Been thinking of adding a new appliance to your cooking arsenal and keen to understand ‘how do air fryers work?’ In this air fryer 101, we run through the basics of this popular kitchen appliance.
Are air fryers healthy?
Air fryers use minimal oil to get cracking results, making them a healthier way to cook. They make the crunchiest chips and schnitzels, beautifully charred vegies such as cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts, produce crisp golden skin on a roast chicken while keeping the meat juicy, and will even bake puddings such as apple crumble to crumbly perfection.
How does an air fryer work?
Despite its name, the air fryer is not a deep fryer at all but more of an amped-up counter-top convection oven. Air fryers work by circulating hot air around the food, and it’s this rapid circulation of hot air in a confined space that helps to crisp up food. As well as cooking foods with a minimal amount of oil, air fryers are also brilliant at reheating leftover pizza without a soggy base in sight, as well as bringing other pastries like sausage rolls and meat pies back to flaky life.
The different types of air fryers
The two most popular styles of air fryers are basket-style and toaster oven-style. With the basic models, all you need to do is set the temperature and set the time, while the more expensive models can have multiple pre-set functions for air fry, grill, roast, slow cook, dehydrate, bake and reheat. Some even have specific functions for cooking foods like chips, seafood, chicken, steaks, pizza and frozen foods.
The basket air fryer
These compact versions range in capacity from 4–7 litres. They sit upright and have a deep pull-out drawer with a perforated basket inserted. The basket is slightly elevated from the base of the pan to catch oil drippings and cooking juices. Due to their smaller size, you can’t cook large volumes of food in them. Some brands have released new models of air fryers with double baskets, which means you can cook more food concurrently rather than having to cook back-to-back like you would with a single-drawer air fryer. Check out our review of Ninja’s dual drawer air fryer.
The oven air fryer
These larger versions of air fryers (11 litres) open like a compact oven with a door. They come with two or three wire racks so you can cook more than one type of food at a time. The clear oven door allows you to see how your recipe is progressing without the need to open it, keeping the temperature stable inside.
How to use an air fryer
For best results, it’s usually advised to preheat your air fryer before adding food. Some models have a preheat mode or are programmed to preheat first. Air fryers get hot! Once the basket is pulled out of the appliance, treat it like it has come out of the oven – take care when adding and removing items from the basket. Be sure to clean your appliance after every use (both the inner basket and outer pan) to remove grease, any small, trapped pieces of food will burn, causing the appliance to smoke.
You would be amazed at what can be made in an air fryer – not just chips and schnitzel but whole family dinners, desserts and even bread! Check out these air fryer recipes for inspiration.
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