How Does Air Fryer Work – Do You Need One (Pros & Cons)?

One day, I learned from my friend that there is an appliance can make fried food without oil. The taste is not bad. Is this true? The name of this appliance is also very mysterious, called “air fryer“, it uses air to fry the food? Today, I will discuss with you how does air fryer works.

Air Fryer Working Principle

In fact, air fryer is a concept put forward by Philips. At the 2010 IFA International Consumer Electronics Show. Philips released a small kitchen appliance called air fryer.

This air fryer is about the size of a rice cooker. Heated from the top and combined with patented rapid air circulation technology. A rapid circulating heat flow is formed in the closed pot by hot air.

Replace the hot oil in the frying pan with air to cook the food. At the same time, the hot air also takes away the moisture on the surface of the food. It allows the ingredients to achieve a similar frying effect without the need for oil.

Still a little confused? You can understand how does air fryer works in this way. In a small sealed space, use a hair dryer to continuously blow 200° high-speed hot air to the food. Through the collision of hot air, transfer heat directly to food and the food is cooked.

Traditional Frying Method

First of all, traditional methods of frying are dangerous. If you always deep fry the food, I think you are more or less burned by hot oil. That is 200  degrees Celsius hot oil!

I cook occasionally and really afraid of hot oil. Every time I put food in the pot, I am always far away. As a result, the oil splashed higher…

The air fryer is different. It is cooked in a closed space. Don’t worry about splashing oil at all. Just be careful not to get burnt when you take out the food.

Let me talk about the “oil” that everyone cares about the most. Whether it is traditional fried or not, all need a lot of oil. Watching the food in the hot oil continually bubbling into golden yellow is very excited.

But this process is actually the process of sucking oil. The fried food will have a lot of oil. Long-term consumption of fried foods can damage your health, even carcinogenic.

Furthermore, traditional frying methods require people to be there. Keep flipping. By the way, you will inhale the fumes. With the air fryer, you only need to put the food, set the temperature and time.

But I can’t deny it. Making food in this way is faster and better.

The Fat Will Come Out

The air fryer can fry the food without oil even when cooking meat. The oil will come out of the meat. This is because some meats have high-fat.

For example, a chicken leg with chicken skin and chicken wings. During the cooking process, the oil will come out. But for some foods with low-fat. For example, chicken breast, beef, French fries, etc.

It is better to brush a layer of oil on the surface.

Air Fryer VS Oven

In fact, the air fryer is essentially a mini oven. The working principle is slightly different. The air fryers uses hot air circulation to cook the food.

The electric oven cooks the food by the radiant heat from the electric heating element.

So what are their advantages and disadvantages?

Air Fryer Advantages:

1. Small size and storage. The oven is basically placed and will not move. Air fryers can be stored when not in use. Take it out when you use it.
2. Save time and save electricity. Ovens are generally heated with upper and lower tubes and need to warm up. Not as efficient as an air fryer. The air fryer can make the food in ten minutes. It is also possible to set the temperature. It takes at least half an hour to fry a fries in the oven?
3. Use less oil. More oil will come out if the food cooked by air fryer. The taste may be better.
4. Easy to clean. Some oven bottoms cannot be removed. It is very difficult to clean thoroughly. Cleaning the air fryer is easy.
5. The radiation is small. Under normal circumstances, appliances have a certain amount of radiation. The air fryer is no exception. But compared to traditional electric fryer and oven, the power of the air fryer is relatively small. The radiation is also smaller.
6. High efficiency. The air fryer does not require preheating like oven. The speed is very fast. As long as there is meat, it is very convenient to cook.
7. Simple to operate. Even you are new to cook the food can make delicious fried foods.
8. Safety. Closed working environment. Don’t be afraid of hot oil splashing and scalding. But when take out the food, you still need to be careful.
9. Versatility In fact, in addition to fry, it can also be used for thawing and hot meals. You can even use to bake the cake

Air Fryer Disadvantages:

1. Limited internal space. It can’t put a plate. It is almost impossible to bake a whole chicken. Not suitable for a large family. Unless you buy a big one, but it is very expensive.
2. The noise is large. There is a sound similar to a blower.
3. The food that can be made is not as rich as the oven. Basically, the food that the air fryer can do, the oven can do. But desserts like cheesecake, bread, pudding and so on can only be baked in the oven.
4. Some people think that air fryer is too expensive. In fact, some brands are very cheap. But like Philips will be very expensive. The oven is almost the same situation. You know, good things are usually expensive.
5. Small capacity. Compared to the oven. The air fryer has a smaller capacity. The amount of food made is relatively less. It’s suitable for small families. If there are more people, it will take a lot of time.
6. Taste. It will not completely as same as the traditional fried.
7. Hard to cook well. Although it is smarter than traditional oil pan, adjusted temperature and frying time are still a bit difficult to master.
8. The upper electric heating tube is difficult to clean. The smoke will spray in the machine. Below is the material of the non-stick pan. It’s easy to handle. Above is a whirlwind heating tube. It is a difficult part to clean up. If you don’t clean well, next time you cook something. You may smell something strange.
9. It can only cook a small amount of food. Don’t look at this machine so big. But the space that can be cooked is small. only a small dish can be served after 10 to 30 minutes baking. Only enough for 1 or 2 people to eat. low efficiency.

