The short review? If you can get your hands on one of these, do a happy dance, get the FryBaby, and RUN! I love mine, despite the fact that I initially thought it was way too small to be of any practical use for a family. But I have come to understand the error of my ways! Most of my friends who have larger units hardly ever use them because they take up so much space and use so much oil. The fact that the Fry Baby is compact and can be used with a reasonable amount of oil is just the start of its benefits. . .it heats very fast (partially because it isn't huge!) and does a great job with everything from french fries to chicken strips to homemade jalapeno poppers. Because the heat is high and consistent, it doesn't take very long to cook, either. So, even though I have to sometimes cook in batches, it doesn't seem to take long, no matter what I am making. It's easy to strain and re-use the oil and clean the unit. Saving the oil is easy, too, as you don't need to clean it between every use and it stores right in the Fry Baby. So, i love it, it is more than worth any price, and you should get one, too!

RobynneDF

USA

This was the first deep fryer I have ever owned or used. My then-boyfriend and I had just moved in together and were buying kitchen gadgets, and decided we needed one of these for French fries, cheese sticks, onion rings, etc... It was the least expensive model in the store we were shopping at, which I actually can't remember where it was, since it was about 15 years ago. It looks very basic and easy to use, so we took it home and tried it. I actually really like the handle and the shape. It's small, portable enough to move to different parts of the kitchen, and the cord is easy to put away as well. Ours came with a plain rubber lid, too. It heats fairly quickly, be sure to NEVER overfill the oil past the fill line because it WILL bubble over. (Husband learned that the hard way.) And you can honestly go quite awhile without changing the oil (depending of course on what you cook in it regularly.) When it comes time to clean, however, it's kind of a mess. First, finding something to dump the oil into (we're not coffee drinkers so never have coffee cans) is a pain, then, we tried to wash it in the sink first and eventually just used a ton of paper towels to wipe clean. It took forever and there was a LOT of stuck on grease, even after the first 5 or 6 times we used it. Also, at one point, my husband plugged it in to heat up and accidentally forgot to remove the lid, so now we have one with a lid that can be placed on while it is still warm!

sara68528

USA

We never wanted to have a deep fryer in our house. Oil was too expensive, and it was too messy. Then we came upon the FryBaby Fryer from Presto and it only used 2 cups of oil to fry a pretty decent size of food, so we bought it. Boy did we have fun with our fryer! Performance The FryBaby fryer is a good little fryer. You put the food in the fryer and you have to scoop it out with the scoop given with the fryer. There is no basket. The fryer gets back up to temp rather quickly and does fry pretty well. Ease of Use This fryer is easy to use. You put in two cups of oil and then plug it in and wait for about 10 minutes while it get up to temperature. The food is placed inside (about a half cup or so at a time) and then removed with a slotted scoop. It only takes a minute or two to get up to temp again and then you repeat. It is not difficult and you don't go through much oil. Durability After using this for five years, the unit began to show signs of wear. The stick free coating began to flake off a few years after using it. The plastic top on it was becoming harder to get to stay on. The outside of the unit was becoming harder to clean as the oil got sticky on it and it would not clean off. But it was used a lot. Ease of Cleaning The idea is that you leave the oil in the unit when using it and when not using it. The cover will cover the oil so that it remains clean until you put more in or change it. In retrospect, I would re-do this by taking the oil out every single time it was used and not leave it in the unit. There is a sticky coating the covers all of the unit from the high temperature and oil and it is very hard to get off. You can not immerse this fryer in water, so it is not easy to clean. Still it is a great small fryer for a beginner or someone who fries only occasionally.

Caprig

Podunk, NY

Presto FryBaby Deep Fryer is a good little fryer. We received this as a gift so for my hubby and I, it's perfect. The fryer heats up quickly and whatever you are frying comes out crisp and golden brown. Homemade french fries with the skin are the best. Oil retains itself nicely in the fryer. As long as you fry like items you can use oil a few times. The design is small so it easily fits on the counter or cabinets. We used this fryer quite alot and never had any problems with its performance. We have changed our lifestyle to incorportate more baked foods versus fried so the Presto FryBaby Deep Fryer is no longer being used by us. The good news is that I passed it on to one of my friends and they rave about it. The fryer has continued to deliver good tasting food. So definitely a thumbs up for this FryBaby.

cheekoo

Saint Anne, IL

I gotta admit that I have had fryer before and I know frying can be unhealthy (but delicious) well, that said, I got rid of my last fryer I forget the brand name it but was small compact and that is why I got it in the first place (well secondary to wanting to deep fry something)   the old fryer was hard to clean and ended up overflowing and getting gummy and yucky.  THIS fryer is compact and tiny (smaller even than my last one) and because it was so tiny and cute and I have limited kitchen space I decided to give it another shot.    SUrprizingly for it's small size it packs quite some abilities! I love how the basket can break down into a tiny thing and fit right inside the unit.  Also love and hate the magnetic plug.  Love it because it prevents fire hazards, hate it because I once knocked it off while trying to cook something and was left wondering why the heat wasn't comming up fast enough for about 30 minutes before I realized it wasn't even on (haha) well.   I was able to make some fried okra, french fries (small batch) and fish tacos with this.  I guess the size can also be a pro and a con.  Con because it is tiny and therefore you cannot fry so much,  PRO because it is tiny and therefore you are forced to eat just a little since you cannot fry so much.  Hahaha   Regardless of what enyone else has to say about it, I think that if you want something friend and are staying on the healthy side, this guy is the lesser of all evils, he will give you a treat so long as you take good care of him :p

RMDelete

San Diego, CA

***The name is the baby fryer, I recieved it as a christmas gift and I use it for everything.  Not just deep frying but I make stews and beens and rice.  I have also slow cooked some meats in it.  My husband who does not cook that often has cooked several times with this product.  It is great for keeping things worm also such as cheeses, soups and stews.  And it is small enough that I can take it places, like birthday parties and other get to gethers.   ***

caligirl1019

Fort Worth, TX