Gear Heads | Which Electric Deep Fryers Make the Crispiest, Gooiest Mozzarella Sticks?
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- čas přidán 27. 08. 2024
- Electric deep-fryers promise to take the fear out of deep frying. They supposedly make frying easier, safer, and less messy than frying in a Dutch oven with a probe thermometer attached, which is how we typically deep-fry foods in the test kitchen. Lisa and Hannah put various models to the test.
Read the full article: cooks.io/37LiETB
Buy our winning deep fryer: cooks.io/3VtBUka
ABOUT US: Located in Boston’s Seaport District in the historic Innovation and Design Building, America's Test Kitchen features 15,000 square feet of kitchen space including multiple photography and video studios. It is the home of Cook’s Illustrated magazine and Cook’s Country magazine and is the workday destination for more than 60 test cooks, editors, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes over and over again until we understand how and why they work and until we arrive at the best version.
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I really miss the old review format. I liked the way Lisa would just simply present the information and test results from rigorous team reviews.
These new videos are terrible!
Agree - I'm not tuning in to watch you guys cooking fries or cheese sticks. Just tell me which fryer and why.
El nuevo formato es terrible!
None of them even test whether the oil temperature drops, and how quickly it recovers. That’s the primary feature that you should be looking for in a home fryer, second is cleaning third is ease of use. Forget this buzzfeed jokey shtick. This is not a reaction kitchen...it’s a test kitchen
:)
@@gavinshizuo9248 I know this is an old comment but all of these except the grand pappy are using the same exact style of heating element and they are all most likely 1800 watts 120v. So really the only thing that is going to change the recovery time is the amount of oil that they all hold.
After 5 years at kfc and cleaning 5 industrial deep fryers each night... ease of cleaning is important to me. 😂😭
The DeLonghi is using Celsius and converting to Fahrenheit. That's why it goes up in "strange" increments and maxes out at 374 F which is 190 C. 5 degree C increments.
Note: on the T-fall ALL of the removable parts are dishwasher safe making clean up an actual breeze. The oil cools prior to filtration and you can store it in unit or fridge.
The same with the Hamilton Beach. Everything goes in the dishwasher except the heating element, I use Crud Cutter spray on that, it's an excellent degreaser.
I have owned several over the years, and not once have I even thought to put the parts in the dishwasher lol.
That is great to know! I’m averse to anything that can’t go in the dishwasher. It’s disappointing ATK didn’t talk about that.
What, no banging them against cement blocks?
Morgan Biddlecom LOL!
😄
The building they were in FELL down last week
Cement? Concrete.
I have the winning deep fryer and love it. We use it at least once a week and drain and store the oil between use. It does take a long time for the oil to cool so that you can drain it, so it generally gets done the next morning. generally we replace the oil after about 10 uses or 2.5 to 3 weeks. not sure how long the oil will keep in the storing container, but we figure about 3 weeks max and haven't had any taste issues.
Why do you drain the oil to store it? I don't know anyone that does that. (in Belgium lots of people use this type of deep fryer)
@Tony Samson excellent advice. Thank you sir
I have both the Presto Grand Pappy and Presto Frybaby and they both work awesome. Easy to use, easy to clean. Takes less oil than most to fry stuff as well. Throw out the plastic fry scoop and get a bamboo handle spider to scoop out your stuff. The buckets work really well, and aren't giant clunky appliances.
Less oil could mean less heat retention.
I have the grand pappy as well and it works okay. The big thing is simplicity. It's got one part if you don't count the lid. And as you pointed out throw out the plastic scoop and buy / or use your wok fry scoop. I don't know about heat retention but using less oil is also a plus for me.
Actually using my dutch oven pot makes more sense but I usually have to spend more time wiping down the stove top. Also my small pressure cooker does a killer job deep frying as well. So many frying options, so little time!
Yeah the Presto was the best. These people just look for fancy features. Not which one that most people really need
I replaced mine. Wasn't big enough for me
"Fry day" is really fun. However, if you plan to have a lot of it and reuse the oil, the extra function of oil filtration might become essential.
