Deep fryers allow you to quickly and easily deep fry foods at home. While they may seem convenient, there are some downsides to using a deep fryer that are important to consider. This article will explore the drawbacks of deep fryers and provide reasons why you may want to avoid using one in your home.
Messy and Dangerous
One of the biggest problems with deep fryers is that they can be messy and dangerous to use. When you are cooking with hot oil, there is always a risk of spillover, splattering, or even hot oil catching on fire. Here are some of the ways deep fryers can create safety issues in your kitchen:
– Spattering hot oil – When you lower food into hot oil, it often splatters and pops, sending hot droplets of oil out of the fryer. This can cause burns and make a mess on nearby surfaces.
– Spills – It’s easy to accidentally knock over or spill from a deep fryer, which can lead to serious burns and damage. The heavy pot of hot oil is unstable and difficult to securely grab.
– Fires – If oil overheats or you fry flammable foods, it can ignite into a dangerous grease fire. Deep fryers are one of the leading causes of home cooking fires according to the National Fire Protection Association.
Safety Precautions
If you do use a deep fryer, you need to take precautions:
- Never leave a fryer unattended when in use
- Don’t overfill the oil
- Keep children away
- Have a fire extinguisher nearby
- Don’t fry frozen foods which can cause spattering
- Allow oil to return to temperature between batches
Even with precautions, deep fryers pose a constant safety hazard in the kitchen.
Unhealthy
Deep fried foods are notoriously unhealthy. While an occasional fried treat may be fine, regularly cooking and eating deep fried foods can have negative health effects:
High in Fat and Calories
When foods are deep fried, they absorb a large amount of fat from the oil, ramping up the calories. The type of oil used also matters. Frying with oils high in saturated fat, like lard or palm oil, can raise cholesterol levels and lead to other health issues. Just a few servings of fried foods a week is linked with increased risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Loss of Nutrients
The high heat of frying causes vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients to break down. Deep fried foods provide calories but not much nutritional value. French fries have some potato nutrients but also absorb a full day’s worth of fat in one serving.
Acrylamide Formation
Research shows that frying certain foods, particularly starchy items like potatoes, leads to the formation of acrylamide. This chemical compound has been linked with increased cancer risk when consumed in high amounts. Acrylamide is formed when certain foods are cooked above 120°C as in deep frying.
Time Consuming
It takes additional time to properly deep fry foods. Here are some of the steps involved:
- Heating several cups of oil to temperature – This can take 15-20 minutes.
- Prepping foods for frying with coatings.
- Frying foods in small batches to maintain oil temperature.
- Draining and cooling fried foods before eating.
- Straining and cleaning the Fryer after each use.
Deep frying requires more active cooking time than using an oven or stove. The heating, dipping, and monitoring of each batch makes it a time-consuming process.
Odor and Mess
Heating and storing oil in your kitchen comes with unpleasant odors and grease splatters that can build up over time. Here are some of the odors and messes you’ll have to deal with when using a deep fryer:
Lingering Smells
The smell of used fryer oil has a distinct and penetrating aroma that sticks around. Even with ventilation, you’ll likely notice greasy smells in the house for hours after deep frying foods.
Greasy Residue
From splattering oil to frying residue, deep fryers leave behind a layer of grease on surfaces around and below the fryer. This oily film is difficult to clean off and will build up each time you fry foods.
Rancid Oil Smell
Over time, frying oil will go rancid, especially if not strained and stored properly. Rancid oil gives off a strong, unpleasant smell. You’ll know when it’s time to replace your frying oil.
Smoke Odors
When oil burns and smokes in the deep fryer, it gives off harsh smells that permeate the kitchen and can even set off smoke alarms. This occurs from overheating oil and can happen easily.
High Cost
Between the appliance itself and buying quarts of fresh oil for each use, deep frying is one of the most expensive cooking methods.
Fryer Cost
Quality deep fryers can range from $40 up to $200 or more. Features like oil filtration, timers, and automatic lifts to raise foods cost extra. It’s a hefty appliance investment given the limited uses.
