Air fryers are modern machines that use innovative air circulation and heat transfer technology to fry and cook foods without oil or grease. If this sounds too good to be true, then you can put your doubts to rest. Air fryers have revolutionized conventional deep frying into a quick, healthy and safe process. You can now look forward to cooking favorite fried foods for your family without the accompanying feelings of guilt. If you’ve been considering investing in an air fryer but are not quite sure, take a closer look at the multiple benefits of using air fryer in your kitchen.
Low Fat Healthy Cooking
One of the most important benefits of air fryers is that we can enjoy delicious, crusty, crispy fried foods without the accompanying oil, grease and fat. The little oil makes a refreshing contrast with the enormous puddles of oil that you’d need to use for deep frying foods. The manual will contain information about the different types of oils that can be used with the air fryer model in question. In general, air fryers use about 80% less oil (compared to conventional deep frying). For example, 300 g of traditionally fried food will contain 37 g of fat while the same 300 g of food will contain only 9 gram of fat when cooked in an air fryer.
It’s absolutely wonderful to be able to eat a healthier version of fried foods. Air frying helps reduce fat-laden calories and thereby decreases innate health risks including obesity etc. The best part is that you’re able to cut down on the fat content without compromising on taste, texture and flavor. Foods taste much the same as they do if they are conventionally deep fried – you get the crunch, the browning and the tantalizing aroma as well.
Fast Cooking: You can save valuable time
The air fryer can be used for crunchy fries or crispy chicken within minutes. Unlike convection ovens (many convection ovens take at least 10 minutes to heat up to the desire temperature and then begin the cooking process), the device doesn’t need time to warm up before starting to fry food. Due to the high heat intensity, the effectiveness of heat radiation is high and foods start cooking much faster. The crust forms earlier and preparation times are even faster. French fries, for example, can cook in as little as 12 minutes and you can fry fish in 10 minutes.
You can transfer frozen foods like nuggets, potato wedges and fries straight from the freezer into the fryer without wasting time on preheating. Nuts take about 10 minutes to become crunchy, toasty and aromatic. In addition, you can also reheat foods very quickly in air fryers – it takes about 10 minutes at most. This is a much better option that buying calorie-infested processed foods at the supermarket. Air fryers are particularly useful for cooking smaller portions of food quickly and easily.
If you have hungry kids waiting for a meal, an air fryer can help you prepare delicious foods really fast! Moreover, the process is clean and non-messy because all the frying happens inside the fryer; no oil splatters to mop up and clean. Conventional stove tops come with an exposed surface and result in oily vapor droplets that get deposited on the counter top or even ceiling. The machine is perfect for those who want to cook on the go and cuts down on time spent in the kitchen. All you need to clean is the drip tray and cooking pan and you no longer need to get rid of a large quantity of used oil. The grill, pan and basket are all built to be dishwasher friendly and made of non-stick material. It’s a good idea to soak them for some time before cleaning.
After all, the last we want is to stand around cleaning up the kitchen when we need to rush to work in a hurry.
Simple and Easy to Use
Air fryers are easy to use and do not involve any complicated handling. There are essentially two types of air fryers available in the market: The bowl and stirring paddle model and the mesh bottom on drip tray model. Most air fryers use the mesh basket design. The adjustable temperature controls allow you to use different settings for different foods and you can simply click the cooking pan into place and fold down the handle. You can use the stirring paddle to flip the food once in 10 minutes to ensure even cooking. In fact, unlike traditional stove or gas cooking, you don’t have to maintain a vigilant watch over the pan. When you pull out the pan (for stirring the food), the timer will automatically pause. When you slide back the pan, the heating will resume from where it left off.
The only two buttons that you need to pres are the timer and the temperature otherwise the process is mostly automatic that requires minimal input. In fact, some models of air fryers even come with programmed settings for different foods. In case, you’re unsure of the time or temperature, simply press the correct setting for the food that you’re cooking. For your information, air fryers are built to roast, grill and bake foods as well. It offers versatility and is user-friendly at the same time. In fact, it’s like owning an oven, a grill, a skillet as well as a toaster in a single device.
Many models of air fryers are designed with food separators so you can cook multiples meals at once. You can save a lot of time without worrying about the flavors getting mixed up. It’s a good idea to cook foods that require similar temperature settings to cook at the same time.
Safe to use
Unlike conventional deep frying that is fraught with risks of fire and spillage of hot oil, air fryers offer excellent safety. The food cooks inside safely and there is no danger of tipping over a pan of hot oil onto yourself or onto the floor. Moreover, most models come equipped with an automatic shut down feature that switches off the machine when the food is cooked. This greatly reduces the risk of burning or overheating food (Leaving hot oil on the stove or gas is very dangerous as the oil may catch fire). Air fryer machines also have –non-slip feet’ that prevent accidental sliding and slipping. You can be sure that your fryer will never slide off the kitchen counter. In addition, the enclosed food chamber design ensures that we enjoy a splatter-free cooking experience and do not have to fear getting scalded by hot oil.
Savings in terms of time and money
Since air fryers work fast and use very little oil, you can look forward to savings in terms of time as well as money. You save on electricity usage as well as oil consumption. Moreover, since the device shuts itself down, there is no risk of energy wastage. In fact, you can even consider using organic oils (they’re usually more pricey compared to ordinary oils) because you have to use just a little bit to cook foods (just about a tablespoon full).
No Pollution
Many stoves, gas cookers etc automatically involve some form of environmental pollution. Air fryers come equipped with cooling systems that keep the machine free from contamination. The heated air inside the fryer is cooled and filtered before being released into the air. The air filter also prevents the soggy smell of oil from spreading around the kitchen. You can expect to enjoy fresh kitchen smells before and after cooking with an air fryer!
Tasty, Delicious and Even Cooking
The equitable heat transfer and design ensures that food particles are heated evenly. The food develops a delectable crunch on the surface while the tenderness and juiciness is retained inside. Air frying preserves texture, flavor and taste of foods. A little stirring with the paddle ensures that no food is left uncooked. Oven and microwave cooked foods do not produce the same level of crunch and crispiness than an air fryer is able to produce.
Overall, an air fryer is a safe, convenient and versatile kitchen assistant which you can use to cook breakfast, lunch as well as dinner. Air fryers are a great investment for busy parents, health-conscious people as well as for those who are always on the go.
You don’t have to be afraid of children getting splattered with hot oil or the device slipping and sliding about on the kitchen counter. Most importantly, you now have the option of enjoying well-cooked, succulent fried food without the attendant risks of fat-laden calories. In today’s fast paced life and hectic schedules, the air fryer is quite literally a breath of fresh air. They offer fuss-free, fast and healthy cooking with minimal effort and supervision. You are able to cook your favorite foods without having to slave over a hot, sticky stove. Whenever you crave fried food or feel too tired to spend too much time in the kitchen, all you need to do is to turn on your air fryer.
Leave a Reply