'Air fryers’ are the words on everyone’s lips right now.
If you have got one, you are telling people how great they are; if you have not, you are talking about getting around to it - and seeing as you are here, we are guessing you are finally ready to get your hands on your own.
But before you do, keep reading. We have packed this guide with everything you could ever need to know about air fryers, to help you find the best one for you.
Air fryers use hot air to “fry” food
Deep fryers rely on oil to give food that signature crunchy exterior while still maintaining that soft inside.
The air fryer, though, uses very hot air to achieve the same outcome, almost operating like a mini oven. A heating element at the top of the air fryer forces hot air down and around the food as it is suspended in a basket. The air leaves the food with that crispy taste.
Air fryers do not fry
Do air fryers really fry? No! Air fryers bake and roast while blowing vaporised fat around with a fan.
Exactly like a fan oven does, although the smaller cavity and the more powerful fan does make it quicker and arguably more effective.
So while you can get delicious crispiness from an air fryer, you cannot 'fry' anything in any meaningful sense. On the plus side, as a result of this non-frying, most air fryer recipes are a lot healthier than their deep-fat fryer equivalents.
Everything cooks so fast
When cooking in an air fryer, most foods take less than 15 minutes to fully cook. Typically, you would be used to waiting 20 or 30 minutes to bake chicken breasts in the oven. Sometimes, things cook so fast that you do not even realise they are done.
They really do help make healthier meals
If you are following a healthy diet, you are probably looking at an air fryer and wondering 'are air fryers healthy?' like, are they actually better for you overall, or is it just a marketing trick?
Amazingly, it is found that air fryers really are healthier and they 'feel' healthier too. When you eat air-fried foods you feel better about yourself than regularly eating greasy, traditionally fried foods.
Studies have shown that air-fried foods cut calories by 70 to 80% as a result of using less fat and oil. What is more, the air frying process has been shown to reduce exposure to carcinogens that result from deep frying in oil.
The inside is entirely coated with non-stick surfaces
The non-stick surfaces make this easy to clean up.
However, the polytetrafluoroethylene, also known as Teflon, will eventually deteriorate, and it is all too easy to scratch up the surface with an errant fork or metal tongs.
Air fryers can be a little noisy
Due to the turbulent nature of all that convection action, things get a bit loud. The particular pitch and volume are dependent on the make and model.