Archive for the ‘Deep Fryer Hints And Tips’ Category

There is a long standing debate among Electric Deep Fryer owners about when to change used frying oil.  Some say that fryer oil should be changed after every use.  Others say that old deep frying oil lasts for several months of use before it needs to be changed.   So who’s right? and why does old fryer oil get foamy?

The answer to this answer depends on how you use your Electric Deep Fryer and how clean you keep your fryer oil.  If certain directions are followed, then your fryer oil should not spoil.  Just follow several simple rules to keep your deep frying oil fresh as long as possible and you will save money, help the environment, and save on clean up and washing.

The number one thing you can do to keep your deep fryer oil from spoiling is to never heat your oil over the maximum recommended temperature.  This is usually 375 degrees Fahrenheit for most types of frying oil.  Of course, your oil won’t stay fresh forever as vegetable oils do turn rancid as it oxidizes, but depending on how often you use your fryer, keeping the temperature from reaching the frying oil’s smoking point will keep it fresh the longest.  The longest lasting fryer oils are soybean, canola, and corn oil since they have a higher smoking point.

Never use oils such as olive oil, almond oil, or even grape seed oil in your Electric Deep Fryer.  These oils have a very low smoking point and turn rancid and oxidize before your oil can reach a high enough temperature to even fry your food.  Once your oil turns rancid and oxidizes, eating this bad oil will cause cancer and other nasty diseases such as lipid build up inside your arteries.  However, for the very best oil to deep fry your food with, use coconut oil.

Coconut oil is extremely stable and has an incredibly high smoking point.  It also doesn’t oxidize rapidly when exposed to heat and light unlike other vegetable oils.  For example, leaving canola oil exposed to high heat, light, and air will turn the oil rancid in just days while coconut oil will still be good for months!  If you want to deep fry with coconut oil, be sure to get pure virgin coconut oil.  Do not buy hydrogenated coconut or palm oil!  Hydrogenated oils cause heart disease and are extremely bad for your body.  Healthy pure virgin coconut oil can be expensive if you buy it at your grocery store though.  The best prices I’ve found have been on two pack tubs of coconut oil online at Amazon.

Next, the number of times you heat up your oil will have an affect on how long you can use your deep fryer oil before it goes bad.  You can usually tell if your deep frying oil has broken down just by looking at it.  First, the number one sign that your oil is bad is if it is a dark amber color.  If your oil has darkened from light yellow to a dark golden colour then it’s time to throw it out.  The second sign of rancid oxidized vegetable oil is if it has turned thick and syrup like.  Thickened oil is oil that has oxidized and should be changed.  The third sign that your Electric Deep Fryer needs to have it’s oil changed is if the frying oil foams when you heat it up or deep fry food in it.  And finally, if your fryer oil has a funny smell, throw it out!

Although it may be tempting to reuse the oil in your electric deep fryers, the risk to your health and your family’s health is not worth the few cents you’ll save by using bad rancid vegetable oil.  If you really want to save money but love making deep fried foods at home, you should look into an Electric Deep Fryer that uses very small amounts of oil.

There are now home deep fryers that cut down on the cups of oil used by employing a rotating basket technology.  For example, the George Foreman GSF026B Deep Fryer with Smart Spin Technology spins food as it fries so the food absorbs less oil as it is cooking.  The amount of oil reduced by frying with a spinning basket fryer can be as much as 55%!  Electric deep fryers like George Foreman’s lean mean deep fryer are great if you love indulging in deep fried comfort foods but are worried about your weight and heart health.

Not only does a spinning basket cut down on the cups of oil used and absorbed by your food, but by constantly moving your food around as it fries, you’ll get better results.  Your food will be fried much more evenly and quickly, with a lighter and crispier outside and moister and tender insides.  Plus, the best benefit to this is that you won’t have to heat your oil to too high of a temperature so your deep frying oil will be less likely to go rancid.

So if you’re wondering why does old deep fryer oil get foamy, stop asking and just throw out that nasty grease!  Then come back and think about your health and your family’s health and safety and consider switching to coconut oil instead or even getting a better Electric Deep Fryer.

Click here to read reviews of the George Foreman Lean Mean Fryer

Mexican cuisine and Mexican cooking offer many delicious deep fried recipes. Often, these fried foods are small appetizers, snacks, or finger foods that are perfect for a home fryer. Before buying a fryer for cooking Mexican recipes such as sopaipillas, chicharron, empanadas, or chalupas, read this list of the best electric deep fryers for Mexican cooking.

These small electric deep fryers are easy to use and clean. They heat up quickly and reach high temperatures for deep fried Mexican foods without being overly greasy or heavy. If you are going to cook starchy foods such as empanadas, you’ll want your frying oil to reach a temperature of 350 degrees Fahrenheit. At this temperature, each empanada should be fried for about 3 minutes. A normal sized Electric Deep Fryer like this Presto 05420 FryDaddy Electric Deep Fryer should be able to fry about 6 empanadas at once and still be able to maintain an even cooking temperature.

Some Mexican snacks like chicharrones, need to be fried at a very high temperature or they will not cook right.  Frying pork skins at an oil temperature that’s too low will result in tough cracklins that don’t puff up right and are soggy and greasy.  To get perfectly light and crunchy fried chicharron, you need to thoroughly dry your pork skins and fry them at a high temperature of 375 degrees Fahrenheit in your Electric Deep Fryer.  Since pork skins cook up quickly and are small, you can cook many batches one after another.  This means you’ll be opening and closing your electric fryer so a fryer that’s able to rapidly heat up and maintain a high cooking oil temperature is essential.  One of the best electric deep fryers for Mexican cooking in this case is the DeLonghi D895UX Cool Touch ROTO Electric Fryer which has a rotating basket to keep your oil and foods evenly heated.

I think these two electric deep fryers are the best choice for most Mexican cooking.  Instead of cooking in a stove top skillet and risk splattering oil everywhere, an Electric Deep Fryer is a good choice for safely deep frying Mexican foods and keeping your kitchen clean.   Not only that, some foods such as Mexican deep fried ice cream can only be cooked in a deep fryer since high even heat is required.  No matter how hard you try to deep fry ice cream in a skillet full of hot oil, you’ll never be able to do it correctly to get a crispy outer shell and maintain the cold temperature inside for the ice cream not to melt.

The best electric deep fryers for Mexican cooking are very inexpensive these days.  You can get a basic model deep fryer for under $30 at Amazon that will do a great job of cooking for 4 person servings.  These electric deep fryers are no fuss basic appliances and there’s no bells and whistles.  However, they get the job done and do it well, you will want to be careful though since these fryers can run hot and the exteriors of the deep fryers are not cool to the touch unlike more expensive deep fryers.

Click here for reviews of the best electric deep fryers for Mexican cooking

Banana Chips

Here’s a fun food that you can easily fry at home in your Electric Deep Fryer. Banana chips are often sold for several dollars for a pound, but bananas are one of the most inexpensive fruits at the market at less than $0.50 a pound! Well imagine all the money you can save by frying your own banana chips. These are a delicious and healthy snack that are perfect on the go.

To make banana chips, just cut up a banana into thin slices and drop them individually into your fryer to avoid clumping. Since the banana slices are so thin, they should be done in just several minutes. For sweeter chips and a stronger banana flavor, use fully ripe bananas.

You can try flavoring your banana chips with honey, salt, cinnamon, or other spices. This simple recipe is perfect for little kids as they can help slice the bananas and enjoy the fruits of their labor in a few minutes. How delicious and fun!