I thought this was going to be a Jack Handy question on the subject of
frying.

-S-

wrote:
> I'm not much of a cook, but I do my best......
>
> Anyhow, I bought an old electric deep fryer at a second hand store.
> It's small in size, so it'll work fine in the house without using up
> lots of counter space.
>
> I know how deep frying works, from having worked at a fast food
> restaurant when I was in high school (about 38 years ago). But I've
> never done any deep frying at home.
>
> Anyhow, I'm now looking at this cooker and not sure where to begin.
> Yea, I know, fill it about half way with oil and plug it in.
>
> First question: It has a temperature setting control. What is the
> normal setting for most foods? I'm sure it varies by the type of
> food, but at least if I have some sort of medium setting to begin
> with, I can adjust from there.
>
> Second: I'm aware that in the fast food restaurants the deep fryers
> are hot and in use around the clock. And they have machines that
> filter out the oil every day or two. However, in my case, I'll deep
> fry something, and may not use it again for a day or more. Thus,
> what do I do with the oil when it's not in use? Do I bottle it and
> put it in the fridge, or do I just leave it in the deep fryer, or
> just use new oil each time?
>
> Somehow, having to use new oil each time seems like the price of the
> oil would make the deep fryer almost too costly to use for an order of
> french fries to feed just myself or two people. So there must be some
> way to re-use the oil.
>
> I'd appreciate tips for using this thing.
>
> One last thing, is there a "best" oil to use? (Corn oil, vegetable
> oil, soy oil, etc....).