Frying Baskets

While deep-frying foods, cooks need a safe way to remove cooked food from dangerously hot fat. With a frying basket, a cook lowers cut-up food into the fat all at once and then removes it as soon as cooking is complete. In the late 1800s paired, close-fitting baskets—called bird’s-nest baskets—were used for frying various sizes of “nests” of cooked noodles or rice that were filled with other foods before being served. Large deep-fryer sets comprised a stamped-iron kettle and a high, fixed hoop from which was hung a removable wire or perforated basket. These devices were commonly used for frying large batches of foods such as crullers, doughnuts, and potatoes.