Presto 05466 ProFry Stainless-Steel Dual-Basket Immersion-Element 12-Cup Deep Fryer

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In light of Shelley Ryan's excellent report on the problem she had with her Presto fryer, I thought I should report my own experience. I filled my fryer with oil and let it come up to temperature on the highest setting. I checked the temperature with my own thermometer when the light went out, and indeed the temperature was only around 340 degrees rather than 375 as it should be. But, after simply mixing the oil around a bit with the drip baskets, I found that within a few minutes the temperature rose right up to 375 degrees, as it was supposed to be. The heating elements are very close to the unit's internal thermostat, and I think that you need to get the oil moving a bit in order for all of the oil to heat uniformly up to the correct temperature.

Of course, once the food gets frying there is plenty of movement in the oil to even out the temperature. And given the substantial amount of oil and the amount of power supplied by the unit's heating elements, I find that it does a much better, cleaner, and safer job of frying than I'd been experiencing on my gas stovetop with a deep pot. My experience has been that the temperature comes back up to the right level very quickly. The french fries, empanadas, and fried chicken I've cooked in it so far have come out great.

As some others have posted in reply to her review, it's possible that the thermostat in Ryan's unit was simply defective. For mine, it seems to be just right.