweet and savoury pastries, and how many different items go into the same fat. If sweet and savoury products share the same oil, flavour transfer has to be taken into account and separate fryers may be needed.
Next comes an assessment of scale. For small volumes in craft bakeries, a good quality oil with disciplined rotation may be enough. For high volumes in industrial plants and retail networks, it usually pays to invest in specialised frying fats with longer lifetimes.
Labelling and marketing requirements, such as trans fat free, non hydrogenated, RSPO certified palm oil, sustainability claims and clean label positioning, influence the choice of base oils and fat types. It is always worth looking beyond the price per kilogram to the cost per piece. A fat that is more expensive per kilogram may last longer, reduce oil uptake per donut and cut waste and complaints, delivering better overall economics.
A short checklist for technologists
Before changing frying fat, it is useful to document the starting point.
Define which products you fry, donuts, fried pastries, sweet and savoury items. Measure current fat usage per kilogram of product and list key issues, greasy donuts, uneven colour, strong odour in the product or short usable life of the fat.
Then ask your supplier for two or three frying fat options, with information on recommended frying temperature, expected lifetime and absorption profile. Run comparative trials, evaluate appearance, flavour and perceived greasiness, track how long each fat remains usable and finally calculate cost per piece.
Conclusion
Frying fats and margarines for donuts and fried pastries are not just any oil that happens to be at hand. They are specially formulated tools that deliver consistent colour, a light, non greasy texture, good flavour without heavy odours and optimal cost per unit.
For producers of donuts, bomboloni, fried pastries and similar products, the right choice of frying fat and a well controlled frying process mean fewer complaints, a recognisable quality signature and better economics for every fried piece.