A frying basket — also called a chip basket — is the wire-mesh container used to lower foods into hot oil in a deep fryer and lift them out when cooked. Chips, battered fish, doughnuts, and similar foods sit in the mesh while oil circulates freely around them, giving even crisping; lifting the basket drains excess oil back into the fryer. Baskets come in sizes matched to the fryer, with heat-resistant handles that stay cool enough to grip, and some have hooks for hanging above the oil to drain. In busy kitchens they are workhorses that take heavy abuse, so sturdy construction and regular cleaning matter — carbonised residues taint oil and flavour, and damaged mesh can shed wires into food.