When we talk about the world of cooking, air fryers are quite new to the scene. They were introduced to the market in the year 2005. While they were initially only intended for commercial purposes, news about the various benefits they brought along spread fast, and they quickly found themselves in demand from regular consumers. There are various air fryer recipes and specializations, like a turkey air fryer, in the market today. And they are here to stay.
How Does an Air Fryer Work?
Ever wondered how does an air fryer work? Or why an air fryer is good for us? Well, the major benefit of using it lies in its working. It uses a steady flow of hot air instead of a lot of hot oil for cooking your favorite dishes. The cooking chamber inside is sealed, and superheated air is circulated around your dish by a fan. This process packs in your dish’s flavor along with the moisture, giving it that golden and crunchy crust you get when you fry food. So why should you buy an entirely new appliance that does the same job as something you already have? We are here to answer this.
Benefits of Having an Air Fryer
Besides being one of the ways to make your fried dishes healthier, there are various benefits of having an air fryer. While some of them are well-known, some of them become evident only when one uses them. We are here to list them out for you.
1. They Are Faster and Conserve Electricity Too
When you put them against traditional fryers, they win easily when it comes to time taken. While a deep fryer needs its oil to be heated before the cooking can begin, and an oven also needs some time to preheat, it takes only a few minutes for an air fryer to go from its normal temperature to whatever temperature you want. In the time it takes for the other appliances to get ready for cooking, your air fryer will have cooked the entire dish. Since they are on for lesser times, they use much less electricity than you may think. Most of them have low voltages as well. It is one of their biggest benefits over traditional frying appliances.
2. They Are Much Easier to Clean
Everyone knows how greasy frying in the traditional way can be. An air fryer uses much less oil and hence has barely any grease. The grease accumulates on various surfaces in the kitchen and all the utensils you use to cook. Taking care of the leftover oil is another headache in itself. Even if you have an air fryer with a stainless steel basket, almost all of the parts are dishwasher-safe. Since so little oil is used, the pan can be cleaned in a dishwasher as well. Moreover, a lot of the parts nowadays have a non-stick coating, making them even easier to wash.
3. They Can Prepare a Lot of Dishes
These appliances were not just built to do only traditional frying. They can be used for various other purposes like baking, reheating food, roasting, thawing food, and even stir-frying. That’s right. You can use an air fryer for baking cookies too. Some of the newer ones even have various accessories that allow the cooking of more than one dish and even grilling. There are a ton of air fryer ideas out there that are healthier than traditional cooking.
4. They Do Not Compromise on Taste
Traditional frying involves using a lot of oil and dunking your food in it. Since air frying uses a fraction of that amount (generally one tablespoon of oil for air frying for 3 or 4 cups of oil for deep frying), many people think the food might not taste as good. However, everyone who has tried them has concurred that they are just as good without any of the high-calorie and high-fat oil. So bring out your chef’s hat and make anything, from air fryer French fries to air fryer turkey.
Conclusion: Getting an air fryer is one of the healthiest changes you can make in your kitchen. Along with being extremely health-friendly, it also saves you a lot of money in power costs and a lot of time and effort in both cooking and cleaning. Do you have any air fryer recipes you’d like to share with us? Comment down below.
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