Here’s How Air Fryers Really Work
As an experienced professional baker, it took me a while to get used to the air fryer until I realized what it actually was. An air fryer is a godsend for home cooks with small jobs that need to be done quickly—like reheating leftover fries or even quickly baking a cheesecake —but the name of this handy appliance shrouds it in mystery, or at least misleads newbies. How does an air fryer actually work? Does everything come out fried? It’s actually quite simple.
What is an air fryer?
When I think of fried food, I think of deep or shallow fried. Maybe it’s breaded or battered like onion rings or battered fish, or maybe it’s just tossed in like chicken wings. Whatever it is, hot oil actively cooks the product by being in direct contact with the food. An air fryer is not a deep fryer. It’s not even a deep fryer. In fact, you may not need to add any oil at all.
The name is a cute (if confusing) play on how the appliance cooks with power similar to an air fryer, but using air. Much to my mom’s surprise, air fryers aren’t deep fryers at all; These are powerful and convenient countertop convection ovens.
Convection compared to normal
I remember the first time I baked croissants in an industrial convection oven and wondered, “I wish I had a little piece like this at home.” Friends, wishes come true . Both convection ovens (including air fryers) and conventional ovens (such as a stovetop oven) cook by heating air. The heating element, electric or gas, is activated and the enclosed space is heated.
From here the two ovens take different paths. Regular ovens have heating elements on the top and bottom, and that’s where the story ends. The elements heat the oven and over time the food is cooked by the ambient heat.
Your air fryer (and other convection ovens) has one electric coil in the cooking chamber and a fan. When you turn on the appliance, the coil heats up and the fan circulates hot air quickly. This difference may seem small, but this fan makes a significant difference in cooking time. In a conventional oven, water molecules evaporate from a piece of chicken on their own, slowly floating away. When a convection oven blows, these molecules are thrown to hell, and the next molecule follows right behind them.
Combine this hot air cyclone with a significantly smaller space than a conventional oven (air fryer baskets are the size of a handbag) and a heat source located inches from the food, and you get fast baking and convection baking. The result is a quick cook, crispy exterior and tender interior. The result is pretty close to frying, but with little or no added oil, which may be better for your health (and results in much less oil waste).
Pros and cons of air fryers
In our opinion, this kind of fast convection cooking can look a lot like cooking food in a puddle of oil. The hot circulating wind accelerates browning and flavor development through the Maillard reaction , and compared to a conventional oven, it wins in the speed category every time. Most foods you can bake in a conventional oven can be cooked and crisped faster in an air fryer, but due to the aggressive heating style, you’ll have to lower the temperature by at least 25 degrees and also reduce the cooking time significantly. . Here are more helpful tips for air frying without instructions on the package.
Convection cooking is especially effective for snacks that deserve crispy edges and a tender interior, such as french fries, frozen spring rolls, crispy tofu, or chicken wings. It’s great for roasting vegetables; just toss them lightly with oil and salt, and there you have it: the fastest fried potatoes, onions, peppers or squash ever. Circulating heat is also ideal for making flaky baked goods or baked goods with layers or pockets of butter, such as pie crusts or cookies.
Despite the long list of delicious, crispy foods that cook well in an air fryer, convection ovens aren’t suitable for everything. What should you not leave outside during a hurricane? Things that the wind can pick up. Light foods may break in the deep fryer. I once tried frying cut up tortillas and when I opened the basket they were all piled up and squashed together in one corner. There is no point in “frying” anything that is dipped in dough. Fish and chips or tempura vegetables will still need to be in the fryer to get it right.
In addition, you are limited in space. Air fryer baskets are small enough to fit comfortably on your countertop and can be lifted, moved, and stored. This compact size is great for portability, but not great for roasting a 15-pound turkey. Sure, I can bake an eight-inch pie or cake in the air fryer, but it’s a size limitation and I can only bake one cake at a time. There will always be times when using a big old conventional oven makes more sense. However, I will never return my air fryer. It’s perfect for small portions and quick snacks, and boy, the crispiness possibilities are great.