I never reuse the oil. I learned to use fresh oil when I went to culinary school. Oil is cheap enough. Save the old oil to light your fireplace if you have one. Better than kindling.
I just keep thinking of Arrested Development's "cornballer"
I'm a bit surprised that this review wasn't as thorough as the reviews I'm used to from you guys. E Fudd is right 375 is 375 - regardless of what vessel it is contained. How much oil did each unit need? How long to heat that oil to 375? How much load can each one take? What kind of temperature dip and recovery? These are the things I want to know when comparing tabletop fryers. Sure, the TFal has a cool recovery system but for under $40 the Grandpappy should take care of most people's needs - without the cleanup - especially if you're frying something as simple as mozarella sticks.
You do realize of course that the thing the grandpappy did the worst on was the cheese sticks.....
As they state at the end, you get the more thorough review on their website
How much of that was their technique - Did they even leave the product in the oil long enough? Did they actually test the accuracy of the oil temps?
@@onocoffee this is really eating you up inside, eh? 😂
@@lukerinderknecht2982 Not as much as cold cheese inside a fried stick!
I would’ve liked to have seen results of testing temperature variation when frying a maximum size batch of frozen french fries for each one. I think most people will end up using a deep fryer to fry frozen items like that in large amounts, and I’m sure some are really bad about recovering the temperature quickly compared to others. I’d also like to see it then compared to frying an equivalent amount of stuff in a Dutch oven with the burner on high to see if the fryer actually performs better in terms of being able to maintain the desired temperature.
They talk a bit about that in the full article.
Frying frozen stuff is STUPID dangerous.
@@robertrico7598
Umm, no it's not, and it's done constantly.
I don't know the exact percentage, but I'd bet next year's pay that the percentage of French fries that are cooked frozen is North of 99%.
Not to mention the vast majority of chicken tenders/nuggets.
Plenty of other things too.
You don't actually have any real experience with frying.
@@lordgarion514 man, maybe I'm paranoid (BTW no reason to be a dick) but I always thaw everything. When I was in college I almost burnt my friend's place down with some frozen chicken wings.
@@robertrico7598 I've worked in kitchens for over 25 years. I believe more than half the fried food you're being served was fried from frozen. -Read and follow the manufacturer's directions.
As someone who had a T-FAL EZ Clean - I must warn people - the winning fryer is garbage if you intend to do anything other than mozarella sticks or french fries. This test was horrible ATK. You all didn't even bother trying to deep fry chicken or anything sizeable. I know not every food under the sun can be covered, but just 2 types of foods? That's really not informative testing. Anyways for someone like me who actually did thorough testing - the oil level in that deep fryer is shallow, so it would only cover those foods half-way and mitigating the need for it in the first place. Obviously, what was failed to be mentioned, was although it uses the same quart as your dutch oven, the surface area is wider - thereby requiring A LOT more oil to reach the same levels, partly due to the crappy oil container at the bottom (which me and a lot of owners have complained - after some time - starts to LEAK due to QA issues on some units) - yay for oil spills in the kitchen!
Highly uninformative video made to pander to enthusiasts who don't know better. Very upset at the lack of proper process and thorough information here. What happened to equipment reviews being actually more thorough and testing out a wide range of conditions?
How can you so confidently claim this as a "winning deep fryer" when you all didn't even test a range of common things people use a big vat of oil for and limited the conditions of its testing to some cheese sticks and french fries?
It's asinine at best. You all should have said it's the "winning mozarella sticks and french fries fryer" because the term 'deep' is a misnomer for 100% of these fryers, not to mention their oil recovery times are EXCEPTIONALLY poor compared to semi-decent gas or induction ranges.
IDK if you have noticed but you can find much better information in the comments, and that is why I watch and read the comments from this channel, and comment myself.
Hi ladies you never said how accurate they were temperature wise did you check this to see if they were accurate
Yes, that would have been a good addition to the methodology, especially for the granpappy.