Oil Cost
Frying oil is surprisingly pricey, often $3-5 per quart. To fill a deep fryer you may need 4 cups or more per use. That can mean $10-15 in oil for one batch of fried chicken or fries. The cost adds up quickly.
Replacing Oil
For the best results, you should replace the oil after 5-10 uses. Repeatedly reusing oil leads to smoking points lowering and off-flavors developing. At 4+ cups per batch, replacing oil weekly gets expensive.
Heavy Cleaning
Deep fryers require heavy duty cleaning to keep them from becoming rancid oil and grease cesspools. Here are cleaning hassles you’ll deal with:
Disassembly
To fully clean a deep fryer, you need to take it apart, removing baskets, pots, lids, tubes, and other components. This makes cleaning more tedious.
Scrubbing
You’ll have to scrub down the inner pot and other parts to remove cooked-on oil residue. This often requires heavy duty degreasers and steel wool scrubbing pads.
Straining Oil Bits
Small bits of fried foods will accumulate in the oil, requiring you to strain through a fine mesh strainer when pouring used oil back into its original container.
Dealing with Rancid Oil
If you accidentally leave old oil sitting, it can go rancid quickly, becoming sticky and smelly. Rancid oil is difficult to fully remove from a fryer’s nooks and crannies.
Storage Cleanup
Storing the bulky deep fryer takes up space and keeping the oil refrigerated means potential spills in the fridge. You’ll also need to remember to change out the oil.
Healthier Cooking Methods
When weighing the downsides of deep frying, it’s helpful to know there are many healthier and easier cooking methods that produce similar results:
Oven Frying
Coating foods in oil or baking spray and baking at high heat makes crispy “oven fried” foods without submerging in fat. It also avoids spatter burns and requires only spraying or brushing a small amount of oil.
Air Frying
Air fryers use circulating hot air to crisp up foods like fries or chicken wings. While not fat-free, air frying uses just 1-2 teaspoons of oil to make foods crispy with up to 80% less fat.
Pan Frying
Cooking in just 1/4 inch of oil in a skillet gives light crisping with less fat absorption than deep frying. You can then drain foods on paper towels to remove excess surface oil.
Grilling
Cooking on an outdoor or indoor grill allows excess fat to drip away from foods. Grilled veggies, kabobs, fish, chicken, and other proteins turn out tasty with minimal oil or fat needed.
Steaming
Steaming vegetables, dumplings, fish, and other healthy foods retains nutrients without any added fat. A countertop steamer makes this simple.
Less Oil Alternatives
If you do still want to fry at home, there are lower oil alternatives to a deep fryer:
Electric Skillet
An electric skillet allows pan frying with just 1/2 inch of oil rather than several inches in a deep fryer. Temperature controls prevent burning or smoking oil.
Small Fryer
Compact 1-2 cup deep fryers are available for smaller jobs. This uses less oil than larger fryers holding 4-5+ cups of oil.
Air Fryer
An air fryer uses a tablespoon or two of oil to get crispy texture with air circulation, avoiding submerging foods in fat.
Oven “Fry” Kit
Kits with oven-safe pots, racks, and tongs replicate deep frying in the oven. You use less oil with similar results.
| Method | Oil Used | Fat Absorbed |
|---|---|---|
| Deep Frying | 4-6 cups | High |
| Pan Frying | 1/4 inch | Moderate |
| Air Frying | 1-2 tsp | Low |
Uses Minimal Oil
One advantage of a deep fryer is needing only a few inches of oil to fully submerge foods. But there are more oil-conscious options:
Oven Frying
The oven allows “frying” with just a light brushing or spritzing of oil onto foods before baking. Using a wire rack helps circulate air and crisp all sides.
Grilling
On a grill, excess fat drips away while cooking. A light oil or spice rub is all you need for flavor.
Steaming
A steamer basket cooks foods over boiling water, keeping them moist and healthy without any added fats.
