I just finished a batch of french fries in the air fryer and they were everything I wanted. To think that I just made a portion of french fries without using any oil and still achieved that crispy outer layer that we all love and crave.
I had no idea you could fry food without using oil, but ever since air fryers entered the market, I have been able to produce similar results with just air. To understand what the air fryer actually does, I did some research.
How does an air fryer work? An air fryer uses the convection mechanism (circulates hot air) to cook the food and produces a crispy outer layer thanks to the Maillard reaction. Let me break it down for you. Mechanically, the air fryer has a fan and a heating coil installed. The heating coil heats up the air while the fan blasts it at the food at high speed. The streams of super hot air cook the food. The crispy outer layer is the cause of a chemical reaction called the Maillard reaction, which is a reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars, a reaction that affects the taste, smell and appearance of food. Because of this, the air fryer is capable of creating a crispy exterior without the use of oil. However, frying is probably not the right term for it, no matter how good or similar the results may be.
The definition of the term “frying” is “cook (food) in hot fat or oil, typically in a shallow pan”. The deep fryer cooks food by submerging a basket loaded with food into a bath of hot oil, the air fryer circulates hot air and can be operated without any oil at all.
When you think of it, the air fryer is more like a miniature version of an oven than a fryer and therefore, the proper term might be something along the lines of “baking”.
With that said, the air fryer can deliver on its promise of producing tasty food and with a little bit of oil, the results can come very close to deep-fried foods while still cutting the fat content by a lot.
Is Air Fried Food Healthy
Air fried foods are believed to be healthier because they cut the fat content and calorie intake by up to 80% in comparison to deep-fried foods. With that said, I wouldn’t recommend making all of your meals in the air fryer as there may be other downsides to doing so.
It’s imperative that you pick the right oil for the air fryer, going with the wrong kind of oil may increase free radicals. Go with an oil that doesn’t oxidize easily.
So, even though air fried food isn’t bathed in oil, there are some signals that point towards a moderate intake of air fried food being the best option. For a person who doesn’t eat fried food on a regular basis, the air fryer might have fewer health benefits than it would for a person who frequently eats deep-fried food.
The air fryer is both a practical and smart tool to have at home and there may be a handful of benefits for those who need to lower their oil-consumption.
Here’s a list of benefits with air fried foods.
- High intakes of fat from vegetable oil can lead to harmful consequences, therefore, the air fryer is considered a significantly healthier option than the deep fryer.
- Using an air fryer might make it easier to lose weight. Fat contains more calories than protein and carbohydrates, cutting the fat content in your food will cut the number of calories you eat. If you end up in a caloric deficit as a result of that change, you will lose weight.
- Air frying food causes less formation of harmful compounds such as acrylamide, a probable carcinogen.
How Much Does An Air Fryer Cost
Another aspect of the air fryer, the cost of it. Can it be justified? Well, that depends entirely on the model and the functions that it offers, the lifestyle you’re living now, how you intend to use the machine and more. Today, an air fryer can cost anywhere between $50 and $400.
Air fryers on the higher end of the price range often have more features, perform better, are more spacious, include accessories, and are considered to be high-quality products. However, you can still get everything you need from an air fryer at a much lower price than 400 dollars.
The mid-range air fryers and some of the cheaper air fryers are still very good at what they do. Instead, they may offer less space to cook, a single function or fewer accessories. Your geographical location may also affect the price of the air fryer.
Is An Air Fryer Worth It
This question has so many answers depending on what you have at home. For me, the air fryer has been a very good purchase because I love to experiment at home and I’m a big fan of fried foods but I’m also five years into my fitness journey.
Using the air fryer, I’ve been able to enjoy my homemade nuggets, chicken wings, potato chips and much more without going outside the limits of my diet.
Here are a couple of bullet points that may justify the purchase of an air (other than the fact that it makes your food crispy and delicious).
- The air fryer is a rapid cook
- It can cook low-fat meals
- It is easy to clean
- The air fryer will cook your food without your assistance
- It can be used in many different ways (and even more ways if your air fryer has more features)
- Some air fryers can dehydrate food
- It doesn’t take up much space in your kitchen.
- For someone who lives in a smaller apartment, dorm room or shared housing, the air fryer may be a very good solution.
Does Air Fried Food Taste Good
Just like every other technique used to prepare food the answer is that it depends. Personal preference and preparations are the two biggest factors. So far, almost everything that I’ve made in the air fryer has superseded my expectations.
I highly doubt that the process of air frying itself can make the food taste bad, you might just have to experiment a little bit to get it just right. When eating air fried foods, I’ve noticed that it tends to have a distinct texture and slightly different taste. If you overcook food in an air fryer it can become very dry, therefore, finding the right cooking time is important.
While it is entirely up to you and your personal preference how you choose to prepare your food, I would recommend that you add spices or marinade before air frying to make every meal as tasty as possible. You can find an endless supply of recipes for the air fryer online using Google.
Related Questions
Is an air fryer better than a deep fryer? An air fryer is certainly a much healthier option than a deep fryer because of how little oil it uses, cutting fat content in your food by incredible amounts. The air fryer is also faster than the deep fryer and has more functions. In the deep fryer, you can fry food. In the air fryer, you can bake, roast, grill, toast, heat, dehydrate and “fry”. The primary downside of an air fryer is the texture, it doesn’t really hit the same spot as the deep fryer, but it is still very good.
Can you cook frozen food in an air fryer? Yes, it is possible to cook frozen food in an air fryer, to cook the food properly, make sure you add a couple of minutes to the recommended cooking time or find a cooking chart for frozen foods in the air fryer.
Conclusion
Air fryers don’t actually fry food, the process is more like baking than frying and is way healthier than deep frying food because it doesn’t use any oil – cutting the fat content of the food by up to 80%. For a person who eats fried food on a regular basis, the air fryer is the way to go. Changing from deep-fried food to air-fried food may even aid in weight loss.
Because of how versatile the air fryer is, I think anyone could benefit from having one in their home. The cheaper models may not have as much space and functions as the more expensive ones. If you want to get the most out of your air fryer I would aim for a top-level or mid-level air fryer, somewhere between 150-300 dollars will be enough for an air fryer that does everything you need.