Fried food tastes better—you know it and your customers know it. When you're serving up fried foods on a daily basis your fry baskets are bound to take a beating. Your fryer might come with a basic fryer basket, but upgrading to higher-quality fry baskets can mean a longer lifespan. Stainless steel fryer baskets may be more expensive, but they are rust-resistant and more durable than their cheaper counterparts.
Types of Fryer Baskets
Common fryer baskets include rectangular or circle wire mesh. Rectangular fryer baskets are typically used with commercial deep fryers, but circle fry baskets are ideal when frying in large cast iron pots. If you're planning on frying a lot of something at a time (e.g. French fries) consider getting a deep fish fry basket or French fry basket to hold more product at a time. Taco shell deep fryer baskets help retain that taco shape customers love while frying, otherwise you'll lose that curl. And don't underestimate the versatility of your fryer basket—have you tried using it as a pasta strainer before?
How Many Fryer Baskets Do You Need?
Most fryers will come with one or two fry baskets as standard items. One basket works if you're a smaller operation and only cook small amounts at a time. Multiple fry baskets are helpful though, when cooking different types of foods at the same time (think chicken and French fries); that way you don't have to worry about food sticking together during the process. Separate tanks will obviously have multiple baskets as well and are ideal for avoiding flavor transfer between foods, like fried pickles and calamari.