Crispy batter

[McNoodle]

What's the best oil (not fat) for deep frying?

[york310]

I find veg oil great but you need to have it hot hot hot if you want good crispy batter

[Jillius]

I use sunflower oil but as york310 says, it needs to be nice and hot.

[Cheekystar]

trying adding some soda water to your batter to make it taste really nice

[McNoodle]

Thanks. I use half plain flour and half corn flour - stops the batter absorbing too much oil, and makes it crispy - salt, pepper and either fizzy spring water of beer. But, whilst I use sunflower oil, some of the top chefs seem to be using groundnut oil? Just wondered if anyone had any experience. After I get an answer I'll go and get a life..!

[jiggy-gb]

Groundnut oil is wonderful stuff, it heats to higher temperatures than sunflower/veg oil without smoking and so you can get a crispier batter, crispy chips etc. And there's no nutty taste to it so no worries there either. Though as someone has already said, you can't beat lard, or beef dripping for that matter. Not so healthy but so long as you're only having fried food as a treat it shouldn't really matter?

[Newyork922]

canola oil is the healthiest