“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”- Virginia Woolf.
With the pandemic nearing its one-year anniversary, I’ve learned a lot of things. But one of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that food is my best friend, and that the right food will never let me down. This quarantine has turned a lot of non-chefs into chefs, and I think a big part of the boredom at home plays an important role in that. In addition to the boredom, comes one of the easiest to use kitchen tools, which is the Air Fryer. As of June 27, 2020, nearly 12 million air fryers have been sold throughout the past three years. (1). Of course, we are now in the year 2021, and air fryers are still being sold. So, I am not aware of the updated numbers, but I am sure they are a lot higher than 12 million. Regardless of the numbers, we are not here to discuss the numbers of air fryers being sold, but rather why they are so popular nowadays compared to back then, and are they really worth all of the hype?
Before delving too much into the topic and listing the pros and cons of the air fryer, let’s see what exactly an air fryer is, and what it does. The air fryer in all of its simplicity is a machine that, contrary to its name, doesn’t exactly fry the foods. But it certainly does make them a lot crispier than if they were baked in an oven (at least in my opinion). There are a lot of compartments within an air fryer that make these foods crispy, and taste just as if they were fried. The process of how these foods are cooked, is quite simple, where it basically uses heat and dehydration in order to give the foods their fried/crispy texture.(2).
Now that that’s settled let’s go and investigate whether air fryers are worth the hype or not, through looking at the pros and cons.
Pros:
– Healthy Alternative:
As mentioned in the paragraph above, the process of frying foods in an air fryer is quite simple and it requires a minimum amount of oil. Therefore, a lot of people prefer the air fryer over any other kitchen tool, because they consider it to be a healthier option.
– Simple to use:
Honestly, I think one of the main reasons why it’s so popular amongst the Gen Z group during the time of the pandemic is that it doesn’t require much effort. No preheating, no greasing the pan, nothing. Just simply putting whatever you want to heat/fry or bake in the air fryer for the required timing.
– Quick to Use:
On top of it not requiring a lot of effort to use, it also doesn’t require a lot of time, another reason why it’s so popular amongst the younger generations. Not all of the recipes require preheating the air fryer, and if one recipe does, then it doesn’t take a long time to preheat like the oven. Moreover the process of frying the food is also pretty quick. So, it’s safe to say that air fryers are time effective.
Cons:
– Takes up space:
One thing about an air fryer or at least the one that my family and I have, is that they are pretty big, and you have to have a reasonable place for it, whether it be on the counter or in a closet.
– Capacity:
When I say capacity, I mean how much it can hold or how much space the basket has. Despite its large size, most air fryers cannot hold a high capacity. Therefore whatever you want to cook will have to be cooked in batches, instead of all at once.
– Size:
Specifically, the size of the basket. We established the fact that some air fryers can’t hold a high capacity, there also some foods that simply don’t fit into the air fryer or can get stuck within the air fryer making the process of cleaning a bit more difficult than it is.
My family and I have had our air fryer for a couple of months now. Personally, I prefer it over the oven when it comes to frying certain foods. Because I don’t know if anyone else has had this issue, but when baking fries in the oven, I’ve never achieved the crispy consistency that I have achieved when making them in an air fryer. Let me know what you guys think about the situation, and whether you think air fryers are overrated.
1. https://www.grubstreet.com/2020/12/why-america-is-still-obsessed-with-air-fryers.html
2. https://www.aircookers.com/pros-and-cons/