George Foreman GSF026B Deep Fryer with Smart Spin Technology

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.

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.

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.

We excitedly anticipated the arrival of this lean deep frying machine and were 100 % delighted! The machine does as it claims and truly does knock out much of the fat/grease from whatever you are deep frying.

We haven't used it multiple times, just on Christmas Day repeatedly. We decided to attempt fried calamari. OH MY!!! It was to die for! Each batch cooked for 4 mins and were crispy as can be. The batches towards the end came out super crispy, so we would suggest lowering the cooking time as the oil gets hotter.

The spin function is great to have and I can't comprehend how we lived without it before this. The dial for spin function can be set for as little as 1 second to a maximum 2 minutes. The cooking dial has a maximum degree of 375. I can't wait to throw more things at this machine. After spinning for 30 seconds, we did do the towel test to see what the difference is compared to pan frying and there was a miniscule amount of oil drainage. Truly, sort of miraculous!! When we used to make fried calamari in a pan, we would use tons of paper towels and it would still soak through and coat the whole bowl.

Now onto the bad...
* The cooking temperature knob and the spinning knob should have been more clearly marked.

* You have to line up the basket so that it could slide back down. That is very difficult to do because the basket is HOT. If you don't it will not go back into place.

* On one cooking attempt, in order to use the spin function, you must snap the basket up into place. The snap function wouldn't happen. Without the basket snapping up into the lid, you will not be able to make use of the spinning function. Without spinning, this is just another deep fryer.

* Small basket size which would only make half a plate of food. Not enough for this family of 5. It does batches quickly though!

With the negatives, I hope I just received a glitchy machine and it doesn't happen to all.

So, you should go for this little unit because it truly seems to make a fried food taste just a little healthier and this machine looks great on my counter next to my stainless steel appliances. LOVE IT.

I am a big fan of the George Foreman line of grills. Over the past 12 or so years I have owned at least 4 of his grills. Not because they didn't work well, but more so because I used them so much to the point I wore them out. So when I saw the infomercial for his new fryer I knew that I had to have it. And I am glad that I purchased this fryer. It does everything that it says it does. This fryer truly does knockout the fat thanks to the spin technology.

With most fryers once your food has finished cooking you just raise the basket, maybe let it drain for a few seconds and then you would dump your food onto some paper towels so you could drain the grease. And even then you could not get all the grease and your food would still feel somewhat greasy. Well with the Foreman fryer, once your food has finished cooking, you raise the basket, set the spin timer and turn on the spinner. When the timer stops so does the spinner. And then you just dump your food onto some paper towels just to remove any excess grease. And trust me the difference is amazing. I made a batch of french fries tonight and they were so light and crisp. When I bit into them all I was tasting was the french fry. There was no grease. I feel like I am safe to deep fry foods once again.

The only complaints I have are that the basket is a tad on the small side. Frying chicken will take a few batches of cooking 2 pieces at a time. And cooking bone in chicken breasts could present a problem since they may not fit in the basket. But the good thing is that the oil heats back up to the set temperature quickly between uses. My other problem is with the sound that the spinner makes. When on high it is quite loud. You get used to it but hopefully in the future they can improve on that feature. Other than that this fryer is a great addition to the George Foreman line of products and is an item that every household, that enjoys fried foods, should have. It is worth every penny.