Helpful Hints - Presto Kitchen Kettle Instruction Manual

Helpful Hints

• Fry foods of uniform size and thickness as they will fry more evenly and at the same speed. Do not overfill the basket. Frying too
much food at once lowers the oil temperature and causes food to absorb too much oil.
• Use only heat-resistant utensils. Hot oil damages most plastic or rubber utensils. Do not leave metal utensils in the multi-cooker
as they will become hot and can cause injury.
• Avoid preheating the oil longer than necessary and turn off the multi-cooker once the last batch of food has been removed. The
longer the oil is heated, the more it deteriorates.
• Use vegetable oils, such as peanut, canola, corn, sunflower, soybean, and light olive oil, which can withstand the high temperatures
required for deep frying. Do not use extra virgin olive oil or other vegetable oils as they deteriorate at temperatures below those
required for deep frying.
• Do not use solid fat (shortening, butter, margarine, lard). Solid fat will not melt uniformly and will cause severe smoking.
• When breading food, use any type of flour, corn meal, fine bread or cracker crumbs, or commercial breading to coat food. To get
breading to adhere better to food, dip food first in a mixture of egg and milk; see Crispy Coating recipe on page 9.
• Foods that are battered may stick to the basket; therefore, you may wish to fry these foods without the basket. If, however, you want
to use the basket, lower it into the oil before placing battered foods in the oil. When using the multi-cooker without the basket, a
heat-resistant scoop should be used to add or remove foods.
Handling Oil after Frying
After frying foods, allow the oil to cool. To strain oil for reuse, place a funnel into the original oil container or other airtight container
and line the funnel with a filter or a double thickness of cheesecloth. Slowly pour the oil into funnel. Store the oil in a cool, dark area.
The number of times the oil can be reused will depend on the type of oil used and the food that is fried in it. For example, the oil will
need to be replaced more often if fish or food coated with bread or cracker crumbs is fried frequently.
Replace the oil if it is dark in color, has an unpleasant odor, smokes when heated, or foams excessively during frying.
How to Fry
1. Place the multi-cooker on a dry, level, heat-resistant surface away from the wall and the edge. Do not let the cord hang or drape over
the edge of the counter or table within reach of children. Remove the cover from the multi-cooker.
NOTICE: To prevent possible heat damage to your countertop, place a heat-resistant counter protector, such as aluminum foil, under
the multi-cooker, taking care not to place the foil under the legs.
2. Fill the multi-cooker with vegetable oil up to the oil level line, which is located on the inside of the unit. Never use more than seven,
8-ounce cups of vegetable oil.
3. Plug the cord into a 120VAC wall outlet only. Set the heat control at 400° and preheat for 20 minutes. Leave the heat control at 400°
for frying.
4. While the oil is preheating, prepare the food for frying. Remove any excess moisture by patting dry with paper towels. Moist foods
cause excess foaming and spattering. Place basket on the countertop. The basket can be filled to the rim for most foods.
CAUTION! For homemade fries, only fill the basket ½ full. Overfilling can result in the oil boiling over which may cause burns or
damage to the multi-cooker.
5. Once the oil has preheated, slowly lower the basket into the oil and fry food until golden brown. If the oil starts to boil up too quickly
lift the basket out of the oil for a couple of seconds, then lower it again. Repeat as necessary until the basket is completely lowered
into the multi-cooker.
WARNING! To prevent the risk of personal injury or property damage, use caution when cooking with hot oil.
6. When the frying time has elapsed, make sure the food is golden brown. Then lift the basket and hook it onto the multi-cooker rim to
allow the oil to drain from the food.
7. Allow the oil to cool completely before straining or before moving or cleaning the multi-cooker.
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