To take care of your diet, besides eating more fruits and vegetables, and reducing the intake of carbohydrates and saturated fats, we must change the way we cook our food. Yes, even if fried food is delicious, we all know that they are not healthy.
Nowadays, there are so many kitchen appliances that help us to take care of ourselves without much effort, from a time ago, the kitchen was filled with pans, steaming robots, fruit blenders, and in less than 5 minutes, you can prepare some delicious juices and many other benefits.
The air fryer boom hasn’t hit its peak yet, but most families will certainly have one of these devices in their kitchen, soon. In addition to providing the same characteristics as a conventional fryer, it also has other functions such as baking, roasting, and steaming.
The magic of this appliance is that it works like a mini oven, i.e. the food is cooked using the radiant heat and steam inside the compartment. This is why some models, in addition to the grill function, also offer other ways of preparing food.
With conventional fryers, food is very greasy, so when frying something, people often use kitchen paper to dry it to remove excess fat. In addition, they splash when on high heat and place the food you want to cook. That is not taking into account the amount of oil that has to be spent when cleaning and changing the tank if we calculate that the oil should be changed after about 4 uses, and a deep fryer has a capacity of about 3 liters, so they consume about 3 liters of oil every 4 uses. A waste of money and oil.
What is an air fryer and how does it work?
Without a doubt, the air fryer is a revolutionary invention and it works for so many things, from making crisps to practically cooking all kinds of meat and all kinds of food. your favorite vegetables. Air fryers, also known as air fryers, use steam and heat cooking to cook food without the use of a single drop of oil.
Although it is true that some kitchens add a tablespoon of oil to the dish to make it even more delicious, especially if you use extra virgin olive oil or with some seasoning.
First of all, it is possible to explain the term “fried without oil”, because many users must be quite skeptical when they do not conceive of frying without oil. And while they’re not without reason, it’s true that you can fry without oil, though not in the traditional way we all know.
The cooking system of this fryer is hot air, inside the appliance a stream of hot air is ejected at high temperature and pressure that cooks the food in a similar way to frying. The big difference is that this appliance doesn’t use a single drop of oil, although it can be added to bring some flavor to the meal.
Features of the oil-free fryer
It’s no surprise that not all air fryers are created equal, but they all share a few factors that we must keep in mind when buying an air fryer.
A big problem in our current society is the high consumption of unsaturated fats. The sad fact is that we eat less than our grandparents because in the past food was healthier and above all more natural. Nowadays, due to lack of time or simply laziness, we throw away a lot of pre-cooked and especially frozen foods. Just stroll through the frozen and ready-to-eat section of the supermarket to see that the large food industries have opened up a very attractive and powerful niche.
You can find everything from minced garlic and onions to sautéed vegetables, rice, and more. It is easy to fall into temptation because the taste of these products is so successful and almost nothing is needed to prepare them. Fried foods are not the worst thing in the world, as it depends a lot on what is fried and especially how often these foods are consumed, as the trick of a good diet is to consume a little of everything and in a balanced way.
Pros of an Air Fryer
1. Convenient
You can cook any kind of food with it in just a few steps, as they do not need water or oil to use. If you add a few drops of oil, it is simply to enhance the flavor of the food, not to cook it.
2. Air Fryer can reduce up to 85% of fat in food
If you usually accompany your lunch or dinner with fries and want to reduce the amount of saturated fat, then this air fryer is a great choice. Plus, by reducing the amount of fat in the foods you’re cooking, they don’t retain excess oil, making them more balanced for maintaining a saturated fat-free diet.
3. No bad smell in the kitchen
Usually, when we fry some foods, especially fish, the kitchen will get this smell and it takes a long time to leave the kitchen even if you open the window and ventilate the room. With an air fryer, this doesn’t happen, because the food is put in its compartment and when you don’t use the oil, it doesn’t get smelly. So clothes and kitchen won’t smell of food.
4. Save oil
WHO (World Health Organization) recommends changing the oil in traditional fryers about 4 times. If we consider that a typical fryer has a capacity of about 2 or 3 liters that means for every 4 uses you should use about 2 or 3 liters of oil on average. This, in addition to wasting food, is also a waste of money. With just what you would save in oil with an air fryer, in a few months, you have depreciated this product.
5. The kitchen was much cleaner and stain-free
The air fryer doesn’t clutter up the kitchen, as it has a compartment for the food to be put in and when they’re ready, you just take them out of the tray and serve. No more oil splashes on furniture or kitchen floors after frying or cooking.
6. Easy to wash
Most air fryers are separated into different sections so they can be washed directly in the dishwasher, making it a lot easier to clean. However, before putting parts in the dishwasher, I recommend that you read the manufacturer’s instructions for use.
Cons of an Air Fryer
These are the main disadvantages of using an air fryer:
1. Not any food can have good taste
The constant flow of hot air can cause food to dry out and not taste as good as a conventional deep fryer.
I have tried cooking different foods in an air fryer and the truth is that some foods don’t have as much flavor or are not as crispy as in a regular fryer. Obviously, it will depend on the food being cooked, so you will have to do tests to see which foods are good or if they need more cooking time to be cooked.
2. Take more time to prepare
This appliance, by not frying the food but heating it through hot pressurized air, generally requires more preparation time than a conventional fryer. As we’ll see later, air fryers often come with a timer, so the first few times you’ll have to mess with prep times until you get the optimal prep time.
