What is an air fryer (Airfryer); Is it healthy? How much power does it consume?

air fryers– Also known as airfryer or oil-free fryer – It quickly became popular in the 2020s, stating that they offer cooks a way to cook their meals quickly, easily, deliciously and healthily without the dangers of deep-frying. With power bills skyrocketing in many parts of the world this winter, it’s a fact that consumers looking to keep their bills low are driving sales of their air fryer even higher.

Whether or not these systems can do what they really say is a question. A number of different studies show that air fryers are healthier than some other cooking techniques and may also be more power efficient.

What is an Airfryer?

An air fryer can be defined as a super-powered convection oven that is small enough to sit on your counter. But despite its name, it doesn’t actually fry. It works by using the convection mechanism and circulating hot air rapidly around the food. It needs very little oil, but mimics some of the delicious properties of fried food by creating a nice brown crisp on food through a process called the Maillard reaction.

Maillard reaction It is a series of chemical reactions that simultaneously browns food, amid amino acids and reducing sugars, to form flavor and flavor compounds. This reaction is the main reason why charcoal grilled burgers, fried onions and crispy fries are delicious.

Air fryers are often considered a healthy cooking technique, as they perform the Maillard response without using too much oil.

Is the Airfryer healthy?

deep fried food, undergoing a process called hydrogenation It is not very good for your health as it contains high levels of trans fats, which are unsaturated fats. Many studies have shown that trans fats are closely linked to an increased risk of many diseases, from heart attack and stroke to obesity and diabetes.

A 2015 study examined the differences in the middle of deep-frying and air-frying and frying french fries. has a significantly lower fat content , but concluded that it retains, for example, moisture content and color. However, the “air fried” artifact had less starch gelatinization, which could affect the flavor and also caused it to have a slightly harder and drier texture than the deep-fried artifact.

Research, ” In general, the air frying process allows for the production of artifacts with lower fat content, even though these artifacts have different sensory properties.‘ he concluded.

There is also some evidence that air fryers can reduce the formation of waste compounds. As noted, browning of food is due to the Maillard response. Cooking starchy foods at high temperatures may cause the formation of acrylamide. This chemical gives the food its characteristic brown color and delicious flavor. but some studies suggest it may contribute to cancer.

Yet another study from 2015 investigated how air frying affected the formation of acrylamide in french fries. Promisingly, air frying was found to reduce the acrylamide content by about 90 percent compared to conventional deep frying..

However, frying in air fryers will continue to produce acrylamide as well as other potentially hazardous compounds, while other procedures such as boiling and steaming will not.

Evidence shows that, in general, air fryers can produce healthier food than deep frying.However, for now, there is little research examining how air fryers work compared to other cooking methods, particularly grilling or baking.

Does the Airfryer use less power?

Another reason people are switching to this type of fryer is for power efficiency, which is said to help reduce power bills. It is said that because the cooking chambers are smaller than a conventional oven, they need less power to heat up.

There is not much official scientific research on this, but you can take a look at the different tests that people do on this subject. The BBC, for example, put this question to the test by comparing the ability of an oven and a deep fryer to cook identically sized chicken legs. During this test, they found that it takes about 35 minutes to cook the chicken in the oven and requires about 1.05 kilowatt hours of electricity. The air fryer took 20 minutes to cook the chicken and used only 0.43 kilowatt hours of electricity.

That’s why air fryers appear to be more power efficient, at least than in this small and controversial experiment.