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Discover the Easy Guide on How to Use Air Fryer – Master the Art of Healthy and Delicious Cooking Effortlessly!
Air Fryers are the perfect kitchen appliance if you love hot crispy food but still want to stay healthy and keep your heart intact. Their minimal oil usage and versatility have helped them pave their way into several Indian kitchens. If, as a beginner, you need help and want to know everything about this helpful device, then you are at the right place! This right here is the complete guide to the best air fryers and how to use them.
How Does an Air Fryer Work?
An air fryer is an appliance used for making fried food. Even Though it uses minimum to no oil, it still provides a crispy and crunchy outer layer, similar to that of a deep fryer. How is this possible? Convection heat is employed by air fryers to cook food. This method circulates hot air over the food until it becomes brown and crispy.
Uses of an Air Fryer
An air fryer is a versatile kitchen appliance with many uses besides frying. Here, we explore the various air fryer uses –
- Bake goods – An air fryer can make perfect bakery-style cookies, biscuits, loaves of bread and whatnot!
- Reheating leftovers – Air fryers are one of the best ways to reheat leftover fried food. Cold, soggy refrigerated food is now again crispy, crunchy, and ready to consume.
- Frozen pre-made food – Chicken nuggets, Tater tots, vegetable smileys, all of these favorite frozen snacks can now be enjoyed with less oil with the same taste with an air fryer.
- Boiler – Air fryers can work as excellent boilers and give you the perfect hard-boiled eggs. Hard-boiled eggs are now simple and hassle-free to make!
How to Use an Air Fryer?
With our focus shifting to healthcare and fitness, air fryers have become a game changer in recent years. They are all round kitchen appliances that can fry and help in various other activities. So, if you want to know how to use this handy appliance, here is a quick guide!
1. Pre-heat the air fryer
The first and foremost step must be to preheat your air fryer for the best crunch. The preheating function can be beneficial while using an air fryer. Here is everything you need to know about preheating.
Some air fryers come with an automatic preheat setting, click the button, and you are good to go! Whereas for other air fryers, you can manually set the temperature recommended in the recipe or at the temperature you plan to cook your meal. Ideally, it takes 2-3 minutes to preheat a medium air fryer.
Preheating in an air fryer gives you the signature crispness we crave. With preheating, the food cooks smoothly. It also reduces cooking time, thereby saving electricity.
Do not preheat with the parchment paper inside the basket as it can get caught up in the coil, catch fire, and prove hazardous.
2. Add a small amount of oil
Adding a tiny amount can provide that extra crispiness to your food. Air fryers generally require only 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil. You can even shift to healthier oil options such as olive oil and avocado oil. This will ensure your meal is entirely healthy while still being tasty.
3. Place the basket and stir
Place your food in the basket and set it at the temperature the recipe requires. Remember to give it a good stir mid-way to ensure that everything is nice and evenly crispy!
4. Remove the food from the air fryer and enjoy!
Once the food is cooked as per your need, carefully remove the basket from the air fryer using oven mitts. Enjoy your delicious air-fried meals!.
Make sure that you check the content of the basket midway and ensure that it is not burnt because food in an air fryer generally cooks faster.
How to Clean an Air Fryer
It is essential to clean the air fryer after every use since the grease and remains of your fried food can cause a mess and lead to smoke. Hence, before using our air fryer, we must make sure that our air fryer is clean and dry. Here is how you can clean your air fryer –
- Unplug and cool your air fryer – Start cleaning it only after it has completely cooled down. Washing a hot air fryer can cause various malfunctions and spoil your device.
- Wash – Wash the removable parts of the air fryer and soak them in hot water with dish wash. Make sure to scrub the nook and crannies of the air fryer to ensure it is spotless.
- Wipe – It is also important to wipe the interior and exterior of the air fryer with a damp cloth. Oil residue often leaves nasty stains, which can cause a problem in the long run.
For deep cleaning, all you need is 1.5 cups of baking soda and water to make a paste. Take a damp cloth or soft bristles brush to clean the splatters or stains. This is one of the best home remedies for deep cleaning. Even the toughest of stains will vanish with this technique.
Difference Between Air Fryer and Deep Fryer
| Comparison | Air Fryer | Deep Fryer |
| Working | Food is cooked by circulating hot air over it. | Cooks by submerging food into oil at high temperatures. |
| Use of Oil | Uses minimal oil and Roughly 1-2 tablespoons of oil used. | Uses enough (Approx. 15 cups) oil to submerge the entire food that is being fried. |
| Versatility | Air fryers can fry, roast, reheat and grill your food. | Deep fryers can only be used to deep fry your food items. |
| Electricity Consumed | An average Air Fryer consumes 1.5kW of energy. | An average deep fryer uses about 5kW of energy. |
| Recipes | An air fryer can be used to bake, fry, reheat and boil several recipes like kale chips and roast potatoes and so on. | Deep fryer can only be used to fry recipes such as french fries, fritters and doughnuts. |
Why Should You Buy an Air Fryer?
