Whilst I do try and eat healthily for most of the time I am partial to eating home cooked chips. Whilst I have in the past tried to cook potato wedges in the oven, I have to admit that even my normally enthusiastic oven does not find chips the easiest. It was with this thought that I bought my Breville DF28 Deluxe Fryer just before Christmas. Whilst this is not the cheapest fryer on the market it is made by a renowned appliance manufacturer and had a number of uses and I therefore happily took my new purchase home to try it out.

------Appearance------

Upon taking out this fryer from its packaging, I was pleased that it was relatively modern and simple in appearance and fitted within my neutral kitchen. The body of this fryer is white in colour and is made in a plastic finish which is highlighted in silver detail around the base and feet of the fryer and around the handle. This appliance has a large viewing window on the top to enable the user to safely look inside whilst cooking. It also features a silver temperature control dial to the front right of the fryer which allows the user to vary the temperature form between 130 and 190°C.

A quirky little feature of this fryer is a series of four small illustrations on the top which illustrate mushrooms, chicken, fish and chips and show a recommended cooking temperature for each. In addition, a small digital timer to the left of the fryer allows the user to select the required cooking time.

------Dimensions------

This fryer is not the most petite of appliances and measures in at 34.5cm wide x 24.5cm deep x 26cm high. On my limited worktop space this is a slight issue as it means that in between use I generally tuck the appliance back into the box and into the cupboard to give me more room to prepare food.

------Capacity------

This fryer can contain 2 litres of oil and can cook up to 1 kg of food which makes it suitable in my opinion for cooking chips for up to four adults. I generally cook for just myself and my partner and therefore the capacity is adequate for this.

------Safety Features------

One of my biggest worries in purchasing a fryer was the safety issues, especially after hearing the fire hazard they can potentially cause. However this fryer has a number of features to put you at rest. These include:-

*Non Slip Feet: -
To securely stand the fryer on the work surface.

*A Locking Lid: -
This prevents small hands being able to open the lid or knock it over and spill the contents whilst cooking.

*Cool Touch Body: -
The body of this fryer is white and plastic designed to ensure it doesn't get hot whilst cooking. It will therefore not burn hands when brushing past.

I was quite impressed with the usefulness of the non slip feet. Although this appliance can be quite heavy when full with oil, the feet are an added comfort when located on my ultra shiny kitchen work surface.

------What it Cooks------

As mentioned I bought this fryer to cook my weekly chip urges, however it can also be used for a number of other ingredients including fish, onion rings, nuggets and mushrooms.

------Price and Availability------

The Breville Deluxe Fryer can generally be bought for around £40 - £50 and I bought mine for £41.99 from my local appliances store before Christmas. However, it is currently being stocked on Amazon for £48.16 with free delivery. This price makes it a good buy in my opinion given that it is used a few times a week. It also comes with a one year manufacturers warranty for peace of mind.

------Use------

Upon taking out of the box this fryer is relatively easy to assemble, and the instructions in the box are a good guide if you struggle as I do to work out which bit goes where. This fryer is powered by an electric cable and therefore needs locating near to your available power socket. It should then be filled up with cooking oil up to the required level.

To select the temperature simply turn the dial at the front of the fryer to the required temperature and the power indicator light at the front of the appliance tells you when the oil is at the required heat. Then simply lift the basket out of the top of the machine and fill with your required food, lower back into the oil and click the handle down to lock. As the front of the appliance has a timer screen you can simply adjust the timer to the minutes that you need to give you an indication of how long and when the food will be ready to eat.

------Cooking Results------

To date I have only used my fryer to cook potato wedges and have found that these are generally cooked within a few minutes once the oil has heated up inside. This is much quicker than my oven and also means that the chips are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Whilst I did worry that the chips might be quite oily, the drip basket enables all the oil to come off the chips before they are served on the plate.

This fryer works perfectly as a chip cooker however I have yet to testify on how effective it is for cooking larger ingredients such as fish.

------Cleaning------

Once the appliance has completely cooled down, which can take a while due to the heat of the oil, it is safe to clean. The outer skin of this fryer is very easy to clean being that it has a plastic finish and you are therefore able to wipe any oil spills of it easily. Inside, the contents can be fully disassembled and this includes the lid of the fryer which can be completely taken off.

The basket can also be lifted out of the fryer to enable it to be soaked in hot soapy water to rinse any oil off. The only difficulty I have found is trying to clean the oily base of the fryer as whilst the oil is a difficult substance to clean in the first place it is also very difficult to get into all the nooks and crannies where dirt and oil have built up during cooking.

------My Summary------

I have found this to be an incredibly useful cooking aid in my household and saves time with what can only be described as an arduous job cooking home made chips in the oven. Whilst some would argue that it is a fair amount of money to pay for an appliance that only cooks fried food, I would counter that it is more than worth it if you want to ensure that the food going into your mouth is home made and well cooked and doesn't come straight out of a packet.

This appliance heats up quickly, cooks thoroughly and is relatively easy to set up and work. It is also a safe appliance given the points listed above. My only criticism is the difficulty cleaning this fryer, a problem that I know only too well being a bit of a neat freak.

------Recommend?------

Based on my comments above, I would recommend this appliance, both as a tool for small households, and also for those with a family who need a safe method to fry food.

This means that I will be scoring this appliance 4 stars out of 5.

Thanks for reading! x