Eat French Fries Regularly Is Not Healthy

One of the advertisement contents of the air fryer is “Healthy Fryer”. This advertisement should be targeted at parents of small families because make French fries with air fry do not need any oil. Basically, French fries can be almost equal to junk food. It will not become healthy because of less oil.

You have to consider that.

Kitchen/Cabinet Is Small

People who cook often will know it always takes a lot of time to organize the ingredients. Therefore, the space of the kitchen is precious. How to organize the Kitchen is always a big problem.

On the table are all common things such as rice cooker, pressure cooker, or blender. The air fryer is unlikely to be used every day (who will cook unhealthy food every day).

Stay on the table is a waste of space. You can put it in the cupboard. But, according to my experience, it will only be used several times a year in the end.

Furthermore, air fryer is quite high. Maybe your cabinet can’t be put in. Finally, you may put it in the storeroom and never use again.

“Non-fried” Is Not Always Healthy

With the improvement of people’s living standards, people are paying more and more attention to health issues. Eat less oil and less salt. Eat natural and healthy food with no additives and preservatives in every meal.

Air fryers claim no oil. It is all done by air. It is healthier than cooking. But the principle of the air fryer is similar to an oven. It is not completely unnecessary to use oil. It is also not good for health.

No Oil Required?

I think the ingredients such as chicken wings can be processed directly. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, and other vegetables still need to put a certain amount of oil during cooking.

Compared to ordinary fried foods, the food cooked in the air fryer does have lower fat. However, its heating temperature is usually about 200 degrees Celsius. It is easy to produce acrylamides.

It has been shown by animal experiments. Acrylamide has potential neurotoxicity, genotoxicity, and carcinogenicity. However, current research has not confirmed the association between acrylamide intake, related biochemical marker levels, and multiple cancer risks.

Therefore, it cannot be said that as long as the intake of acrylamide will increase the risk of cancer in humans. However, this substance is a “suspected carcinogen.” It is still necessary to reduce the intake of acrylamide in daily life.

The darker the surface of the baked food, the browner it is, the higher the content of acrylamide. Just like the previous years. The potato chips are very popular. But then everyone thinks that fried foods are not healthy.

There are potato chips that are not fried. But in fact, it should also put oil in the baking process. The air fryer is actually similar to this.

The biggest selling point of air fryers is health. Compared with traditional fried foods. The food made by the air fryer is indeed much lower in fat and heat.

But this does not mean that the air fryer does not require a drop of oil in the process of making food. As I said above. The air fryer is more like a hot air oven.

We all know that when cooking, the oven uses the meat’s own fat to roast the fragrant taste. But most people will brush a layer of oil on the baking sheet before baking.

This will prevent the meat from sticking to the baking sheet and ensure a better food taste. In fact, the principle of the air fryer is similar.

You can choose not to brush the oil. But after making food, the inner wall of the pot is difficult to clean and the taste of food will be slightly different.

Objectively speaking. The food made by the air fryer is indeed healthier than the traditional frying method. So, if you love fried foods, it is recommended that you purchase an air fryer.

Eating less oil is more beneficial to the body.

Range Hood

No matter the oil is more or less. There still has a smoke when cooking the food with the air fryer. If the ingredients are very oily, there will be a lot of smoke.

Although some air fryer says there is a “filter” that can filter the smoke. But there is still a smell of smoke. The smoke will accumulate indoors. It is very unhealthy. You still have to put the air fryer under the range hood when using it.

Can I Change/Clean The Filter?

Some air fryers have built-in filters. It can filter smoke and reduce the oily smell of the air. But I read the information on the official website. I can’t find a way to replace the filter or clean it.

When the smoke accumulates for a long time, it’s definitely disgusting. It may have a strange smell. Can you endure the range hoods of your home that have not been washed for a few years?

Do You Need An Air Fryer?

1. If you love fried food but worry about hygiene, weight gain, and health problems, you should buy one. Air fryers can reduce grease by up to 80%. The taste will not as good as traditional fried foods. But if you are not particularly picky, in fact, it is still OK.
2. Whether you are single or small households within five people, the air fryer can satisfy you.
3. If you are willing to try new things and like food, as long as you are willing to try, air fryers can still do a lot of delicious food.
4. If you always worry buy outside is not unsanitary, feel that the oven needs to wait too long, and you are lazy to cook, the air fryer may be a good choice for you.
5. In fact, there is one easiest way to judge if you need an air fryer. If you have bought a blender, hand mixer, pressure cooker, slow cooker, food dehydrator, all these healthy kitchen appliances are still using now. You can consider buying the air fryer. If they have been idle for many years. I think the air fryer will have the same result. It is better to use the money to buy something delicious.

I hope my post can give you insight and new thoughts. If you have any questions or opinion, please leave them below, I’d love to hear that.

We can discuss everything here.