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The size of the fryer is similar to that of a bread machine
Air fryer sales are up 400% in 2021 in the UK.
Since they use little or no oil, are they a healthier option than other cooking methods?
At a time when the cost of living is rising, it is also worth considering the impact of the fryer on energy consumption and on your wallet.
Greg Foot, presenter of Sliced Bread on BBC Radio 4, consulted two experts to understand the benefits and limitations of air fryers.
1. The fryer cooks by circulating hot air around the food
The air fryer is the same size as a bread maker and can be placed on the kitchen counter. It circulates very hot air at high speed around the food.
“It’s basically a very strong, very hot wind. You can compare it to using a hair dryer,” says Jakub Radzikowski, designer of culinary education at Imperial College London, United Kingdom.
“It’s basically the same as a fan oven. But it’s smaller and the fan is usually much more powerful.
The force of the airflow inside such a fryer resembles a very sophisticated oven that would be used in a professional kitchen.
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The fryer circulates very hot air at high speed around the food
2. The air fryer cooks faster than a traditional oven, but only in small quantities
Since the fryer’s fan is more powerful and its compartment is smaller, the whole appliance is more efficient, explains Jakub.
“I can probably cook a chicken thigh in the deep fryer in 20 minutes. In the oven, it would take longer.”
Also, it takes longer to preheat a larger conventional oven.
But since the fryer drawer has a smaller capacity, only small quantities can be prepared.
“If you’re cooking for four or six people, it won’t save you time because you’ll need multiple batches in the fryer,” says the food scientist.
3. The fryer is used to prepare “crispy” foods
The stars of air fryer commercials often make chicken and fries because the appliance is great for making “anything you want crispy,” says Jakub.
Kale chips, plantains, breaded zucchini or other.
4. Is it healthier?
“Compared to the technique of dipping food in hot oil, it’s obviously healthier because it uses less fat,” says Jakub.
But it can also be healthier than baking in a traditional oven.
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Vegetables can be cooked in the fryer
If the potatoes are coated in oil, they will absorb it while roasting. With the fryer, everything falls into the perforated basket.
“If there’s excess fat, it will sink to the bottom and you won’t eat it.”
There are even healthier ways to cook: you can steam without using oil.
“Some of the newer models have regarding 15 functions,” says Anya Gilbert, editor of the BBC’s Good Food magazine, which specializes in reviews of equipment and appliances.
5. The air fryer consumes less energy than the oven
To reach this conclusion, Simon Hoban, producer of the BBC’s Sliced Bread, prepared chicken thighs and potatoes, one portion in the oven, the other in the deep fryer (ensuring that all other appliances were turned off during cooking).
He then checked the electric meter to see how much power had been used.
“The chicken took regarding 35 minutes to cook in the oven, and the meter showed I was using 1.05 kilowatts of electricity per hour. The fryer took 20 minutes and the meter showed 0, 43 kilowatts per hour.”
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With the air fryer, the fat falls into the perforated basket
The potato with the skin, meanwhile, took regarding an hour to cook properly in the oven, the equivalent of 1.31 kilowatts per hour.
“In the deep fryer, it took a lot less time,” says Simon. “35 minutes”, consuming 0.55 kilowatts per hour.
“Cooking in an air fryer uses less than half the energy needed in an oven,” Greg concludes.
6. An Air Fryer Will Never Completely Replace an Oven, But It Works
Jakub doesn’t think a fryer can fully replace an oven. “Obviously you can’t roast a whole chicken in an air fryer. Or at least not a turkey,” he says.
“But I think it’s a great invention. I have one, I use it a lot. I think it’s great for someone who doesn’t have an oven.”