Air-Frying: A Healthy Alternative To your Regular Cooking

Air-Frying: A Healthy Alternative To your Regular Cooking

Fried food is the best comfort food for many people. Whether it is fried chicken or French fries, everyone has at least one fried food that is on their list of favourite. Deep fried food is really tasty and would have been every one's favorite if it don't have unhealthy high fat content.

We are still using Deep-frying technique for frying Food items in which we fry food items in large amounts of oil. Thus, making Food oily which can result in Obesity and also problems like being overweight, heart disease, and stretching marks on the skin.

Cooking with an air fryer is a healthy alternative to deep-frying using oil. Hot air fryers use heated air instead of hot oil to cook food. The best air fryers use Rapid Air Technology for frying the food with minimal or no oil. Air Fryers are not just for chips! Any type of food, from chicken pieces to desserts can be cooked in this way.

Air frying, is generally referred as hot air frying, a modern cooking technique which has been developed to allow for the frying, roasting or grilling of food without using the huge amount of oil or fat amounts we are used to. They work by circulating extremely hot air around the food and do not need fat or oil. You can add a very small amount, a teaspoon to improve taste if you wish. This technology ensures that the food being prepared gets not only the taste of deep fried food but also the texture. For instance you will get crispy outside and moist inside effect but the fat is reduced. Air fryer is not a special equipment it's just like your everyday kitchen appliance with one difference that uses hot air to cook food Instead of traditionally cooking up food by using oil, the fryer uses hot air, up to about 200 Celsius to cook the food.

Advantages and Disadvantages

They are particularly useful for those who are counting calories and are on Dieting. By not using oil to heat and cook the food, it lessens the fat percentage of the meal. Thus, Food cooked by Air frying is less on calories and fat. It is for this reason that they are found not to cause the health problems.

The high heat seals in the food juices thus ensuring taste/flavour/moisture is retained inside along with nutritional value.

The air fryer is highly versatile and can be used for frying, grilling, roasting and baking. You can cook practically all types of food in the fryer.

Fast cooking times with most food cooked in under 30 minutes due to the high temperature.

Air frying is economic. Cooking oils and fats cost you much and Air frying uses no/less oil (a teaspoon) which makes it economical.

Deep fat frying causes over 1,000 casualties every year. All these can be eliminated by air frying. Also, your favourite foods will be back on the menu because one reason why you have been advised not to eat most junk foods is not because of their composition but because of what they result into after preparation. Upon frying with an air fryer, nutritionists will approve the same food that they advised you not to eat.

Air frying equipment is scientific and some do not even require the turning of food because they do it automatically on timer basis.

Air fryers are very efficient and convenient to use as they can easily be operated even by everyone in the home.

Although the equipment is ideal for a healthy lifestyle, one disadvantage with using an air fryer is that since air is used to cook food, it is important not to overload the cooking area as this would result in uneven cooking and Thicker cuts of meat might also need additional cooking time to fully cook.

Comparison between air frying vs deep fat frying

The first difference between the two is the fact that there is a slight difference in taste. Though there are some who still feel the deep fried food tastes better, the air fried comes with the advantages of reduced cleanup process, reduced heavy oil smell and general reduction of work.

Also the preparation of food using the air fryers method takes longer than the deep frying method. Comparatively, air frying takes 25 minutes whereas the deep frying method takes 8-12 minutes. However, in terms of energy use the air frying method takes a shorter time. I mean Air frying saves you the waiting time for oil to heat up, cooling time before cleaning up, filtering as well as oil storage.

Last but not least, If you are a deep fried food lover and seeking to eat it in a healthier way, without giving up fried food, then make sure you follow these instructions;

Make Use Of Olive Oil

The best kind of oil that you can use for making fried food is olive oil. There are many health benefits of olive oil, so it's a good option. Olive oil is steadier on high temperatures as compared to sunflower oil, soybean oil, and corn oil, meaning that it can be used longer than other frying oils because it maintains its nutrition and quality. The best olive oils that you should use are the virgin or extra virgin olive oil.

Remember To Keep Your Oil Clean

It is essential that you keep the frying oil nice and clean. If you let the oil get old and collect remains, the oil will start to burn and your food will also taste burnt.

Making use of old oil means that there is no nutrition left in it, so change your oil as soon as you start seeing the remains of other cooked food in it. If you want to preserve the old oil and make more use of it then it's best that you remove the remains from the oil and use it again, but it's a good idea to change the oil after every two to three days.

Make Your Batter Better

Having a perfect batter for your food is quite important for having a better tasting meal, but the question is how the batter will determine that your fried food is going to be a greasy mess or a healthy treat?

Many people make use of all-purpose flour for their batter. All-purpose flour is a good option as it contains gluten that helps it stick to the food really well, however it can absorb a lot of oil. So instead of using all-purpose flour, try using gluten free ingredients, such as rice flour in your batter.

Make Use Of Baking Soda Or Carbonated Liquid

Another famous way for improving the quality of the fried battered foods is to make use of baking soda or carbonated liquid in the batter. How it helps your food in cooking is that it releases gas bubbles while cooking so the food doesn't absorb a lot of oil.

Maintain The Oil Temperature

One thing where many people make mistakes while preparing a healthy fried dish is they don't really maintain the temperature of the oil. The perfect temperature for fry food oil is somewhere between 350°F - 400°F.

If the frying oil is not hot enough, your food won't cook as fast as it should, it will take more time and hence it will absorb more oil. If you keep cooking it too hot, it will cause the oil to burn and create smoke, which will make your food taste horrible and it is also a huge risk.