What exactly is deep frying?
Also known as “deep fat frying”, this cooking method involves immersing food in scalding oil at around 177 degrees Celsius to cook. The oil cooks the outer layer of the food, sealing off the centre. This results in a crispy exterior and soft interior, giving fried food their glorious golden crunch. Deep fryers let you cook crispy chicken, wings, fish fingers, French fries, doughnuts quickly and easily.
Once you know how to use a deep fryer, you will find that they help seal in moisture and flavour that is often lost in other cooking methods, so foods come out tender and delicious. Just keep in mind the following tips for using the deep fryers with utmost safety at home:
- Be aware of the smoking point of your deep fryer
Modern deep fryers often heat up to around 177° C to prepare most deep-fried recipes. To know when oil is ready to deep fry, the oil starts to shimmer, giving off visible waves of heat. For total accuracy, use a cooking thermometer to monitor the rising temperature. If you do not have a thermometer, test the oil with a bread cube. It should brown in 30 to 40 seconds when the oil is at moderate heat.
- Use the right kind of oil in your fryer.
Choosing the right cooking oil for your frying needs is extremely important. Always choose an oil with a high smoke point for your deep fryer. The smoke point is the temperature at which oil starts to break down. Oil that breaks down or re-used too many times can become dirty and make your food taste terrible. While oils like vegetable oil heat up to 205-degree C, other oils such as coconut oil only heat up to 177-degrees C.
High smoke point oils include vegetable, canola, peanut, sunflower, safflower, soybean, corn and grapeseed oils. They let the food’s true flavour come through. Olive oils, butter or shortening are not recommended for deep fryers because some, like extra virgin olive oil, have lower smoke points and are quite expensive.
- Never crowd your deep fryer.
Overcrowding your deep fryer will lower the oil’s temperature, resulting in food not being properly fried or well cooked. You need space to move around and flip over the food. Slowly lower in the food to avoid splattering.
- Keep water as far away as possible.
Keep water away to prevent oil from splattering (which can cause some nasty burns). Be super careful to wipe down any moisture off the utensils and pat any extra moistness off the food before dipping it in the oil.
- Always read and follow the instruction manual for using your indoor or outdoor deep fryer. These could be general directions for using a deep fryer and may not apply to all models.
The Ramtons range of deep fryers are packed with features that will help you prepare a wide variety of dishes with ease, and allow you to be a chef within the comforts of your home. Ramtons aims to make lives easier through innovative products, ample availability and strong support. Giving you ideas for easy living, Ramtons believes in making your shopping journey easy from the point of purchase to the point of use. Their home appliances and kitchen accessories are all about combining functionality, convenience and modernity. They believe in providing prompt after-sales services to keep customers happy long after they’ve made a purchase. Their kitchen equipment is carefully selected, designed, and tested thoroughly and individually so that you can get a durable and affordable kitchen.
