| Product: |
Fryers / Toasters / Sandwich Makers in general |
| Date: |
17/09/05 (262 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Two fryers in one | Each can be set to separate temperature | Easy to Clean
Disadvantages: Unsafe | Unreliable | Expensive
A: When it's the Russell Hobbs 10357
I have a large family and on the rare occasions I give them chips or other fried foods, I usually find that I have to cook them in two or even three batches, as a deep fat fryer will only hold so much. One day I decided I'd had enough of this malarkey and decided to hunt on-line for something that would let me cook for the whole family in one go. What I came up with was the Russell Hobbs 10357, a deep fat fryer that features not one but two 3L capacity sections. I couldn't believe my luck and ordered it straight away, thinking at last, an answer to my prayers, or was it……..
---The Styling---
Looking like something out of an industrial kitchen, this fryer is extremely large and measures in at approximately 34cm square, so it takes up an awful lot of room on my work surface. The majority of the unit is brushed stainless steel, with black plastic detailing, it looks very modern and as I've already said wouldn't look out of place in an industrial kitchen.
---Setting Up---
Although the fryer comes fully assembled, it does require a little setting up before filling with oil. The most important thing is to remove the various bits of cardboard that have been used to keep the working parts protected. Please don't do what I did and forget to check under the bowls, as there's a bit of cardboard stuck there and it tends to give off a bit of smoke if you forget to remove it. Next you will need to wash all the parts that will come into contact with the oil, this includes two baskets, two lids, two bowls and two elements. Once these have been washed you can finally fill the fryer with oil, and I hope you've got a lot of oil, because you'll need it. Each section takes up to 3 litres, and is well marked with minimum and maximum levels.
The final step will be to plug it in, and here I hit a problem. I was expecting that there would only be one plug that powered both halves, but I was wrong. Each of the two sections is really a separate fryer, and has it's own plug, so to use both halves at once you will need two spare plug sockets, not only this but the instructions advise not to use an adapter.
---Cooking---
Once you've cleaned and filled the fryers and found your spare plug sockets you can finally start to heat the oil. Each of the two sections has it's own on/off switch along with a dial to adjust the temperature. The temperature can be adjusted to anywhere between 130 and 190 degrees Celsius, and there are two lights on each unit. One on the switch so that you know it's working and another that goes out once the unit is hot enough for your food.
Each of the separate sections can take up to 1000g of food, but it's best to fill the rather small basket to only the one third mark for best results. I found that homemade chips cooked very well and were perhaps the best that I had tasted, and really on the actual cooking front I couldn't fault this fryer, as by using both sections I could cook enough chips for a family of six. Even better, when cooking fish and chips, I could have the fish merrily frying away at a relatively low temperature in one section, while chips were cooking at a much higher temperature in the other.
---Safety---
If only this fryer was as big on safety as it was on cooking, I would have been one happy bunny. But, I really wasn't impressed with the safety aspect at all, and now I'll tell you why :
* You can't replace the lids while cooking - this means that there's hot oil (or fat) exposed for the whole time you're cooking, and for a considerable time afterwards (you can't replace the lids until the oil has cooled).
* The handles stick out - there's no way of folding the basket handles down while cooking (or even after if there's oil in the fryer), this means there's a temptation there (however small) for little hands, and while I'd never actually leave a deep fat fryer unattended all it would take is for me to turn my back for a second…
* The exterior gets hot - even though this is supposed to be a coolwall fryer, it's really not. The exterior surfaces do get very hot, I know because I've touched them.
---Cleaning---
I've had to clean plenty of deep fat fryers in my time, and I find the majority of them are pretty awkward, but this one was actually quite easy to clean (once I'd worked out what I was doing.
* First things first, make sure that you have switched off and unplugged the fryer and that the oil has cooled down, it stays hot for quite a long time and you don't want to get burnt.
A little preparation beforehand did make the job a lot easier, and I found I had to have a lot of kitchen roll to hand, along with some empty bottles to store the dirty oil (funnily enough the bottles the oil came in originally were ideal). The first section to be cleaned will be the lids, which are the least dirty of all the parts (due to the fact they are nowhere near HOT oil), then the baskets can be left to soak in some hot soapy water while the rest of the fryer is disassembled.
Each of the elements are fitted to the unit via some grooves and can easily be pulled out and rested on kitchen roll while you empty the oil bowls, I'm afraid there are no lips for accurate pouring, so this can get messy, but again rest the bottle on kitchen roll before you start emptying. I found that the bowls weren't that heavy and it was fairly easy to pour the oil off.
Once the bowls were empty, I generally filled them with hot soapy water and then left them to soak while I scrubbed the baskets and wiped the elements down. After a short soak the bowls were very easy to clean with minimum effort, and I then rinsed all the parts and left them to dry. Once dried it was again very easy to put everything back together by simply replacing the bowls, and then sliding the elements back into place.
I found simply wiping the exterior with soapy water and rinsing would leave unsightly water marks, but after being given a tip by a deliveryman (who delivered my fridge) discovered that a couple of drops of baby oil on a soft cloth would bring the fryer back to it's original glory.
---Durability---
I wish I could tell that this fryer was as durable as it should have been for the money, but unfortunately I can't. Within three months one half had stopped working and then only last month the other half decided to make a funny fizzing noise before giving up the ghost. In total it lasted the grand total of six months of being used twice a week maximum. As you can imagine I was very disappointed at this, but to be honest I haven't even bothered to get it repaired as I'm now looking for a safer, more reliable fryer.
---Price and Availability---
I bought this fryer 6 months ago for £95 including delivery from www.HiEnergyShop.co.uk and it appears to be the same price there now, should you wish to chance buying it.
---My Opinion---
When I first received this fryer, I thought it was brilliant, but after the first use I was already starting to get reservations about just how safe it was. As time went on, I found myself using it less and less and then when it finally decided it couldn't face cooking for my family anymore, I was in a way relieved.
Although this is advertised as a professional deep fat fryer, I really couldn't imagine any "professional" actually agreeing to use it, and I'm sure that it would break a few health and safety regulations if used in a "professional" environment. So I'm afraid I'm not actually recommending this fryer to anybody, because although it was a nice idea, it's was impractical, unsafe (in my opinion) and unreliable.
*A few Safety Tips When Using Any Fryer*
- Never leave a deep fat fryer unattended
- Never fill a fryer more than 1/3 full of food
- Never fill a fryer direct from a packet of frozen food, remove the item you want to cook from the packet first (stops ice falling into the oil)
- Always dry wet food before putting it into the basket (homemade chips for example)
- Never turn an electric deep fat fryer on when it hasn't got oil in
- Water and Oil do NOT mix (never put water into hot oil)
- Children and Deep fat fryers do NOT mix - never allow your child to operate a deep-fat fryer.
Summary: Looks better than it cooks......
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