Who doesn’t like crunchy and delightful snacks to pair it with the perfect evening? These snacks are overloaded with oil, leading to various health issues. Not anymore! Air fryers are the new healthier way to enjoy fried foods without fearing harmful side effects.
1. Health Benefits
Air fryers are becoming a popular choice due to the number of health benefits they provide.
- Weight loss – Air fryers can curb the intake of unhealthy oils, leading to weight loss.
- Lessens acrylamide production – Using air fryers lessens the release of Acrylamide. Acrylamide is known for the onset of several kinds of cancers.
- Reduces disease risk – Constant oil usage to fry foods can lead to several adverse health issues like cholesterol and heart disease. Air frying reduces the risk of such diseases.
2. Oil Usage
One of the best features of an air fryer is the minimal use of oil. The same deep-fried dish can be prepared using little or no oil while the taste remains intact. Air fryers typically use 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil. Any oil of your choice, vegetable, olive or coconut oil, can be used.
3. Electricity consumed
Air Fryers are heavy appliances that can use a little too much electricity. They typically use 1,200 to 1,500 Watts of electricity. But with smart usage, the amount of electricity used can be reduced to bearable amounts. A few of the methods include the following.
- Use smaller air fryers – small air fryers use less electricity and can positively impact your bill. The larger the air fryer, the more electricity is consumed.
- Preheat – when you preheat your air fryer, it can reduce the cooking time and save electricity.
4. Value for money
Air fryers are worth every penny. Since they perform multiple functions and use less electricity compared to a few of the kitchen appliances, and various health benefits as well!
Top 10 Best Air Fryer Recipes
Air fryers are versatile devices and can cook several dishes. This list consists of nutritional air fryer breakfast recipes, snack recipes and several other healthy air fryer recipes. You can even make crispy, yummy and healthy french fries in an air fryer.
Top 10 Best Air Fryers in India
Here is a compilation of some of the best air fryers, with a product description, and lowest air fryer prices.
1. Instant Pot Air Fryer
- Available in various sizes such as 2 litres, 4 litres and 8 litres
- Uses 95% less oil
- Follows even crisp policy
- Has 4 different customizable programs
2. Philips Digital Air Fryer
- 1litre basket
- Uses 90% less oil
- Uses Rapid Air technology
- Digital touch panel
3. Kent 16096 Classic Hot Air Fryer
- 4 litres basket
- Uses 80% less oil
- Can fry,roast,grill,steam and bake
- Auto cut off available
4. Kenstar Aster Digi
- 5 litres capacity
- Non stick food basket
- Can we used for boiling, reheating and roasting
5. SOLARA Xtra Large Digital Air Fryer
- Capacity of 5.5 litres
- Uses 85% less oil
- Built in touch screen display
- Has a non-stick pan and detachable basket
6. Havells Air Fryer Prolife Digi
- Capacity of 4 litres
- Special temperature control feature
- Stain and scratch resistant
- Basket release button available
7. Pigeon Healthifry Digital Air Fryer
- 2 litres capacity
- Nonstick basket
- Uses 85%less oil
- Digital display
8. Stok Air Fryer Max
- 5 litres capacity
- LED touchscreen display
- Made of stainless steel
- Additional uses include roasting, baking and grilling
9. INALSA Air Fryer
- Capacity of 4.2 litre
- Uses 99% less oil
- Has 8 preset settings
- Fully digital, touchscreen display
10. Hilton Air fryer
- Capacity of 3.5 litre
- Uses 80% less oil
- Cool touch handle
- Features faster preheating
FAQ on Air Fryer
Using an air fryer for the first time is quite simple. All you have to do is –
- Preheat the air fryer
- Add oil
- Place the basket and stir
An air fryer requires very little oil, 1-2 tablespoons of oil. Try using oils with high smoke points. These oils include sunflower oil, avocado oil and olive oil.
Air frying is healthier than frying food since it reduces oil and fat content by 70-80%.
There are certain things that you should avoid cooking in an air fryer, such as –
- Wet batter items – Will often splatter and create a mess.
- Popcorn – Air fryers do not get hot enough to pop popcorn.
- Raw grains – Air fryers can cook something dry, not the food that needs to be submerged in water to be cooked.
Toast – A toast may cook unevenly and leave crumbs all around.
Air fryers do use quite a bit of electricity. An average air fryer requires around 1,200-1,500 Watts of electricity.
Air fryers, when overheated, often pose the risk of malfunction and smoke. This may lead to hazardous fires. To avoid this, unplug the air fryer after use and never leave the air fryer unattended.
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