Firstly, this is not a review about any particular air fryer and is just my thoughts and experiences after being introduced to the world of air fryer cooking this week.
The pros and cons of air fryers in my opinion.
As we are now at that time of year when Black Friday is pushing discounts on shoppers, it is always reported that air fryers are popular. Lots of sites pushing discounts and different models.
I remember years ago when the microwave launched with loads of promises of what it could do. The reality is they are good at reheating and not much else, despite the promises at he time. Will it be similar with air fryers?
At this point is time, my family have only owned the air fryer for a few days, so just initial thoughts. My wife did lists of research prior to the purchase and bought a size suitable with drawers for a family of three.
Positive wise, they are supposedly economical to run and it is convenient. It is also great having two drawers on the model we own. It is also relatively quick to power up. Some of the foods that we have tried have cooked well and maybe the food is slightly more crispy. Subjective at best but it is often claimed it is a more healthy way to cook unhealthy foods.
Certainly chips, chicken nuggets and onion rings came out well. Bacon was also surprisingly good and convenient. An easy way to encourage our daughter to eat, by using the air fryer. She had wanted one for a while.
Many foods will drop large quantities of fat into the drawers of the fryer. This is where you do need to be careful as you don’t want to clog up your pipes with fat when washing items. Therefore, you will need accessories such as silicon baskets and wire racks. Both which will aid the cooking and cleaning. Perhaps some models will include this, ours didn’t.
Food wise, the jury is out for me and I will need to sample more foods. Perhaps the best foods to air fry aren’t the healthiest. Bacon cooked really well and the convenience is you don’t have to supervise as much as you would with a pan or grill.
My wife is certainly experimenting. One such experiment was sausages split open with Brie and cranberry and then wrapped in bacon. They were lovely and cooked with roasties that turned out well. An air fryer cook book was also purchased to boost creativity.
Certainly the fryer is more like an oven and items colour and brown unlike a microwave. Hopefully it should be a useful gadget.
