This basic, compact unit might not look like much, but it’s incredibly effective in doing what it’s supposed to do – deep fry your food.

The basic bucket design is not a negative. In fact, there is so little to it that it is almost impossible for anything to go wrong. All you get is a perfectly rounded cooking experience, which distributes heat evenly throughout the cylinder (the bucket itself is a non-stick coated heavy duty aluminum…not Teflon, don’t worry). Without any fancy features or electronic gadgets, the likelihood that you’ll come across a problem is greatly diminished, resulting in a more raw, yet less worrisome cooking environment. It brings about a sort of care to detail and passion that we sometimes lose with all of our gadgets.

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With 1500 Watts, it is in the middle of the pack in terms of power, but it’s smaller 1.4 Liter size means it heats up quickly and actually keeps oil at an optimum cooking temperature thanks to an internal thermostat. It’s true that you won’t be able to control the temperature because of the automatic thermostat, but that shouldn’t actually be a big deal, since the perfect temperature for deep frying most foods is between 350 and 375 degrees Fahrenheit (thanks, Linda!). Speaking of size, that basically means you can fit 6 cups of oil for 3 pounds of shortening in the bucket for your cooking needs.

Perhaps the only real ‘feature’, the Presto GranPappy has a magnetic power cord which is a lot like an Apple laptop’s power cord. It attaches magnetically, meaning if it gets caught or snags on something, it will simply pop off of the back of the unit. The alternative, of course, is that the cord gets pulled, the machine comes with it, and hot oil goes flying everywhere. Some people aren’t fond of this design, saying it comes out too easily, but the alternative – being severely scalded or starting an oil fire – is definitely worse.

Now, one thing you’ll notice about this model is because of it’s basic construction it does not have a basket to lower and raise food from the oil. It does, however, come with a slotted spoon for slowly lowering food and then taking it out when it’s done. This is a bit more cumbersome than just lifting a basket out of the oil and is obviously more work for you, so be aware about this small inconvenience when you’re looking to buy.

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When you’re done using it, let it cool down. Obviously this is important in any deep fryer. Once it’s cool, dump the oil into another receptacle and make sure you’ve got a filter over top (this isn’t absolutely necessary, but if you do this, it’ll save you money). The reason for the filter is to get all the bits and chunks and crumbs out of the oil that might have been dislodged during cooking. If you get a bucket of filtered oil, you’ll be able to use it again, hence the saving money. Pour the cleaned oil back into the unit, pop the lid on, and put it away for storage (making sure to keep it upright, of course…the lid is pretty good plastic and snaps on, but you never know).

Mentioning the lid, it should be said that the lid is not meant to go on during cooking. Some models have lids that are designed to stop the spatter of oil while the cooking process is happening, but with this, you’re left without a guard. Some people have found it helpful just to lay a piece of paper towel over the top while you’re cooking. This is a quick and easy solution, and a piece of paper towel should work fine – the inside diameter of the bucket is about 8 inches.

To sum it up:

• 8 inch Diameter
• Non-Stick, Aluminum
• 1500 Watts
• 6 Cup Capacity
• 1 Year Warranty

This is the highest rated product on Amazon.com, which allows real users to rate the product and leave reviews. We find that if a product has enough reviews, this is a very helpful way of telling whether it is good or not. The more people who review it, the better, and of course the more 5 star reviews, the better.

Well, the GranPappy comes in at a whopping 4.6 out of 5 stars, with over 73% of reviewers giving it a perfect 5! We know this deep fryer won’t be for everyone, but we whole heartedly recommend it if you’re looking for something quick, small-ish, and easy.