Wonderfully crispy, golden-brown fried meals which steam appetisingly in the bowl are not something that people with coeliac condition have to miss out on. But there are a few basic rules that it is a good idea to bear in mind if you want to get the best results when frying. Here is the ABC of gluten-free frying:

• The most important requirement to make sure that the meal does not bring any nasty surprises is to make sure that the fat you are using for frying has not previously been used to cook food that contains gluten.

• You do not necessarily need a deep fat fryer; you can also use a large, deep pan. Use a flat slotted spoon to lift the food out once it has been fried.

• The best types of fat for frying are oils with a high smoke point (the temperature at which the oil starts to smoke when it is heated up) and a high proportion of simple, unsaturated fatty acids such as palm kernel oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil or clarified butter. You should only ever use one type of oil or fat and do not mix them together. Oils and butters are gluten-free and can be used without hesitation.

• Both fresh and frozen foods are suitable for frying. Wet foods should be patted dry before frying. Frozen foods should be defrosted briefly and then dried as well.

• When it comes to gluten-free fare, the following foods are especially good for frying:

Meat (you can make gluten-free breadcrumbs from Schär Farina/Mehl and Schär Pan Gratí)
Our recipe tip: Chicken fritters with orange

Fish and seafood
Our recipe tip: Fideua

Various ways of preparing vegetables and potatoes, as long as they do not contain gluten (fries, chips, fried potatoes)
Our recipe tip:Vegetable tempura

Fruit (with gluten-free breadcrumbs)
Our recipe tip: Apple fritters

Gluten-free baking and desserts
Our recipe tip: French toast with honey


• It is best to preheat the frying oil at roughly 60 – 80 °C for a few minutes and then bring it to the ideal frying temperature, which is roughly 170 °C. If you do not have a thermometer to check the temperature, put a chunk of white bread into the hot oil: if it is golden-brown after exactly one minute then the oil has reached the right temperature.

• The ratio of fried food to frying oil should be 1:10, and definitely no more than 1:15. If too much cold food for frying is added to the oil then the temperature will drop too quickly.

• Fry all food for as little time as possible; the food should be browned to a golden yellow colour.

• Drain the food well once it has been fried. If you keep the food warm until you serve it, less oil can get into the centre of the food, meaning that it is less fatty.

• If the frying oil has become considerably darker, viscous, smells/tastes bitter and rancid and smokes and foams when heated then it must be replaced.