The air fryer it is one of the appliances that is no longer missing in the homes of Italians – and not only them. With this guidewe want to show you step by step how does it work this tool, to cook all the foods you want quickly and easily.
What is the air fryer?
There are many models and brands of air fryers, some with more functionalities, others a little more basic, but essentially its duty to cook foods as if they were fried – without however using oil or butter frying – is the same for all.
Let’s start by saying: what is air fryer? It is a household appliance, now in common use, which cook food frying them, but not with oil or butter as mentioned before, but thanks to the heat accumulated in the cooking chamber. The result is therefore food that is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Definitely a pleasure.
What to know before buying an air fryer
The air fryer, how does it work? First of all we specify that cooking takes place through the hot air, which blows on the shelf where the food was placed. What emerges is a dish that is reminiscent of fried food in terms of its consistency, in fact, as we have already mentioned, it is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, as happens with normal frying in oil or butter.
The advantages of heated air
Therefore, the appliance uses the air heated to a high temperature which acts in the cooking chamber and cooks the food placed inside uniformly. This eliminates the risk of finding pieces of food on the plate that are colder than others: an unpleasant sensation to say the least.
Cooking times
Another very important feature is the fact that cooking times are significantly shorter inferior compared to cooking in a pan. This allows you to dedicate more time to what you want. Not to mention the fact that it will no longer be necessary to waste time cleaning pans or any other tool used for frying.
How healthy is the air fryer?
The air fryer has another advantage which is to cook foods that seem fried, but without using frying which, as we know, is not the best for our health. In fact, it uses other types of cooking such as grilled, roasted or baked. You can thus cook any type of food in a healthy way, with little oil and little fat. But not only: It also reduces bad odors typical of frying and, as already mentioned, makes cleaning much easier.
How does the air fryer work?
There are many oil-free fryer brands available on the market, with different prices and features. But they all have the basic functions in common, without exception. So, how does the air fryer work?
For most of them, therefore, it is advisable to preheat in advance to ensure uniform cooking, just as you do for the oven. If the appliance does not have the preheating function, just turn it on and leave it like that for a few minutes before adding food.
A very useful tip that we recommend following is to grease the basket where the food will be placed with a spoonful of oil. In this way you will avoid the unpleasant fact that food may stick during cooking. It is important to use the grill to allow hot air to circulate around the food and avoid excess oil.
Another precaution to follow is not to fill the basket with food, otherwise the frying may not be successful. Usually, the fryer is made for cooking food for 2 or 4 people. Furthermore, to ensure homogeneous frying, it is advisable to move the food every now and then to allow the heat to reach every point.
What is the difference between an oven and an air fryer?
The air fryer turns out louder than the ovenbut he cooks well quicker: depends on how much food is placed inside the basket. Lower temperatures are needed compared to cooking with a traditional oven and this ensures that the food is golden on the outside and not burnt, as can happen with the oven. Furthermore, in the oven there is a possibility that the food will not be perfectly cooked inside, which in the air fryer this never happens.
How much oil to put in the air fryer?
As already mentioned above, there is no need to use large quantities of oil or butter in the air fryer. Generally they are enough 1-2 teaspoons of oil (about 5-10 g), brushing the quantity directly onto the food, but in the case of breaded foods you need to double it and use with 1-2 soup spoonscombining the oil with the breadcrumbs.
What ingredients to use with the air fryer?
First of all, let’s start by saying that foods that need boiling, braising and steaming are not suitable to be cooked in an air fryer. Instead, foods with dry heat they are the most suitable ones, such as frozen and pre-fried ones.
Also perfect for the air fryer are vegetables, such as potatoes, aubergines, courgettes, mushrooms. As well as verdurefor example pumpkins, broccoli and cauliflower, but also frankfurters and puff pastries.
Another fundamental feature that pushes people to purchase the appliance is its ability to heat leftover food without making it less crunchy.
How much energy does the air fryer consume?
According to a ranking drawn up by Selectra, a web company that accompanies users in comparing and activating the best electricity, gas and Internet offers, the air fryer would be in fourth place among the household appliances that consume the most electricity.
Its energy needs are estimated between 1,4 e 1,6 kW/h, with a cost in euros of almost 70 cents for each hour of use. The electric oven, on the other hand, is in eighth place in the ranking, with an average consumption of 0.9 kW/h and a usage cost of around 42 cents per hour.
Instead, again according to the ranking, the oven is in eighth place. However, it must be understood that the usage times of both are very different: the oven needs preheating and is much slower, whereas the air fryer has much shorter usage times.
So, for example, if we want to cook a portion of potatoes, we consider having to turn on the oven at least 15 minutes before inserting the pan with our side dish, and we estimate a cooking time between 30 and 40 minutes. If, however, we use the air fryer, 15 minutes without preheating will be enough to obtain crispy potatoes on the outside and soft on the inside.
What are the contraindications of the air fryer?
The air fryer is a very convenient object but it brings with it a series of characteristics that could be harmful to human health.
First of all, it must be clarified that it is one cooking at high temperatures which consequently could lead to the formation of harmful substances such asacrilammide. We must then consider that this type of cooking can also create other harmful compounds, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons e heterocyclic amines.
Air fryer recipes: savory
The use of this appliance allows you to have a lot of space, since it is possible to cook practically any type of food. How does the air fryer work for savory foods?
Simple, but essential: the french fries they are the most popular food for those who love cooking with the air fryer both for those who want to use fresh potatoes and for those who want to eat frozen ones. To stay on the fried too fried dumpling comes out delicious with the use of the appliance, as well as the pulled pork, chicken legs, pumpkin, chestnuts, fried cod, peppers and calamari.
Recipes with the air fryer: the dessert
Also sweets they are perfect for cooking at high temperatures. Here are some examples of how the air fryer for desserts works: It is possible to cook mini brioche, stuffed peaches, chocolate cake, classic donuts and so on.
The Philips air fryer
Philips is one of the best-known brands that makes household appliances such as the air fryer. For example Philips Airfryer Premium XXL with technology Smart Sensing, which automatically adjusts cooking time and temperature to obtain the desired result.
The air fryer from Lidl
The Lidl SilverCrest air fryer is a product highly appreciated by consumers. In particular, 9 in 1 air fryer It is compact but roomy, with nine pre-set programs that allow you to fry, grill, bake, toast, gratinate, roast, simmer, dry and reheat.
The air fryer from Amazon
Also Amazon offers a number of quality air fryers, leading the customer to choose from a number of interesting brands such as Moulinex, Tiastar and Ariete.
The Moulinex air fryer
Moulinex threw the air fryer Easy Fry Grill & Steam which allows 3 cooking modes with just one product. Alongside the now “traditional” air frying, which in this case boasts the Extra Crisp technology for golden and crunchy results with little or no oil, the grill (for perfect browning) and above all the steaming.
The Russell Hobbs Air Fryer
The distinctive feature of the new model by Russell Hobbs are the two separate baskets…