Is Mary Berry being hypocritical?

[boatbuilder]

Bake Off's Mary Berry criticised by MasterChef judge over fryers

MasterChef judge Gregg Wallace has criticised Great British Bake Off star Mary Berry over her suggestion that no family should own a deep-fat fryer.
Writing in the Sun, Wallace said the UK was "built on chips and spam fritters", and called Berry's comments an "attack on our British way of life".
Berry told Good Housekeeping that homes should not have fryers and children should not consume "sugared drinks".
The latest Bake Off series began on Wednesday, with millions watching.
Wallace's comments come after Berry told Good Housekeeping: "We need to teach parents about the right foods to give children. It's very difficult.
"Many people think children must have chips. I don't think any household should have a deep fat fryer."
Wallace called the remarks "ludicrous".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37207911

IMO she IS being hypocritical when she also goes on to say 'children should not consume "sugared drinks" '. Surely most of the cakes she 'promotes' in the Bake-off program also contain lots of sugar.

[SL-Dave]

I think there are 2 ways of looking at things.
1) From an unemotional detached view, thinking globally, I think she was right; in the developed world we do eat and drink too many sugary things, and often as parents we give in and give our kids the sugary treats they want as it's simply easier.
2) From a nostalgic emotional viewpoint, our country has a history of frying anything we can imagine! It is nice to think of this as our national heritage, like Italy has pizzas etc. Otherwise, what do the British have?

I personally don't have a fryer, as most things that were once fried can instead be oven-baked or grilled on the George Foreman healthy grill.

I'm also glad the article mentioned Jaffa cakes. I always kept Jaffa dunking as a guilty secret, and now I feel confident to stand tall and proclaim I too am a Jaffa dunker! There is, however, a skilled technique to it; too long and it falls off into the tea, and too little and you lack the squidginess (?) that is required.

[Mel]

It is nice to think of this as our national heritage, like Italy has pizzas etc. Otherwise, what do the British have?

Yorkshire Puddings, Cornish Pasties and like you say Amansin the good old deep fat fried Fish & Chips

Most houses when I was younger had a 'chip pan' where the good old British chip would be cooked in pan full of heated lard (my mouth is watering thinking of it . But fashions change, nowadays people have frozen oven chips and wedges and have plenty of fast food outlets to eat their French fries...so the chip pan disappeared from homes and the deep fat fryer emerged with all sorts of oils, olive, sunflower, rape seed etc. to fry your grub in. I wouldn't want one but I don't think Mary Berry should try and dictate what parents feed their children on...anything in moderation I say.

[funkychick]

I ve never owned a deep fat fryer but as a kid when I came home from school and Nan asked what I fancied to eat I d say can I have a 'fry up'..... which would be bacon egg and delicious fried bread (I haven't had fried bread for years ) I can't remember ever deep frying anything as an adult or a child , but love my stir fries so an ordinary frying pan is a must for me
I do think Mary Berry has a point as a nation we are getting really fat BUT I also think her cakes and sweet stuff are part of the problem so yes maybe she was being a bit of a hypocrite

[kerch]

I can see the point in having a deep fryer if there's a family to feed,I owned one many moons ago but now waste of space in my very small kitchen.The only electrcial gagets I have now are a toaster and a handheld food mixer.

[boatbuilder]

.....BUT I also think her cakes and sweet stuff are part of the problem so yes maybe she was being a bit of a hypocrite

That was just the point I was making, FC.

I see today she has spoken on Radio4 about it and now saying that deep fat fryers are dangerous. However if you listen to the short clip HERE she is talking about both 'deep fat fryers' and the old traditional 'chip pan' as we called them. Yes, the old chip pan could be dangerous if it wasn't watched carefully, but the 'deep fat fryers' are no more dangerous than any of the tumble dryers that have made the news in recent years causing fires because of a fault with them. Sounds to me like she was trying to steer the criticism about them away from her original comment.