Same. Would have been the most important part of this test.
These new review videos are terrible compared to the old ones, which were much more thorough.
@@gregfeneis609 "ATK is missing the influence of Christopher Kimball."
Thank heavens for small favors.
Here is an excerpt from the full review: Using probe thermometers to check the temperature of the oil, we were pleased to find that all the machines heated to within 5 degrees of the temperature we had selected on their dials or digital consoles. ...The machines did a great job of maintaining their heat, too, rebounding to the desired temperature just as quickly as when we fried foods in a Dutch oven. Best of all, they regulated the temperature without requiring us to adjust the heat, as we have to do when deep-frying on the stovetop. This set-and-forget temperature control gives the deep-fryers a significant advantage, making it easier to fry without worrying that the oil will overheat or that the temperature will fluctuate too much.
Lisa and Hannah are by far my favorite hosts of the channel, they're so fun together!
We've had 2 T fals. They are great, when they work. The element failed on both of them. Before filtering the oil into the container, you have to make sure that the lid is perfectly snapped down all around the container. It can be a bit tricky sometimes. Another good thing about it is that it won't drain until the oil is cool enough.
This was probably the most haphazard review they’ve done.
Terrible
I'm a simple guy. I see a video from ATK with Lisa McManus and I click
Yeah! I know that song. A duo sang it for us at a Christmas show while I was serving in the military in 1970. It still pops into my head now and then.
That is why I prefer using an Air Fryer, the control board, is easier to program and no oil to mess around with, and clean up is a breeze.
I would rather clean a frying pan than an air fryer. I don't like the non-stick coating in the one I have peeling off. -Still love it though.
Air fryer is just a convection oven. It's a totally different cooking tool.
Yes the cleanup can make me avoid using a deep fryer. Thanks for putting this overlooked appliance through its paces. I have an older T-Fal model but will purchase the T-Fal model reviewed, due to the filtration system. Have a soft spot for Breville but wished the company had used there ingenuity for smart appliance's and revolutionized the deep fryer market.
I have the Breville and love it. I don't understand them calling the controls finicky, you turn a dial to choose a mode and press start. If you don't like the pre-programmed modes, there's a custom one you can set however you want. The modes also heat a bit past the temp to account for it dropping when you add the food, which is kinda nice. And it has a timer, which a lot of deep fryers don't. They also complained about how small the Breville's basket is, it looks smaller but it's very deep. The Tfal they love has a 2.6lb basket, Breville's is 2.5 so you basically both can make the same amounts.
There was literally no effort put into reading up on on any of these lol.
I don't even have one yet and have already decided on the Breville from another more thorough review...these ladies gave a very dork like amateurish review.
I bought the Breville as well. The Tfal has hit or miss reviews from leaking issues and the filter gets clogged and can’t be replaced. I loved the timer and presets on the Breville. I’m waiting on it to ship😊
I had an awesome one that I just loved and used for years. And my husband sold it in a yard sale just before me moved to Texas because my mom had given me a smaller one (that sucks). So his, must fit everything in one truck logic ditched the big one :( He also sold my crock pot. I don't know why I let him live now that I think about it.
Time to sell the old husband at a yard sale and get a new one! ;)
They did say their preferred method was dutch oven with probe.
Why didn't you hire a moving company instead of moving like the Beverly Hillbillies?
Selling your spouses deep fryer / slow cooker is a condition that can justify the "make my day" law in Texas. So yes, under Texas law you can shoot him for selling your deep fryer.
Lol!!!
I wanted more info. Like how it holds up to temp drop, how quick it comes back up to temp? how it works on fried chicken, how easy it is to pull out the oil bin?
1tinac my same thoughts. I wanted to see them really loaded with food and see how they maintained temp
The full test protocol and results are in Cook's Illustrated magazine, or on their Web site. They not only made mozzarella sticks and French fries, but also vegetable tempura, North Carolina dipped fried chicken, and cider doughnuts. While they didn't list the amount of temperature drop or the recovery time, they did say that due to the immersed heating elements, all the models heated faster than their Dutch oven.
