There has been a huge boom in the popularity of air fryers over the last year or so but are they actually healthier than other more traditional methods of cooking and if they are what are the benefits of cooking that I am likely to see? Is it really worth my time and money investing in one?
If you’re like me then these are the kinds of questions you are asking yourself before you head off and make an investment in a new kitchen appliance. You want to know if it will truly be worth it. Will it help you cook healthier meals? Is there less chance of you burning the dinner? Will it save you any time in the kitchen? Will the whole family enjoy the foods you can make it in it? And where exactly are you going to store it?
Health Benefits
Cooking with an air Fryer was initially designed to help reduce the amount of foods cooked in a deep fat fryer, the premise of the air fryer is that you can cook with no oil at all or with just a very light coating on the food itself. The design and advent of the air fryer was all about still being able to enjoy the fried foods that you love but in a much healthier way. Of course, over time that has evolved, and all sorts of creative and fun recipes can be made in them now – those I will cover in a later blog.
For now, let’s look at some of the main benefits:
- Reduce the amount of fat in your foods. Some cooking oils contain unhealthy fats and cooking with them in large quantities in a deep fat fryer can have an adverse effect on your overall health. Using the air fryer removes that risk. In fact, you could reduce fat content by around 80% in some foods by not adding in oil to your cooking method.
- Reduce the number of calories you consume. If you need to watch your calorie intake for health and fitness reason or just as part of your general lifestyle approach, then air fryer cooking versus deep fat fryer cooking results in fewer calories consumed due to the reduction of oils used.
- Reduce the production of some harmful chemicals during the cooking process. Acrylamide is a chemical that is produced and released in some starchy foods when cooked in a deep fat fryer, this chemical has been linked to some types of cancer. Use of an air fryer can reduce the production of those chemicals.
- Reduce the rick of burns and scolds. Although the outside of an air fryer can heat up during the cooking process there is no risk of burns or scolds from hot oil which can be a concern when using other methods of cooking.
General Benefits
- Most air fryers are relatively small and compact, so they don’t take up too much space on your kitchen countertop. It’s compact size also means that if you are cooking for one, or doing small amounts of one item then it’s perfect for that too.
- They are exceptionally easy to clean. The cooking basket of most air fryers will usually just pop out and you can then just wash it in some soapy water.
- They work by pushing hot air around the internal cooking space. This means that unless you overfill the cooking basket food will cook evenly.
- Some foods can be cooked much faster than other methods. As soon as an air fryer is turned on it will start to heat up.
- You can set a timer so that food doesn’t over cook. If you use the timer function then once the time limit is up most air fryers will just turn off and cool down, this stops your food from overcooking if you are in the middle of something else and can’t get to it straight the way.
My Overall Thoughts
As with anything there will also be a counter argument on why something isn’t as good as we originally think. In the case of the air fryer many will argue that you should grill, bake, or roast foods and that those are the real healthy alternatives to any form of frying. But with an air fryer being so versatile, fun, inexpensive, and great for making those usually fried delights so much healthier, it is definitely a product I recommend adding to your kitchen.
In fact, there are so many non-fried foods that you can cook in an air fryer that even if you don’t need to replace cooking with a deep fat fryer, you absolutely should still invest to reap the benefits of cooking in an air fryer.
For ideas of recipes that you can start creating straight the way head on over to my Instagram account and be sure to come back and read the next blog.
Check out the other articles in my blog.