Purdue professor develops healthier 'fried' food cooker

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (Exponent) - Thanks to new Purdue-developed technology, fried food doesn't have to include as much fat or as many calories.

Professor of food science Kevin M. Keener developed the radiant fryer, a technology that uses sunlight-like energy to cook pre-formed food items such as chicken patties, hamburgers and hash browns. With the device, food travels down a conveyor belt in wire trays and is cooked by radiant energy on either side.

Unlike many restaurant food items, the radiant fryer does not use oil immersion, which reduces the amount of oil consumed by 30 to 50 percent. However, the food still retains the "fried" food taste many people, and especially younger children, enjoy.

You can read the rest of this story at the Purdue Exponent website .