@@seikibrian8641 thank you.
I can see a lot of people complaining on this review. The problem is it's not quite scientific enough. People like stuff to be sciency, and measured, like: "This one has a basket volume of 1 quart" and "This one has minimum and maximum temperature ranges from XX to XXX". I still liked the review though, thank you
Go back to Lisa's older video style, they were so much better than these new videos/tests!! These tests don't seem as thorough as the old ones, and seem to be much more for entertainment than knowledge.
The old review videos were much, much better, please, bring them back!
The old reviews were clips taken from the TV programs, and they are still available for watching at your convenience on the ATK Web site.
I've used and tried these deep fryers and pretty much had similar experiences. I was very pleased with a very similar T-Fal model that I used almost 11 years ago, but eventually went back to the Fry Pan/Sauce Pot/Dutch Oven method... with a few modifications.
1. I use a smaller vessel if I don't need to fry much.
2. I use either a "splatter cover" or "semi-fitting" lid, modified to allow minimal dissipation of heat and a hole for the temperature probe.
3. I use some sort of cheap wire or cast iron trivet to prevent the foods from making contact with the bottom of the vessel. I've tried fry baskets that fit and they worked, but required me to modify my lids even more, which led to more splatter and odor emission and were somewhat of a chore to clean.
Still not a complete substitute for the automated fryers, but the "fry pan/sauce pot/dutch oven" combined with modified lids can also make the process way less messy. It's also very convenient for mobile cooking, and/or camping.
EDIT: I also should mention that despite not being recommended, I've run all of my enamel coated cast iron vessels in my dishwasher for over 18 years, yet NONE of them have had chipping, rusting, crazing, or any sort of damage caused by the dishwashing process. Your results may vary.
I've had my tfal fryer for 4 years now, still works great and I got an awesome deal because amazon screwed up, bottom line I paid $30.00 for my fryer..
I've had the Delonghi Livenza deep fryer for a couple years, and it has not let me down once. I use peanut oil, because it can take the highest heat and last the longest. I know that everybody else uses an air fryer, but I prefer my deep fryer instead. So my Phillips air fryer stays in its box unused. Thanks, DeLonghi, for making something that works for the long term. :)
I bought the Presto FryDaddy Plus which I see Kevin Belton use on his cooking shows. The ThermoPro TP-17 gives me temp and a Bohner mandolin did the thin slicing. My test was potato chips with skin on. One potato was sliced and soaked 2hrs in cold water w/2 water changes. Frying was 2 batches drying on dish towel before frying. Fry basket was loaded with start temp at 385 which fell to 325 for 7 min. Basket was pulled and placed on paper towel covered plate resting for 15min (fryer turned off). Fryer turned on @ 318 and heated to 385. Basket was lowered into oil to cook visually. Agitation was lift and shake basket as well as a wooden spoon. Around 12min later chips were crisp and beautifully shaped with temp at 389. Basket was drained and chips dumped on paper towel then salted with Slap ya Mamma Cajun seasoning. Any splatters were caught with inverted 8" fine mesh strainer. Almost no mess to clean up. Sometimes cheap works well, $39.
I grew up with the Fry Daddy and all of its relatives. It was still a safer way to fry at home than in an open pot on the stove especially with kids involved which we were.
Presto makes a double basket fryer with adjustable temperature and indicator lights.
Holds a minimum of 3.5 quarts of oil and a max of 5 quarts and cooks 12 cups of food.. Just under $60.
I love my Presto products! -Always great price and performance!
@@madthumbs1564
Had mine like a decade, but it was Teflon coated(why in a deep fryer?) And it doesn't stick forever, and we used it alot. Kids were almost grown so never got another one.
It was awesome, except for the baskets. Smaller than any basket in this testing, and only about 2 inches deep. So I rarely used them. A spider and tongs work great for frying anyway. And 5 quarts of oil holds a lot of heat, so temps don't drop so hard when cold food is dropped in.
