Photo: Philips
Air fryer is a very interesting creation and most liked by people that are extremely wary about what they consume. Since people reject eating a lot of oil in food, this machine helps in minimizing the usability of cooking oil and yet make food wonderfully authentic and crispy like it has been deep-fried.
If you are new to air fryers then before buying one, its is important to know what exactly is it and how it works. Let’s us start with some technical information.
In this post:
How Does an Air Fryer Work?
Air fryer, as the name suggest, uses air to cook food. There is a circulation of hot air to make food that would have otherwise been submerged in oil.
Read More: Pros and Cons of Air Fryer
The cooking chambers in the air fryer radiates heat from the heating element next to the food that ensure even and efficient cooking. This is the reason how the air fryer is able to create the delicious brown color on food.
In the machine, there is a fan responsible for circulating the air all around the food. The opening on the top make passage for the air to enter inside the cooking chamber and there is an exhaust fan on the back that releases unwanted hot air.
The internal temperature can rise up to 230 degrees C. For safety purpose, it is advised not to put any flammable object inside the fryer as it can cause fire accidents.
Generally, air fryers take 20% less time for cooking food than the time used in traditional cooking. Also, these machines make healthier food than the one drenched in oil.
How to Cook Evenly in an Air Fryer
Photo: Philips
Well, there is a method to ensure your food is evenly cooked in an air fryer. Let’s see:
1. Avoid Overfilling
The first tip to keep in mind is not to overcrowd the air fryer cooking pan. You see, the machine blows hot air in large pressure inside the chamber. It will need the space to circulate around.
If you have crowded the cooking pan too much then the food will probably steam instead of getting crispy and evenly cooked.
It depends on the capacity of the fryer and how much food it can accommodate. For that, you need to know about the size of air fryer you need and the capacity of food it can hold.
Well, according to the capacity, you can ensure whether to cut slices of food and put into the basket or place the entire food item like chicken or turkey just as it is.
2. Rotate and Flip
Well, in between cooking, you should make sure to rotate or flip the meat so that air can circulate on the entire meal and cook it evenly. You can do so using a pair of kitchen tongs for quick control.
3. Tossing of Vegetables
The basket of an air fryer comes with a handle, giving you the ease of shaking the basket to toss the food. While making food like French fries or small vegetable snacks, you can pause cooking midway, take out the basket and shake it thoroughly to redistribute them for perfect browning. This way, you can also add seasonings to the vegetables or cheese.
How to Get the Best Out of an Air Fryer
Photo: Tefal
Well, air fryer does have the capability to help with versatile cooking. Here is how you can use it to its best potential.
1. Air Fryer for Better Browning
- Removing the excess moisture from meat’s or vegetable’s surface helps in preventing the steam. Therefore, you can expect better browning.
- Cooking completely oil-less may sound appealing to the health enthusiasts, but it will steal the appeal from the food. For better browning, make sure to always add some oil to food.
- If you want food to look really authentic and graceful then apply egg wash to the pastry dough and other baking goods.
2. Air Fryer for Crunchy Coating
You must have observed that food inside air fryer usually feel overdried. To avoid it and ensure that you get satisfactory crunch, make sure to pre-toast the meals in microwave with a bit of oil so that the moisture is locked and the food becomes irresistibly crunchy.
3. Air Fryers for Juicy Steaks
Steaks and chops usually turn out to be deliciously juicy, if cooked well. However, the surface usually needs a flavor boost. Well, you are advised to add a spice rub of your choice to give better taste, more flavor, and desired juiciness to the steaks.
Does Air Fryers Genuinely Make Healthy Food?
You see, food that is deep-fried in oil loses all its nutritional value. It is cooked to the core and since oil is used in massive amount, you cannot expect it to be healthy and beneficial for body, irrespective of how good it tastes.
So, there is a winning point for air fryer as they don’t need too much oil for cooking, so, there are less fats. However, there is always a quest if the usage of hot air is safe to cook food or not.
Well, let us tell you that the mechanism used in an air fryer is just like a convection. So, the food made in air fryer is equally safe as other sources. The making of air fryer was done to help the fitness enthusiasts to cut on your calorie intake and fat consumption. The machines have been doing pretty well in what they are meant for.
Conclusion
Air fryers have proved themselves to be one of the most promising machines in helping people cut down on their oil consumption. You first need to understand the working of these appliances and allow them to help in earnest way possible to enhance overall cooking.
References
- How Does an Air Fryer Work – The Spruce Eats
- How to Get the Most from Your Air Fryer – America’s Test Kitchen
- Is Cooking With an Air Fryer Healthy – Healthline