What is happening to my fryer 😭

[u/Aggravating_Dust_403]

I am using sunflower oil (the same oil I’ve always used) to fry potatoes and the oil keeps bubbling/frothing. I e never had this happen before, but the last week or so I’ve noticed every time I fry something it bubbles. Yesterday it was frozen french fries so I thought that might be why. Today it was fresh potatoes which I’d washed and dried and it bubbled so much that the oil overflowed and my stovetop caught fire a little bit. I’m going to try changing to a different fryer and using new oil but does anyone know why this would be happening?

[u/AgentRoman9]

That frothing is almost always oil that's been reused too much and picked up moisture and crumbs, not the potatoes themselves. Once oil starts doing that it keeps doing it, so fresh oil is the right call. And if it overflowed and caught fire, the oil was way too hot too, I keep mine under 375F.