I am really enjoying Hannah! Friendly personality, pleasant voice, pretty face, what’s not to love! Great job ladies!!
I personally Love using my T-Fal. It was a gift upgrade from my former ‘Black Bucket of Doom” 😆
A couple of years ago, I had to put my deep fryer away as I felt ‘guilty’ for having ‘fried foods’.
Now that I’ve tried keto for the past 6 months, I’ve upgraded the kind of oil I use, and have dropped 70 lbs.
What oil are you using?
I bought the Breville Smart Oven. It works beautifully. Thank you for your hard work in sharing the information in these videos. I would love to see what you guys would choose in the induction hot plate category.
They tested five models in 2019, and updated the review in June of 2020 when they tested a sixth model. The top two were the $1600 Breville/PolyScience Control Freak and the $90 Max Burton Digital Induction Cooktop Counter Top Burner. (Prices given are the price they paid at the time of testing.)
@@seikibrian8641 Oh, man! I don't know how I missed it! Thank you for the information! Breville and OXO always seem to be the cream of the crop.
@@Bergalicious38 I don't know if that test was ever posted on CZcams. I was able to look it up because I've been a subscriber to Cook's Illustrated magazine since the first issue (back when it was just called Cook's Magazine), and to the Web sites for more than a decade. All the equipment reviews, taste tests, recipes, etc. are archived and searchable by members.
I had the Tfal deep fryer until it just died. The internal power switch went first so I just went around that. Then the unit was just dead. It did not power up and the internals were crispy and falling apart. But I really liked this unit. Used it a lot!
I had JUST ordered the Presto Fryer and watching your video, I cancelled it before it was even close to shipping. Thanks for this !
I love how on the longer review videos there are people complaining about the longer format, and on the shorter review videos there are people complaint about the shorter formats 😂
This seems very low end compared to most reviews. Although it does seem like it’s pretty easy to tell which ones work well or not.
Except for grandpappy is one the highest rated on amazon.
@@9ramthebuffs9 to be fair, the 5 star review system has failed us a society. It's a load of misinformation, based on perception of a product not the objective quality of a product. People will buy the cheapest piece of trash and give it 5 stars because it worked better than their broken one; or buy the best one ever made and give it 1 star because the shipping was slow.
I have had 2 tfals now. The first one died but had worked so well I just went out and got another one. It has enough capacity to fèd a family of four in two batches. As an example a 3lb bag of French fires takes 7 minutes followed by ~3 lbs of breaded chicken strips 4 minutes. Cleanup is easy. The built in filtration gets rid of the larger particles in the oil and then stores it with little air contact which means lot of batches before the oil has to be replaced. While it does break down you generally just do the basket lid and tub which all wash up easy in soapy water. Worth getting which is something I would not generally say for anybtfal products!
Ah, you didn't mention that some of these like the T-Fal and Hamilton Beach could be (partially/fully) washed in the dishwasher
before i even knew the result i knew the t-fal would win. i had that fryer in the past and love it. the easy drain feature was pretty good to filter out the impurity is such a good feature.
You get a like for the “Hole In The Bucket” reference. 😁😁
Since the fryers are made to contain oil, I wonder if you can fill it with soapy water and use the element to heat it at low temp. Kinda like deglazing a pan. At my old work, we would drain the fryers, clean with soapy water, rinse very well, dry with heat, and then refill when we swapped out the oil.
De-glazing isn't de-greasing. -Sounds like something a mom and pop place would do.
The presto is great for a small kitchen and you learn what to do to compensate over time.
How do you refill the T-fal after it has filtered and stored the oil? Does it pump back or do you take the container out from under it and pour it back?
You pull out the container and unscrew a drain plug to pour the oil back into the the stainless steel fryer.
I need more gear heads, why is this channel not doing these more!!!!!
Great review. I just bought the T-Fal. I am a Yankee and know nothing of frying but my wife is a Southerner.
Y'all are so fun but I did wonder, did y'all check the fryers were actually hitting the right temps?
