5 Advantages To Using An Air Fryer

The air fryer has been quite the darling of 21st-century home kitchens. It arrived on the scene in 2010, touted as a healthier alternative to frying foods in deep vats of oil, and became so trendy that soon, some folks were bemoaning yet another appliance taking up precious counter space. Besides, why would an air fryer even be necessary when we can do all of its functions using the stovetop, oven, or even microwave? The answer is simple: An air fryer is loaded with advantages that make it an indispensable kitchen tool for many busy home cooks.

What advantages, you ask? Just as intended, many people have turned to the air fryer for its ability to "fry" food with much less oil than conventional deep fryers. It also crisps food evenly and cooks and heats up food much faster than a regular oven, therefore using less energy overall. It is much easier to clean up than said deep fryer, and uses much less counter space than a regular convection oven. Let's dive into each of these advantages one by one.

Probably the most advertised feature of the air fryer is how it can "fry" many different foods that would otherwise require a deep fryer or a sturdy pot with a lot of oil. And it really does shine in this application — whether you prepare french fries from scratch or take frozen ones straight from the freezer, air frying results in remarkably tasty, crispy, and browned food. If you are tired of dealing with leftover frying oil, or simply looking to reduce your intake of added cooking fats, air-fried food is a lighter option to fulfill your snack cravings.

Want to try it out for yourself? Look no further than this air fryer chicken nuggets recipe, a from-scratch preparation that will outshine bagged frozen chicken nuggets any day. These are flavored with smoked paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder, then coated with panko breadcrumbs, but you can play around with the seasonings to find a flavor combo you enjoy. If your tastes skew a more toward plant-based cooking, you can opt for an air-fried artichokes recipe instead. Cleaned and trimmed artichokes seasoned with salt, pepper, and olive oil make for an easy and classy addition to a Mediterranean-themed dinner.

How does food cooked with air turn out crispy? If anything, we are told that air exposure can make food stale! The air fryer cooks food by circulating hot air all around the fryer basket. It is exactly the same concept as how oven-fried chicken or baked kale chips are made, just with the hot air circulated in a much smaller space than in a standard oven. Sure, you still have to turn the food partway through cooking, but air fryer baskets are often designed in such a way that it makes tossing and turning the food an easier task.

If you want to test out just how crispy food cooked in an air fryer can be, there are many recipes that can do just that. Air fryer sweet potato chips are a deliciously healthy alternative to regular store-bought potato chips. If you are not a fan of the oregano called for in the original recipe, change it up with what you prefer. How about some hearty fish and chips? This air fryer crispy cod recipe delivers on flavor, and more importantly, texture, via seasoned panko breadcrumbs.

If you regularly use the oven to cook dinner, the air fryer can cook many of the same kinds of foods much faster. This comes down to an obvious feature: its smaller chamber. The reduced space heats up much faster than a full-sized oven or a convection unit. An air fryer cannot hold as much food as a regular oven, but if you are making dinner for one or two people, it's the perfect size. In a regular oven, a smaller quantity of food does not equate to a shorter cook time — it takes the same amount of time to roast one whole chicken as it does two. Another size-related advantage of the air fryer is that it uses less energy than larger cooking appliances.

Feeling like making a quick(er) dinner in the air fryer? Consider the classic roast chicken, but break the chicken down into individual parts instead to make it fit more neatly in the air fryer basket. Reduce the required temperature by about 25 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celcius), and shorten the cooking time by about 20 percent. You should have beautifully roasted chicken by the end of it, in less time, using less heat and energy overall. Do remember that the chicken still needs to register an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit to be fully cooked. Try scaling down other recipes intended for roasting in the oven and also reduce the temperature or cooking time

Those who use a deep fryer at home understand why some people put off the post-meal cleanup. It's a tedious operation to wait for the oil to cool, pour it out, then scrub the interior, but for the record, you should not wait a whole year to clean your deep fryer. This is another area where the air fryer has a clear advantage. It cools down much more rapidly and is a breeze to clean (so you should be cleaning your air fryer more often than you think). When there are spills, they're contained within the basket, versus the inevitable spatters across the countertop and backsplash that tend to occur with a vat of hot oil.

So how does one clean the air fryer? First and most important of all, remember to unplug the appliance! Once cool, remove the basket and the grate that sits on the bottom. These parts can often be cleaned in the dishwasher (check the manufacturer's manual beforehand) or hand washed with dish soap and a soft sponge so as not to scratch the air fryer's non-stick surface. Use a damp cloth to wipe the interior of the main air fryer body, and a soft brush to tackle the corners and heating element. Make sure everything is dry before putting it all back together again, and you're done. Easy!

Choosing which appliances to buy and use is one of the most crucial parts of setting up your home kitchen. In apartments and smaller homes where counter space is limited, narrowing down the appliance list is more challenging. Take a moment to reflect on your cooking and eating habits, and what you realistically have time to do and maintain in a day-to-day routine. 

The air fryer can potentially stand in for multiple countertop appliances. Need to reheat food but don't want to get a microwave? The air fryer can do it for you. Want a convenient way to cook heat-and-eat snacks? The air fryer handles frozen fried food items like a champ. And if you want to roast something for dinner, boil eggs, or bake a dessert, you may find that you do not need to bother with a larger oven at all, because the air fryer has your back. Forgoing a convection oven or microwave in favor of an air fryer frees up precious counter space that can be used as a food-prep surface, storage, or a spot for other appliances with completely different functions.