There’s been a lot of hype surrounding air frying in recent years, but is it actually all it’s cracked up to be?
You see many advocates of air fryers claiming that it presents numerous health benefits. However, can you really claim that air frying your food is healthy?
What is air frying?
Air frying is a method of cooking that takes what you’re cooking and uses a fan to heat air up to around 400 F. These gadgets usually only require a little bit of oil, and they can help you get really crispy foods. So, the results are similar to a regular fryer or deep fat fryer, but the method is significantly different.
What can you cook in an air fryer?
One of the good things about an air fryer is that you can cook just about anything in them. Many people use them to cook homemade crispy fries, air fryer chicken drumsticks, or air-fried fish. You can also cook sweet things in there – such as doughnuts and other cakey things.
Are there health benefits to using air fryers?
You hear the word ‘fry’ and you immediately raise your eyebrow when health benefits are mentioned. Does an air fryer present a healthy way of cooking your food?
Well, yes and no.
Yes, it is a healthy alternative to frying your food. This is because you use significantly less oil when frying, which can cut calories by a substantial amount. As such, you could enjoy fries or fried chicken without loads of added calories from the oil. Air frying can also prevent some of the harmful effects of frying food. When you use a deep fat fryer or fry something in a pan full of oil, it’s common for the food to release chemicals that could increase your chances of cancer. With an air fryer, you can reduce the number of chemicals released, which makes it much healthier than traditional frying.
However, air frying is still frying. It is still a less healthy method of cooking than boiling, broiling, or cooking in an oven. Plus, because of the way the food is cooked, certain things can lose some of the nutritional benefits when cooked in an air fryer. Fish and vegetables are two things that definitely don’t give you as many nutrients when air-fried.
Should you use an air fryer?
You don’t need an air fryer in your kitchen because there are other ways of making just about everything you can make in an air fryer.
Having said that, it can be a nice gadget to help you make smarter decisions when preparing your food. If you eat a lot of fried stuff and need to cut down, this can help you. It offers a healthier alternative to your usual fried food, which can also be great when you want to treat yourself.
After all, being healthy is all about making small changes to your lifestyle habits. Instead of making homemade fries in a deep-fat fryer, make them in an air fryer. Just be sure that you don’t use this gadget every single day. Only use it if you are having a treat and want a better cooking method than normal frying.