That's a great point. They missed a big opportunity
Yeah, I thought the taste test wasn't objective on performance. Bringing back up to temp when frozen wings are put in, etc. Maybe the product tastes better at for a reason that could be adjusted on another fryer.
It's in the full article on their website. All hit within 5 degrees F. Also, the oil heated more quickly than in their dutch oven and rebounded just as quickly for all models.
@Tony Samson * "GED," in all capital letters. It's an acronym for General Educational Development. Back to GED classes with thee.
This might be late in asking but essentially you folks would opt for a dutch oven to deep fry anything as opposed to an electric one? Also would a dutch oven work well on a gas burner?
Did you guys temp the oil to see if was giving accurate temps?
Thanks,
Yes, they did. Here is an excerpt from the full review: Using probe thermometers to check the temperature of the oil, we were pleased to find that all the machines heated to within 5 degrees of the temperature we had selected on their dials or digital consoles. ...The machines did a great job of maintaining their heat, too, rebounding to the desired temperature just as quickly as when we fried foods in a Dutch oven. Best of all, they regulated the temperature without requiring us to adjust the heat, as we have to do when deep-frying on the stovetop. This set-and-forget temperature control gives the deep-fryers a significant advantage, making it easier to fry without worrying that the oil will overheat or that the temperature will fluctuate too much.
So fix it, dear Hannah, dear Hannah, dear Hannah...
With what shall she fix it, dear Stephanie, dear Stephanie ...
I do not mind a longer video that would give a bit more info. I was curious to see how to get the oil out of that storage area for reuse, and to see if the heated temp was that actually temperature, and how long to wait for the next batch. How long did it take to cool down the units to start the clean up? Looking forward to more videos. Thank you
ATK is a business. They make their money on TV, cookbooks, and their website.
This is just a free sample. The full review is on their site for members.
Why are the sound effects so loud and their voices so quiet?
There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza
There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, a hole
Go fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry
Go fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, fix it
With what shall I fix it? Dear Liza, dear Liza
With what shall I fix it? Dear Liza, with what?
With a straw dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry
With a straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, with a straw
But the straw is too long, dear Liza, dear Liza
The straw is too long, dear Liza, too long
Cut it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry
Oh, cut it, dear Henry, dear Henry, cut it
With what shall I cut it? Dear Liza, dear Liza
With what shall I cut it? Dear Liza, with what?
With an axe, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry
With an axe, dear Henry, dear Henry, with an axe
The axe is too dull, dear Liza, dear Liza
The axe is too dull, dear Liza, too dull
Sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry
Well, sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, hone it
On what shall I sharpen it? Dear Liza, dear Liza
On what shall I hone it? Dear Liza, on what?
On a stone, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry
On a stone, dear Henry, dear Henry, on a stone
But the stone is too dry, dear Liza, dear Liza
The stone is too dry, dear Liza, too dry
Well, wet it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry
Well, wet it, dear Henry, dear Henry, wet it
With what shall I wet it? Dear Liza, dear Liza
With what shall I wet it? Dear Liza, with what?
Try water, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry
Try water, dear Henry, dear Henry, use water
In what shall I fetch it? Dear Liza, dear Liza
In what shall I fetch it? Dear Liza, in what?
In a bucket, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry
In a bucket, dear Henry, dear Henry, in a bucket
There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza
There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, a hole
Some years ago, I bought one of these, do NOT even recall what brand,,as it HAS NEVER BEEN USED, oh well but I recently bought an AIR FRYER. NOT TRIED CHIPS YET, but it did a wonderful, steak, tried lam rib chops. Just great, soon will try sweet potato fries . CHEERS FROM NJ🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Yesssssss I asked for this video.... thank you ladies your amazing
Never heard of "There's a hole in my bucket"? Someone didn't watch Sesame Street as a child...
I always thought it went "there's a hole in the bucket, Eliza, Eliza" but it turns out Hannah is right with "dear Liza". I guess it's about Liza Minelli.
