Coopers of Stortford compact mini fryer review

Available from Coopers of Stortford (£24.99)

How was the Coopers of Stortford fryer to use?

Setting up this appliance is incredibly easy. The basket and the handle fit together and into the fryer intuitively, and turning the fryer on is a simple matter of turning its thermostat dial. One frustrating aspect is that the ‘ready’ indicator light doesn’t turn on until the temperature reaches 140C. Plenty of us want to fry things at a lower temperature than that.

With that said, we were very impressed with the accuracy of the thermostat. The indicator light turned on at the exact moment our kitchen thermometer showed the temperature exceeding 140C.

In our testing, the mini fryer took less than 4 minutes to get up to 130C, impressively fast relative to most models we tested. (Please note, the instruction manual specifically advises the user to leave the fryer for 8 minutes to heat up to 140C).

The temperature dropped to around 110C after we added our chips, and it took a few minutes to recover.

The chips we cooked were perfect: really crisp on the outside, perfectly fluffy on the inside and evenly cooked throughout the batches.

We recommend reading the instruction manual, which offers good advice on how to use the fryer, and on deep-frying food more generally.

How practical is the size of the Coopers of Stortford fryer?

There is one tough question buyers should ask themselves about the fryer: is it big enough? In our view, the basket actually holds a lot more chips than expected.

The portion is admittedly at the smaller end of the scale – a hearty fries for one or a snack for two. So, while this is an excellent choice of fryer for making small batches, it’s not suitable for family cooking.

On the other hand, there are some great benefits to its size. Its tiny footprint makes it very easy to store, and cleaning the appliance can be done very quickly.

Available from Coopers of Stortford (£24.99)

Coopers of Stortford compact mini fryer specifications

Maximum temperature: 190C
Oil capacity: 0.5l
Food capacity: one large portion/two small portions of chips
Power: 600W

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This review was last updated in September 2020. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.