Air Fryer Cooking

Zuni Chicken by Steve Dunham

This is one of the most mouth watering pictures that I have ever seen. It looks that all I have to do is stretch out my hand and pick up a juicy piece of chicken. Yum! Yum!

But seriously though this marvelous dish was made by conventional means but today we have a fairly new invention on the market—the Air Fryer which is an appliance that cooks by a fan that circulates hot air at high speed around the food thereby cooking the food and producing a crispy layer- it works on the same principles as a conventional oven.

The benefit of a fryer, though, is that the food goes right in the enclosed basket so the air circulates around everything up to a temperature high of 200C and will easily fry several foods like chicken, fish, pastries and, of course, those wonderful crispy French fries, but the best advantage is that it uses very little oil. In fact some fryers say you can save around 80% of cooking oil compared with the traditional fryers.

If you like your food crispy all you need to do is spray it with a little oil or brush the oil onto the skin. Nearly all air fryers come with a timer and have adjustable temperature switches for more delicate cooking. If you can work a microwave you can work an air fryer.

What situations would benefit from the purchase of an Air Fryer?

§       Good for a single person or a small family

§       Would be great for a student dorm.

§       For use instead of a microwave.

§       Great for breaded or highly seasoned food.

§       Chicken, fish and vegetables cook well but some meat may be a problem.

Does the air fryer cook your food better than conventional means? Well that difficult to say because taste is such a personal thing. But remember the air fryer uses less oil than conventional fryers so if you are concerned about your health and you have some space on your kitchen work top an air fryer might just be right for you.