I remember that
Karl Delavigne hello, but I did NOT GROW UP WITH TV, but knew that song from school overseas. so NEVER EVEN knew it was a ‘semasee school ‘ thing. Cheers from NJ🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
@@bentleyr00d The original German lyrics were about a woman named Liese, and the song dates from the early 18th century, long before Liza Minelli was born.
@@flybyairplane3528 ZIt's not a "Sesame Street" thing, other than having been performed by Jim Henson as Henry and Rita Moreno as Liza on "Sesame Street." One could just as well say it's a "The Dean Martin Show" thing, since Dean Martin sang it on his show (which was before "Sesame Street"), or a Harry Belafonte thing, since he recorded it in 1960.
Even at barely over $100, it strikes me that this is a hard sell vs a good old fashioned dutch oven or stock pot. Pricier, less capacity, limited adjustability, lots of messy parts, the list goes on. What's the advantage here? The only things I can ID are auto temp control (of questionable accuracy and reliability, and not a problem if you've got an eye on your pot,) or possibly saving space on a crowded stovetop. What's the big sell here? Am I missing something?
Convenience, a cover that keep some of the oil out of the air, I could leave the oil in the fryer for next use, basket that hangs on edge to drain back into fryer. -From someone getting rid or their fryer.
Had the test kitchen did their due diligence and actually monitor temperatures, like CR and Wirecutter, it would have reveled that the one Achilles heal of the tfal is it's inability to get to true temp and maintain temperatures.
Fine and dandy if you're cooking cheese sticks or one small order of fries. Cook a whole basket and you'll get a bunch of soggy spuds.
This is what was repeated over and over again. I'd avoid it if you plan to cook big batches...
Sometimes I just don’t get their reasoning. I had the grand daddy, smaller version of presto they tested and I loved it. So simple to use, and made perfect beer battered fish & chips for 1 or 2 ppl. Maybe I’m just not their audience but every review they want everything to be bigger and bigger, but that does not, in and of itself make it better. That admittedly flimsy top was handy to save shortening & keep free of dust/critters for another use so I didn’t need to buy oil/shortening every time. Plus, I only spent $25 on it, I liked it well enough
You put all Tfal parts except the power in the dishwasher,
Is a cast iron pot + thermometer better than some of these models?
I would think it will be harder to keep temperature constant in that setting
Sell your cast iron while people still believe the myths. Only cast iron worth keeping imo is the grill pan / panini press. Clad performs better for seemingly everything else, and it's the same price.
Did you check the temperature of the oil to check if it actually matched the setting?
Yes, they checked temperature accuracy, recovery times, etc. The full test protocols and results are in Cook's Illustrated Magazine and on their Web site.
What does it mean that the t-fal filters the oil? In what way? Where does the gunk go? Edit: a quick look at the manual makes me think there’s a little filter that lets the oil drain and leaves the gunk in the main pot (which I’d then have to clean out). Doesn’t seem easier than using a mesh strainer and filtering the oil into a container. A mesh strainer’s simple to clean.
Seems like a performance test would include how long it takes the temperature to recover after food has been dropped in.
dLimboStick, they did test that, along with cooking fried chicken and doughnuts. The full test can be found on the Cook's Illustrated Web site and in the magazine.
PLEASE do a video testing blender and food processor attachments for kenwood and kitchen aid mixers and compare them to standalone blenders and food processors so that we know whether they are any good or not.
Can you also compare best ginger graters & sourdough baking pots? There are so many different ones in the market. Thank you so much! 🌹
I used to have one of these, until I realized my D3 8qt stock pot (a Dutch oven would be fine too) with a ChefAlarm probe works perfectly fine as a deep-fryer, and I save the space of a massive unitasker in my kitchen. Generally the filtration features on these home fryers aren't fine enough for me, as I generally filter used oil through a coffee filter and fine mesh sieve.
Its FRY DAY - good pun!
I got the Hamilton Beach fryer for Christmas and I just LOVE it!!!
Is it worth it over a dutch oven?
