How Does an Air Fryer Work?
The idea of being able to air-fry food seems impossible, something out of a futuristic sci-fi film. However, technological innovations have made some of our society’s craziest dreams come true, and air frying is one of those dreams. Here is everything you need to know about air fryers.
What’s an Air Fryer? How Does It Work?
Air fryers are very similar to convection ovens. They are small kitchen appliances with a heating mechanism and a fan that forces hot air into a cooking chamber.
Inside the air fryer, the air is rapidly whirled, so that every surface of the food is reached by the hot air, creating a crispy crust. Though it may change between different models, air fryers have a sort of frying basket where you put the food. This open basket allows all the food to be reached by the hot air circulating.
What You Can and Can’t Make With an Air Fryer
Air fryers do a fantastic job cooking up frozen foods, like frozen French fries, mozzarella sticks, chicken wings and other foods. But air fryers can do much more. This type of fryer can also make recipes from the scratch. To fully understand everything an air fryer can do, you should keep in mind it can also bake foods.
There are few limitations to this kitchen appliance. You can’t work with liquid batters, unless they were previously frozen. And you can’t make anything in large quantities in a single batch.
Health Benefits of Air Fryers
When we talk about fried food, we are usually talking about foods with a high fat content. Chicken breasts are a clear example. We know that fried chicken breasts have over 30% more fat than roasted ones. But that is not the case with the air fryer. Air fryers can reduce the fat content up to 75%.
Unlike traditional fryers, air fryers don’t need much fat to cook. When you air-fry food, you just need one tablespoon of oil, instead of the three cups usually required in traditional fryers. This means traditional fryers use up to 50 times more oil that air fryers. Of course the food doesn’t absorb all the oil when cooked with traditional fryers, but air frying is much healthier.
Another aspect to keep in mind is weight loss. Fried food is usually high in calories. Consuming too much fried food may lead to weight gain. Changing traditional frying for air frying may be a good alternative to lose some weight, especially if you combine it with regular exercise.
Are All Fryers The Same?
Nowadays, there are plenty of different air fryers on the market. How to choose the right air fryer for you will depend on what you want to cook, how often and what quantity. Some fryers may offer more even results than others. In any case, you’ll get crispy, golden food.
