Lucas Oil Stadium switches frying oil to healthier option
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowAnother Indianapolis event venue has switched one of its cooking products, and it’s shining a spotlight on Indiana farmers.
Lucas Oil Stadium made the switch from traditional oil to high oleic soybean oil in August at the start of the Indianapolis Colts season.
“We go through about 700 pounds per game. It’s not only doing great with regard to flavor profile and the taste that it produces when you fry food with it, but from a performance standpoint, it holds up very, very well, and we have to clean it less,” said Dave Marguth, General Manager of Lucas Oil Stadium Sodexo Live!
The Indiana Soybean Alliance (ISA) says the cooking oil’s long list of benefits is creating high demand in the food industry. High oleic has 0g trans-fat per serving, 20% less saturated fat than conventional soybean oil and is high in heart-healthy monounsaturated fat.
In addition to the health benefits, Marguth says food items like chicken tenders don’t fall apart as much in the oil.
For Taylor Swift’s three night Eras Tour, Marguth estimates 2,000 pounds of oil were used. That oil helped cook “Fearless Fries” and “Taylor Tots” in celebration of the event.
The ISA says Indiana is the top producer of high oleic soybeans in the world.
“For us, we always try to drop a pin at Lucas Oil Stadium and draw a circle around it and try to buy as much as we possibly can within that circle, whether it be local or regional,” Marguth said. “This oil really supports Indiana farmers, and it’s a regional product. That checks some major boxes for us, having it be a local and sustainable product where we’re supporting local farmers. So that’s huge for us.”
Last year, Gainbridge Fieldhouse also made the switch to high oleic soybean oil. The venue hosts more than 300 events each year. Victory Field and the Indiana Farmers Coliseum at the Indiana State Fairgrounds also use the product.
To learn more about high oleic soybean oil, click here.