I had a presto like that but it had a little basket. Did they do the Butter Ball Fryer. Also, i think the DeLongi has a drain tube. I wish the T-Fal had a spout, but I guess it's an easy pour. I think you're supposed to leave the oil in the bin though. I guess we've given up on old school style fryers with the round baskets. I hope T-Fal comes out with one with a LCD and about a liter bigger
For the first time ever I am not recommending anything that filters oil. If they had more time with this, they would realize that the oil leaks when it's hot and warps the reservoir and ruins it all. And you will continuously have leaks once it starts leaking it leaks forever. Try having all of that oil all over your counter... I highly recommend staying away from anything with the reservoir underneath a hot deep fryer unless you want to have regrets
now i want a mozz stick...
Do the fries need to be dumped from the basket between dunks in the oil?
Except for the electric element, the T-fall is totally dishwasher friendly!!!!! And it is my favorite fryer ever!!!
There was nothing scientific about this review. Their past reviews were very thorough, now their reviews are no different than what people can do in their own kitchens.
granpappy.. more like granpoopie
Are the other fryers listed? The winning one is sold out
You recommend products and I press the link to it and most times, there are a significant number of people who've given the product the lowest rating possible. Before you recommend a product, I think you should check out it's reviews on whatever website you've linked the product to. When ATK lists a product as superior, and I read that many customers have had problems with the product, it doesn't make me want to rely in ATK product recommendations.
I would have liked to see the temperature accuracy and recovery time checked with a thermometer. A big problem when deep frying in a small amount of oil is that the food cools the oil down and it takes a long time to get back up to temperature resulting in greasy food.
I fried for a decade with the original Preso Fry-Baby that used 2 cups of oil - along with at least a dozen competitive brands. Back then, Malcolm, people didn't pig out like our obese population does now. It's called 'portion control'...
What size is the T-fal deep fryer that was used?
It would have been nice for you to take the temperature of the oil.
great video do you recommend any deep fryers for outdoors
how did you get tfal for $108??? amazon has it for 178..
Aw, bummer. I can't follow the link and see the results without being a member.
And it's on: 'Public Broadcasting Service'
I have to remember the brand you all chose as the best pressure cooker so I can look for it when I can afford to buy one.
We have the winning fryer, T-Fal Ultimate EZclean, and the testers failed to mention that all of the parts, except for the element, can go into the dishwasher.
how long can the oil sit in the fryer? say I use it once today and dont fry anything again for 2 months, is that oil still okay? or does that whole amount of oil need to be reused each time I fry something?
Thought that America's 'test' kitchen would provide better testing. Deep fryers need to 1.maintain temperature or come back up to temp quickly- did they?. 2. how much food can be prepared at one time and is the basket large enough for more than a single batch (and can it maintain temp)? 3. Do any of the gimmicks work (such as smell reduction while frying and filtration of oil)? Not happy with this review and was hoping for more.
You didn't test the oil temperature after dropping in the food? I would think one of the main selling factors of buying a machine like this would be its ability to hold a steady temperature without adjusting the Heat and yet you did not test the oil temperature at all with a probe thermometer before during or after frying
So did they all get back to temp pretty quick or was there one that was faster- or is that a standard across all fryers.
Do you two actually cook meals or do you just rely on this fryer that instant pot the air fryer and or microwave?
I've noticed the temperatures on those things aren't even accurate with the cheap one's I used a candy thermometer to test the temperature of the oil and it was usually lower then what the fryer temperature said. Another thing that's annoying about those are the temperature keeps fluctuating up and down, there's a few things wrong with those things. Never tested expensive one's, maybe those do better.
Maybe you can test the best juicer..thank you
Thanks.
I'd have to say Avantco F100 for the win.
I dont know what happened to Chris but I miss him.
I've had that winner for years. We use it multiple times a week. If it dies, I will buy another one. I just wish they made a slightly bigger 220v version because I love fried foods lol
' I love fried foods' - what kind of oil you using?
I use avacado oil usually, but have also used soybean and corn oil in it with great results.
Can you please test the all-clad deep fryer vs T-fal