Tefal 3163 Profry 1000

Author's product rating:   

Performance
Ease of use
Durability
User's Manual
Value for money

Advantages:	Compact but with good capacity, easy to clean
Disadvantages:	We shouldn't be eating fried foods should we??

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I was looking forward to a nice plate of chips. I went into the kitchen and turned on the deep fryer. You know what they look like - big round white things that take up half your kitchen counter. I went back a few minutes later and plunged my chips into the oil. Nothing happened. The oil was stone cold.

Now, had I thought to check to see if the fuse in the plug was all right, I would have solved the problem. Not that the plug had fused, mind you - the fuse was gone! My daughter had removed it because my son kept forgetting to turn the fryer off, and she was tired of the house smelling like day-old fish and chips.

But I didn't check the plug, I just assumed the machine had packed in, so off I went to buy a new one.

The TEFAL coolwall (also know as the Pro Fry) is what I came home with. This is a great appliance. For one thing, its rectangular shape fits neatly into corners, so it can be pushed out of the way on counters, or stored easily in cupboards.

But the main advantage is that it is easy to clean. The whole thing comes apart into five pieces - the lid, the oil container, the heating element and thermostat, the basket and the outer shell. The oil can then be easily dumped, the comtainer washed, and the whole thing slots easily back together in seconds. It's easy to clean because each bit can be done separately, and everything except the heating element and thermostat can go in the dishwasher. The key is to do it regularly.

Features include a removable basket and lid, a viewing window, an on/off light, non-slip feet, cord storage, metal odour filter.

The oil capacity is four litres, and it can handle 800g of fresh chips and 600g of frozen.

There is a "coolzone" to prevent food from overheating, and the thermostat is on the side, which helps to prevent burns because you don't have to reach over the hot oil to change the temperature. There are cool touch carry handles on the sides.

Performance depends on the oil you use, and on what you are frying, but I get consistenly good results with it. It heats up in no time, and can handle large amounts of food.

The lowest price I've seen is £49.00 on sale, but the usual price is about £60.