Customer Reviews

Cuisinart CDF-100 Compact 1.1-Liter Deep Fryer, Brushed Stainless Steel

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

Wow, I'm a big fan of fried foods, homemade french fries especially fried in Canola Oil. I've used industrial restaurant sized fryers and worked from a stove top. This little puppy is probably one of the best little friers I've ever seen.

Most of the negative view of this fryer can be solved by simply reading the instruction booklet. Number one complaint, the cord falls off. Well yes it does, and that is by design. The cord is held into it's socket on the fryer side with a magnet. This is so you can unplug the unit without pulling the fryer over and burning yourself with hot oil. It's a common mistake, thinking the cord is broken. If you plug this in, attach the magnet end and don't move the frier, it will not come unplugged.
Number two complaint, the basket is flimsy and falls over itself. It does not do that if you install the handle correctly. You have to squeeze the two sides and slip the pins into two holes and under a tab - the handle will never ever move in this position.

Here's what I love about this appliance, it uses a small amount of oil - around a quart / liter. We don't have fried foods very often, and I don't cook a whole chicken at once. It's just perfect for those side dishes - appetizer mozzarella sticks, egg rolls, jalapeno poppers, etc. You can do chicken fingers, fish sticks, donuts in here. Food cooks evenly and quickly. Heat up time is around 3 or 4 minutes. Cooking time varies a lot, but can be around 3 or 4 minutes.

The cover is ingeneous - it closes down tight around the top and the basket so no splashing of oil happens. Cook on the counter top with no fear of splashing oil everywhere. The carbon filter shouldn't be cleaned every use, and it prevents splashes from coming out of the lid. The clear window, can see that oil will cloud that up over time, but it's handy to see inside.

Frankly, I love this unit. It's well built, solid construction, feels good in use. Cuisinart built a good small fryer in this unit.

I like this fryer. I fried a lot of Japanese-style food for a family of 4 and there is no oily smell in the house afterwards. It took me a while though. It is all right since I do not want a large appliance on my countertop anyway and that was why I bought it. The fryer is ideal for frying chicken nuggets, shrimp and even Tofu. I gave it 4 stars coz it is really small. It is too small if you are thinking of frying bone-in chicken [...]

...but I am baffled as to why a good bit of the batter sticks to the bottom of the basket no matter what. I've used two different batter recipes, have thick and thin-coated the items, use peanut oil, tried heating the basket or keeping it out until loading, cook only 4-6 items at a time, always add items only when it has heated up to Ready...dunno. Other than that, it's compact, stores well, heats up fast and evenly, cooks beautifully, no spatters, easy to drain and clean, no scratches. I almost want to throw food in without the basket and then fish out with a spider or tongs.

For the price, a great deal.

I have cooked fish and fries since receiving this item and very pleased. The food cooks evenly and the nice size basket allows you to put a larger quanity of food in for a compact fryer.Easy to clean and fits just perfectly under my counter. Cuisinart products have always been good to me.

Fryer is perfect for two people, who are preparing more than one side dish. Fryer heats quick and cooks well. Make sure that you do no overload the fryer---food will not cook evenly even with additional time. Oil does not heat at maximum if basket is left in the fryer.

Great appliance! practical. One problem... due to the heat, the temperature knob selector is plastic made, burns fast and it is not replaceable. At least I haven't been able to find it!

This is a stylish little unit that offers really great tasting results. My one complaint is that it is not dishwasher safe and you have to wash the main housing completely by hand. But it looks good on the counter and produces crispy tasty fried foods, so pretty good for the price.

I have had this fryer since November 2006. At first, this little fryer seemed to be the greatest. My family uses a fryer very often, and we have had several larger ones. That being the reason this one seemed so appealing, the size. There are many problems we have encountered with this. The basket has folded up many times when emptying out hot food resulting in 3 burns. The tab on the top which houses the filter broke off within the first 2-3 cleanings and the plug continually falls off the back. I have also had the oil spurt out the top filter. The size is the only positive thing I can say about this fryer, all the other I have owned were very big and bulky. In the end size does matter, I will go back to the larger one.

I've always liked Cuisinart products and use a few on a daily basis (microwave, breadmaker, toaster). I had high hopes for this mini deep fryer but after several frustrating frying sessions, I realized that its cute package was a smokescreen for a totally flawed appliance. The thermostat on mine was a disaster and it couldn't hold temperature even with a few tiny items added. The fried items were sodden with grease and were mostly inedible. Doughnuts were a huge disaster, but breaded chicken fared slightly better. The concept was great- quick frying with a minimum of oil- but it was not quick and with temperature running an average of 325 F (50 degrees short of ideal) made for disappointing frying. I returned this item and got a small unit at half the price at a major discount retailer. Fabulous results with the new unit. The only way fried food can be edible is with the proper temp. Please fix this problem, Cuisinart!

Purchased this little fryer for seafood frying. Have tried multiple batters and they all stick like concrete to the basket. Called Cuisineart and they said that you need to use their recipe for batter. Have already tried that and it still sticks. No difference in oils. The fryer is flawed. It does not get hot enough. Save your money!