Air Fryer is a kitchen gadget that cooks food by circulating hot air around it, unlike the traditional deep frying method which uses a pot of oil to cook food. The air fryer has already been increasing in popularity due to its different way of frying. Many health enthusiasts love this gadget because it uses much less oil than other deep-frying options. But there are still some facts that most people did not know about this gadget “air fryers” yet. Let’s find out 10 hidden facts about air fryers, shall we;
1. The air fryer cooks food faster than a conventional oven.
An air fryer’s compact size and uncommon heat bouncing method speed up the cooking process by up to 30% compared to a conventional oven. Despite cooking times for recipes should be close in both an air fryer and convection oven, keep in mind that air fryers cook a little faster than convection ovens, so some air-fryer recipes may take much time in a convection oven. ( a convection oven has a fan and exhaust system that a regular oven does not. The fan and exhaust help blow hot oven air over and around the food, then vent it back out. As a result, this hot air surrounds the food so that it cooks evenly and more quickly).
2. The air fryer can work well for baking.
If you are looking to make a beautiful homemade dessert, the air fryer is excellent for baking doughnuts, casseroles, and even cakes. Before using your air fryer to make desserts, just be sure that the gadget is as clean as possible so that you don’t impart any unwanted savory flavors into your dessert.
3. You can cook more than fried foods in an air fryer.
The air fryer is not just for fries. The air fryer is perfect for deep-fried foods like bacon and chicken nuggets, but you can use it to make all kinds of things, from breaded chicken cutlets to crispy potato chips. All you need is a food processor or mandolin to slice the vegetables into thin, even layers. If your vegetables aren’t slim enough , put them in the refrigerator for a few minutes before using them in the air fryer.
4. Air flyer works well with frozen food.
Cooking frozen food in an air fryer gives you the best of convenience and a healthy meal because Frozen food is quick to prepare. But frozen food normally needs to be fried in oil, making this a favorable but unhealthy option.
5. It can be noisy when they’re in use.
Air fryers use a ventilator to take in air which circulates inside the pan of the air fryer when it leaves the air fryer through the unique exhaust. This makes quite some noise, and the amount of noise an air fryer makes vary between the models.
6. Some air fryers likely need several accessories.
There are lots of aftermarket attachments created specifically for air fryer. In this case, you have to check the features of the air fryer before making a purchase.
7. Many recipes work best when the food is coated in oil or cooking.
Air fryers are made to cook certain types of food better than others. Foods that are crumbled or breaded work well in an air fryer. Meatballs, chicken fingers and nuggets, egg rolls, donuts, cookies, and pies all work very well in an air fryer if cooked at the right temperature for the right amount of time and pies work in an air fryer if cooked at the right temperature for the right amount of time.
8. Air fryers can be messy.
Food particles get blown around as the fan circulates hot air around them and can coat the inside of the machine. If you don’t clean your air fryer after each use, burnt-on residue can become difficult to remove and contaminate the taste of future batches of food you cook in it.
9. Air fryers use less oil-intensive than traditional frying.
Air frying cooks food using hot air instead of oil to form a crisp crust on your food, which reduces much saturated fat consumption (key to keeping cholesterol low) and calories consumed.
10. Air frying can form other unhealthy compounds.
Although air fryers reduce the likelihood of acrylamide formation, other potentially toxic compounds could still form.
Not only does air frying still run the risk of creating acrylamides, but polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic amines can result from all high-heat cooking with meat.
These unhealthy compounds have associations with cancer risk, according to the National Cancer InstituteTrusted Source.
Scientists need to do further research to clarify specifically how air frying and these harmful compounds interact.
Basic things to check when buying an air fryer.
Safety First
Firstly, look out for a well-insulated air fryer that has cool-touch a handle so that your hands don’t get burned while pulling out the basket. Secondly, the base of the machine should be a non-glide foot so that the gadget doesn’t slip off, locking lid, exterior basket control. Be guaranteed that the air fryer has an automatic shut-off to prevent over-cooking of food.
Price
The cost of the air fryer revolves around many factors. Air fryers are normally affordable but those come with limitations. They can be high priced but will be installed with many features which will make the life of the user very smooth in terms of cooking food. Though, the air fryer price will hence depend on factors as well as the brand. The air fryer price is commonly affordable to the user.
Wattage
This is a main factor to check. The gadget with higher wattage will help the user cook the food more easily and fast but will come with a massive price. You need to make sure that your kitchen outlet supports the watts consumption your air fryer will use. It is essential that your kitchen outlets can support 800 watts to 1500 watts that a normal air fryer usually uses. The more watts an air fryer has, the higher temperatures it will reach and quickly it will re-heat the oil if you have added up frozen food like frozen peas or meat to the grease. Air Fryers are accessible with wattage levels up to 1800 watts and more.
Capacity
Smaller units are usually around 1 liter to 2 liters, while the medium units are around 1.8 liters to 2.5 liters. Larger units can be up to 5 liters or more. If you want to cook or roast a whole chicken, opt for these larger ones. If you have a small family of 4-5 people, a fryer having a capacity of 2 liters should satisfy. If you have a big family of like 7-8 people or more, aim for a fryer that has a capacity between 3-6 liters. It is ideal to go for a larger fry to serve more guests at once. Air fryers with twin baskets are also available to let you fry two different foods together.
Space
Think about the range of the cooking space, rather than the full capacity. Some air fryers are more taller and narrow, which means you’d have less parallel space for cooking chicken or wings or baking cookies or
Size
The size of the air fryer will rest on the space you have in your kitchen.
Warranty
Normally, you can expect a 1-year warranty on most air fryers. But some offer an encouragement for a longer warranty if you register the product within a specific amount of time.
Temperature Control
The temperature settings of your air fryer can have a decisive effect on getting out the final result you want. Mostly, air fryers cook food well when the temperature is over 400 degrees. Higher temperatures have the advantage of cooking food more quickly. Batter coatings and baked goods also won’t absorb as much grease if they are cooked for a shorter period at a higher temperature but ensuring that the machine has a proper control that will help you cook at the right temperature. The presence of indicator lights and an integrated timer will simplify the cooking process.
Type
A basket-style air fryer is the most popular. There are also multi-cookers that air fryer AND pressure cook your food. The only downside to this is that you can only use one function at a time. So if you want to pressure cook some rice while you fry some chicken, you’ll have to wait and do one after the other. Other toaster-style air fryer ovens are larger and have a door that opens with racks. These are huge and you could bake a cake in them, but they do take a lot of space and will for sure be a constant fixture on your kitchen counter.
Design
Air fryers have removable baskets or drawers to hold food while it cooks. Some consumers gave reviews on the size, quality of the baskets, ease of removing and inserting them, clean-up, as well as the condition after many uses. These are just some of the factors that you should check before buying.
Additional features and Additional accessories
You can boost the space of your air fryer with a double-layer tray, allowing you to stack foods on top of each other. You can also attach accessories that are custom-made to individual cooking methods such as grilling.
Power consumption
The maximum of electricity an air fryer with 1500 wattage can use is not more than 1 unit a day. In case you do cooking for 30 minutes in the air fryer, the maximum electricity that will be used will only be half unit of electricity a day. Air Fryer takes upmost 15 minutes to wrap up household cooking needs. Most the Air Fryers have a power rating which is less than 1500 watts and hence they absorb much less than half unit of electricity a day.
Multiple cooking functions for versatility
Some air fryer models are capable of a wide range of cooking methods. You can roast, bake, roast, grill, reheat, or slow cook. You have the choice to make on what to do with your air fryer.
Did you learn something new? I hope so!
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