I don’t fry very often so I can’t claim the deep fryer gets used on a regular basis but it is still a piece of equipment I wouldn’t be without. As much as anything it is the fact that the temperature is regulated so you can fry safely without fear of the oil bursting into flames. My De Longhi model is no longer available but I would opt for a fryer that you can drain easily-mine has a handy little tap that opens a valve-and one whose parts will go in the dishwasher. Cleaning a deep-fryer by hand is horrible. If you are cooking for a family I would suggest buying a big 3 litre model-it does use an awful lot of oil but you don’t want to be endlessly frying small batches of food. Unless I’m frying fish (in which case I discard the smelly oil) I’ll use the oil twice, maybe three times. I’m not convinced there is a deep-fryer on the market that totally eradicates the smell of frying. Some claim to have filters in their lids which help to contain odour, but I don’t think any work brilliantly. However that is the only negative. Deep-fryers are pretty reasonable-about £50 should buy a decent one.