Broiling
Under the direct high heat of the broiler, foods cook up crispy on top with no oil needed.
Roasting
Dry roasting vegetables, meats, and poultry in the oven produces caramelized flavors with no oil required.
Easier Cleanup
One appeal of a deep fryer is being able to quickly drain and dump the oil after cooking. However, there are still cleanup hassles involved. Going oil-free makes for an easier post-cooking kitchen:
No Greasy Residue
Without gallons of hot oil, there are no splatters leaving greasy buildup on nearby areas that require heavy scrubbing to remove.
Fewer Components
Alternative cooking methods use minimal equipment like a sheet pan or steamer basket that are easy to clean. Deep fryers have many parts like baskets, pots, lids, and heating components.
No Scrubbing
You avoid having to scrub stuck-on fried bits out of the interior pot. A simple wipe down or rinse of equipment is all you need.
No Rancid Oil Smell
Without vats of oil sitting around, your kitchen stays fresher smelling. There’s no concern about old oil going rancid.
Less Disassembly
Cleaning a deep fryer requires fully disassembling and taking apart components. Skipping the oil means fewer pieces to clean up.
More Affordable
Between the appliance and regularly buying fresh oil, deep frying is pricy compared to other cooking techniques:
No Fryer Purchase
You don’t need to buy an expensive appliance that takes up space and requires storage when not in use.
Lower Energy Costs
Heating up several quarts of oil takes considerable energy. Oven or stove top cooking uses less sustained heat.
No Oil Costs
Eliminating gallons of frying oil each month saves a significant amount of money. Oil is one of the most expensive ingredients.
| Cooking Method | Equipment Needed | Operating Costs |
|---|---|---|
| Deep Frying | $40 – $200 Fryer | $15-20 oil per use |
| Pan Frying | Skillet ($20) | Minimal oil |
| Oven Frying | Sheet pan, wire rack | Heat electricity |
As shown, deep frying requires the highest equipment costs and continual purchase of frying oil.
More Convenient
While deep fryers sound like a convenient appliance, there are actually more convenient ways to cook crispy foods at home:
Shorter Prep Time
You avoid lengthy steps like heating several quarts of oil, breading foods, lowering and raising baskets, and carefully monitoring oil temperature.
No Assembly
A deep fryer requires getting the parts out, assembling, clamping together, filling with oil, etc. before use. Other methods have quicker start up.
Watch Closely
Foods frying require close monitoring so they don’t burn and to raise and lower basket at right times. Walk away cooking isn’t possible.
Cooling Period
After frying, foods must be drained and cooled on racks before eating. Oven or stove methods go right from cooking appliance to plate.
Less Monitoring
With alternate cooking methods, you don’t have to carefully time each batch and continually watch to prevent burning.
Tasty Results
Crunchy deep fried foods taste great. But you can get tasty crispy results through more healthy cooking techniques:
Crisp Oven Frying
By using a wire rack to allow air circulation, oven frying makes foods crispy on the outside with just a light brushing of oil.
Crunchy Air Frying
Super heated air flow crisps up everything from frozen foods to homemade fries or chicken wings with a fraction of the oil.
Char Grilling
The high heat of the grill gives great caramelized flavors. Grilled veggies and fruits like pineapple taste amazing.
Pan Searing
A hot skillet gives incredible crispy browning to meats, fish, empanadas, and other foods with just a thin coating of oil.
Brown Roasting
Dry roasting meats and vegetables in a hot oven brings out bold, complex flavors through browning reactions.
Conclusion
While deep frying may seem like the optimal way to crisp up your favorite foods, it comes with numerous downsides like safety hazards, unhealthy fats, strong odors, high costs, and cleaning hassles. Luckily, today there are many alternate options to enjoy crispy browned foods using little or no oil. Ditch the messy deep fryer and opt for convenient, affordable cooking techniques like oven frying, air frying, grilling, or pan searing. Your kitchen will be safer, cleaner, and filled with mouthwatering flavors and textures.