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Cons May Outweigh the Pros
I think this tries to be an honest product. It does work as intended; it does expel the oil from food. I was skeptical because of the claim "Knocks Out up to 55% of the Fat" had "up to" in small print and in the fine print there are disclaimers like "results are not typical" and they note that the average fat reduction was 38%. I figured that the test was done by measuring food right out of the fryer to boost their numbers, however, to their credit, they clearly describe how the tests were done and note the maximum amount of fat removed from 3 popular fried foods. The amount of oil removed compares spinned foods versus non-spinned food. The thing I appreciated was the fact they noted they placed all test food on towels first, so the amounts removed are measured and compared after resting on paper towels (note the oil removed from paper towels is included in the total amount claimed removed, though).
That said, I still have my concerns whether this product is worth the cost. If this product is aimed at health conscious people like me, what fried food we do eat gets thoroughly dabbed with paper towels to remove as much oil as possible in the first place. Just sitting fried food on a paper towel is not what we do. What percent do we remove ourselves? I don't know of any tests measuring that, but surely if they tested thoroughly toweled food versus spinned food, the amount of oil removed would be much smaller (I did test spinned French fries against my toweled batch, though, and I couldn't tell the difference). So, what this fryer does is, basically, save paper towels, which may be enough of a reason for many people to buy it.
Pros:
-Does remove oil from food
-Reduces need for paper towels to remove oil
-Has a full featured set of fryer controls
Cons:
-May not remove much more fat versus your own toweling after frying
-Heavy machine, especially with oil in it
-Complicated construction: many parts, especially moving parts, equals higher probability of mechanical failure (they do have a 2 year warranty, though)
-Viewing window obstructed by moisture that didn't clear over time
-Moisture leaks around lid
-No on/off switch
-Black markings on chrome knobs hard to read
-Detachable magnetic power cord detaches too easily
-Lid release button takes several tries
-Set up not intuitive: you will need to read instructions to figure it out
I was asked to review this fryer because I previously bought a T-Fal FR7008002 Ultimate EZ Clean Pro-Fryer Stainless-Steel 2-2/3-Pound Deep Fryer, which, despite one design blunder, I prefer to use. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles as the George Foreman fryer, but the clean up features are what I like most. I'll stick to removing oil using paper towels. The cost of this machine and the higher probability of mechanical failure are too much of a concern for me. I do, however, recommend this machine to those who want to reduce paper towel use.
[Monday, January 05, 2009]
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GF Deep Fryer
George Foreman GSF026B Deep Fryer with Smart Spin Technology in my opinion is not worth the money spent on it. This fryer is a good idea; however I wouldwait until this goes on a reduced sale or the next one he comes out with that has the kinks out.
First off it is hard to clean, next it is very large for a small kitchen, but worst thing is that it is a very small fry basket and difficcult to open and get it out.
[Sunday, January 04, 2009]
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Puts out great food, but hard to use.
Other users are correct when they say this thing makes some awesome fried food, it does have some issues though. The basket is very hard to get in and out of the fryer and is actually kind of a hazard because you have to use a little force to put the basket back down into the oil and that can cause hot oil to splatter everywhere. I am a little nervous about using this for that reason. I just hope they fix this problem soon with a new model or something because I imagine poor old George could eventually start getting hit with lawsuits.Also, the controls are very hard to read and understand. We used it for the first time last night and my husband and I made french fries and they were very good, we couldn't taste any oil at all. So that is why I give it four stars.
[Friday, January 02, 2009]
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