But I don’t use it that way, having never deep-fried anything in my life (I’m tempted to, just because I love doing things I’ve never done before, but I’m weird that way).
I use it for . . . well, for laziness, or dish-conservation. It’s functions as both colander and pot, which is sometimes incredibly handy. In the picture above, I dropped the beans in the thingy as I topped-and-tailed them. Then I rinsed (colander action). Then I stuck the whole thing into a pot of boiling water (pot action). When they were done, I just lifted the thingy out, gave it a good shake over the sink (more colander action), and dumped them into a serving bowl.
Voila! (Yes, I can count. Please don’t point out that I still used the same number of dishes. It felt more streamlined. Maybe because it has a handle? Am I really that easily impressed? Which brings me right back to laziness . . .)
Works for garden peas, as well, or anything else that needs to be submerged in boiling water, then pulled back out again and drained (except for spaghetti–unless you want your spaghetti falling out through the holes, all over the floor).