Dear The Kitchen,
Inspired by the article in today's NYTimes about frying things at Hanukkah, I'm thinking of getting [my husband] a deep fryer. It's fun, not too expensive, and is perfect for the kind of Jew he is (non-observant, likes fried food). The garlic pictured and recipied was the kicker - he looooooves garlic. In fact, we're growing 4 varieties of garlic in a 16-square-foot plot in our backyard.
So, my question is what are the features I should look for in a deep fryer? What manufacturers are the best? At both the low and high end of the price spectrum?
Thanks, A Desperate Wife
P.S. What kind of oil should I use for health and taste? Got any good frying recipes?
Dear Desperate Wife,
We don't know a whole lot about fryers (the frying we've done is in a big sauce pan or cast iron skillet using canola oil and tongs or the frying baskets you can get in Chinatown) - but we did a little research and learned a few things about what to look for in a fryer.
• Capacity
An average sized ‘compact’ fryer holds around 1.5lbs of oil
• Safety
A “cool-wall”body will help prevent you from burning yourself on the fryer. A viewing window will allow you to monitor the progress of the frying without having to open the lid. A rise and fall basket will make it easier to add food to the oil. An auto-switch-off will ensure that the heating element will turn off if the oil becomes too hot. A locking lid will keep your hands away from hot oil and steam.
• Cleaning
Fryers with more removable parts will be easier to clean. Some fryers have drainage tubes, which enable you to simply drain the oil away. Dishwasher safe parts will also make cleaning simple. Some fryers have a permanent filter, which is washable and only needs to be changed if damaged.
We found most fryers to be in the $100 - $200 range. The Waring Brushed Stainless 3.75lb Fryer takes a gallon of oil, has many safety features, and retails at Cooking.com for $128.95. For about the same price, the DeLonghi Cool-Touch Roto Deep Fryer is also available and comes highly rated. In fact, Cooking.com has a rather extensive array of fryers from $49.95.
My only advice in buying a fryer is that if you don't want to spend the $129., go low-tech and get a Deep Fry Kit from Lodge instead. It comes with a fry pot, fry basket, thermometer and recipes, and it will last forever.
As for frying oil, the most important thing is to use an oil with a high smoking point, meaning it won't burn until it gets really hot. Olive oil has a low smoking point, so do not use it for frying. The plant-based oil with the highest smoking point is avocado oil, however it is way to expensive to use for frying! Coconut oil and palm oils also have high smoke points, although they are not the healthiest because they are highly saturated. Your best bet is canola and sunflower oils.
Note, though, that deep frying food starves it of nutrients and loads it with high fat and extra calories, so by deep-frying in the first place you are not exactly making health food. Of course, every so often, it is fine to indulge, so enjoy!
deep fryers are amazing, and add a fun treat to a dinner party. have made tempora, donuts, falafel, fried chicken, fish and chips. . .
I actually have a cheapy fryer, it was under $40 (Target?). no smells, the unit is all contained. the only drawback; my cheaper model the fryer pot is nonremovable. a little awkward to flip the unit over and empty the oil after use. being able to make a funnel cake just because your in the mood makes it all worth it.
the first no brainer recipe i tried. buy a tube of biscuits in the fridge section. fry individually. when they are done, roll in suger= hot donuts.
have fun!
Deep frying, when done correctly and at proper temps can sometimes add less fat then sauteing does. It depends on how hot your oil is. Olive oil is traditionally used for deep frying in Spain and Italy, although you can't fry things at high temps. Deep fried in olive oil fresh anchovies are nothing to sneeze at, nor is any sort of frita mista.
Coconut and palm oils have a bad rap, one I think is undeserved. Check out
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/03/12/FD191844.DTL
for a start on looking up more recent and less flawed research on using these fats in cooking and how they relate to health.
For deep frying, I like peanut oil and lard (which is out of the question for Hanukkah treats I know). I find canola oil to smell so wretched I can't stand to use it in the house, and I'm not convinced it's really all that beneficial to use. Sunflower works nicely though it doesn't get as hot as peanut.
regards,
trillium
A few years ago I bought my boyfried one of the plastic-bodied fryers from Target for his birthday. It served us well (though, we primarily used it for chicken) but last Christmas I bought him a Waring Pro, which is easier to clean and has a larger capacity.
The first thing we did was throw a deep-fried candy party to break it in. http://goodiesfirst.typepad.com/goodies_first/2004/05/deepfried_mars_.html. Everything from rice krispie treats to Hostess Snoballs to Cadbury Eggs got the battered and fried treatment.
Oops...bad link. Here I go again: http://goodiesfirst.typepad.com/goodies_first/2004/05/deepfried_mars_.html
Rice Bran oil is a moderately inexpensive frying oil that's traditionally what is used in Japan for Tempura. Ajinomoto is a popular brand. Cheap enough to toss after a use but the same aisle usually has oil filter vases (get the idea? I don't know what else to call them) so people do filter out the bits and reuse the oil. (Also the loose batter taht gets crunchy fried is recycled in some soup dishes.)