What Is an Air Fryer? Here’s What It Really Does to Your Food

How does an air fryer work?

The air fryers doesn’t actually fry your food. Instead, it works more like an improved convection oven that you put on your counter. (But remember that baking and air-frying are two different things.) Philips Electronics Company patented the small appliance with the bold claim that it can make deep-fried food using only hot air and little or no oil.

Over the past few years, this device has become more and more popular. As of July 2020, NPD Group, a market research firm, said that nearly 40% of U.S. homes had one. You can air fry a wide range of foods, such as freshly baked cookies, roasted vegetables, homemade french fries, and frozen chicken wings.

How do you use an air fryer?

In the top part of an air fryer, there is a heating system and a fan. When you turn on the fryer, hot air rushes down and around the food in the basket. This fast movement gives the food a crisp texture that is similar to deep-frying but doesn’t use oil.

The following is how to use an air fryer:

1. How to get your food into the basket:

Depending on the size of your air fryer, the basket can hold anywhere from 2 to 10 quarts. Most of the time, you should add 1 or 2 teaspoons of oil to make the food nice and crispy. If you don’t have much time to clean up, use foil in an air fryer.

2. Set the date and the weather

Air fryers can cook food in anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes at 350° to 400°F, depending on what you’re making.

3. Let the food cook.

To make sure the food crisps up evenly, you may need to flip or turn it halfway through the cooking process. It’s important to clean your air fryer after you’re done cooking.

Want to know how to make golden-brown, crispy food by air-frying it?

We have tips for using an air fryer that will make every recipe come out perfectly, as well as common mistakes you should avoid.

What are the best air fryers?

After putting a number of brands to the test in our Test Kitchen, we found that three were the best. Our experts liked the Philips Avance Turbo-Star Air Fryer for a long time and gave it high marks. They also liked the Black + Decker Purify Air Fryer and the PowerXL Vortex Air Fryer. Here are the best air fryer for large family

The price of these devices depends on how big they are and what features they have. You might also want to buy some air fryer accessories in addition to the machine itself.

What kinds of foods can be air-fried?

You can roast vegetables, cook meat, and bake cookies in this machine. However, many of the best air-fryer recipes are for foods that are usually deep-fried.

Frozen Appetizers

The air fryer is a shining star when it comes to cooking frozen foods that are meant to taste like they were deep-fried. You can make a lot of things from frozen that are air-fried, like french fries, mozzarella sticks, and chicken nuggets.

Homemade Appetizers

If you like to make your own finger foods from scratch, the air fryer is a great way to make crunchy snacks and sides. Try air-frying potato chips, pickles, or sweet potato fries. Don’t forget to try these tasty appetisers you can make in the air fryer, like egg rolls and ravioli.

But fresh cheese melts into a gooey mess, while frozen mozzarella sticks that have been air-fried are delicious (so homemade cheese curds are out).

Meat, chicken, and fish

Using an air fryer, you can make chicken that is soft and juicy. Try cooking chicken in an air fryer with recipes like Nashville hot chicken. When cooked in an air fryer, keto meatballs are a great choice for a healthier meal. When it comes to fish and seafood dishes, we love this air fryer crumb-topped sole and this air fryer cod.

The wonderful air fryer can also be used to make comfort foods like meat loaf and pork loin roast.

vegetable roasting

If you are only cooking for one or two people, an air fryer is a great way to roast vegetables because it is basically a small oven. Some of our favourite air fryer vegetable recipes are red potatoes, asparagus, Brussels sprouts with garlic and rosemary, and cauliflower with herbs and lemon.

But when you use this tool to cook vegetables, don’t use leafy greens.

Some baked things

Air fryers can be used to make single-serving desserts like cookies and apple fritters (see how to make air fryer cookies for more information). You can also make these mini Nutella doughnut holes in an air fryer for a decadent treat any time of year, or these peppermint lava cakes for the winter holidays. You can make air fryer bourbon bacon cinnamon rolls and air fryer French toast sticks for breakfast. Don’t forget to use the air fryer for breakfast.

You can’t cook anything that needs a liquid batter, though (unless you freeze it first).

Air Fryer FAQ

Is it healthy to cook food in the air?

You could say that air frying is better for you because it uses less oil than deep frying. Compared to deep-fried french fries, which have a whopping 17 grammes of fat per serving, air-fried frozen french fries have only 4 to 6 grammes of fat.

What are the pros and cons of air fryers?

Air fryers make it easy to cook frozen foods quickly and in a way that is a little better for you than deep-frying. Compared to frying in the oven, the results are much better and your kitchen stays cooler.

Cons: Even the largest air fryers have a limited capacity, so you may need to cook in batches if you’re cooking for a large group. Air fryers take up more counter space than toasters because they are bigger. Lastly, they can be expensive, depending on the model you choose.

Is it worth it to buy an air fryer?

In recent years, the price of this popular appliance has gone down because there are now so many models. Many models now cost less than $200, and some are even less than $100. Buying an air fryer is a good idea if you make fried foods often, either from scratch or from frozen, reheat leftovers often, or like to try out new kitchen tools.