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Pros

  • gets up to temperature quickly and accurately, components are easy to clean

Cons

  • lid and handle design is not the best, takes up a lot of space

Russell Hobbs digital deep-fat fryer summary

The Russell Hobbs 24580 is a powerhouse of a deep-fat fryer, capable of cooking family-sized portions at temperatures from 130C to 190C. The packaging used with the 24580 is pretty minimal and almost entirely recyclable.

How is the Russell Hobbs fryer to use?

It’s very easy to set up – just fill it with oil, turn the temperature dial to activate the heating element, and then wait for the oil to get up to temperature before loading ingredients into the basket and lowering them into the oil.

We were impressed with how quickly this fryer came up to maximum temperature. Based on the readings we took with our kitchen thermometer, it took just a few minutes from switching on the appliance for the oil to get up to roughly 190C.

Once we lowered our ingredients into the oil, the temperature dropped a little, as is natural, before climbing back towards the desired temperature in the space of a minute or so. Considering the fact that the 24580 is a relatively affordable fryer, we’d rate its temperature control as very good.

With powerful heating comes the potential for delicious deep-fried food, and the 24580 certainly seems capable of making that. We used it to make a few different meals, including twice-cooked chips and a rather challenging cauliflower tempura recipe. The fryer crisped up the batter on the cauliflower pieces very nicely, adding a light crunch to the surface of the veg.

This is a fairly safe fryer to use. The sides of the appliance didn’t get especially hot during use, and the lid does a good job of keeping the hot oil out of reach.

One slight downside is that the handle and lid of the 24580 are not especially easy to click into position, so ensure you’ve got them correctly positioned before you set the fryer running.

How practical is the Russell Hobbs fryer?

Cleaning the 24580 is a piece of cake. The element, frying tub and frying basket all lift out of the body of the fryer, so you can wipe or wash them without having to reach inside the fryer. The sides and lid wipe clean perfectly easily.

This is a relatively large deep-fat fryer, by domestic standards. We would've expected the 24580 to have a larger food capacity on this basis – the ratio of a 1.2kg capacity basket to a 3.3l oil capacity is not especially good. It’s an effective fryer, but be mindful that it’ll take up a fair bit of space in your kitchen cupboard or on the work surface.

Russell Hobbs 24580 deep-fat fryer specifications

Maximum temperature: 190C
Oil capacity: 3.3l
Food capacity: 1.2kg
Power: 2300W

More on deep-frying

How to deep-fry safely
26 best deep-fried recipes
Best deep-fat fryers tried and tested
Is air frying healthy?
Best air fryers

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This review was last updated in September 2020. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.

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