In the past few years, air fryers have replaced deep fryers on countertops everywhere, and recipe videos for everything from air-fried potato chips to lasagna have taken over on social media. However, while they certainly cut down on added fats in cooking, there are also valid concerns about their toxicity because of the materials used in their production.
Traditional Deep Frying
Deep-fried foods are commonly available at restaurants, drive-ins, and food trucks, and a serving of perfectly crispy golden fries is, without a doubt, the most popular deep-fried treat. Home cooks have a couple of options for deep frying: heating a pot of oil on the stovetop or using a countertop deep fryer. However, there are several downsides to going the deep-frying route at home.
Firstly, deep frying adds a considerable quantity of oil to your food, thus piling on the calories and increasing your intake of fats, which can have serious health impacts such as heart disease, diabetes, or obesity. You need to watch your consumption of even the healthiest of polyunsaturated oils, so indulging in deep-fried foods at home should be a rare treat.
Next, deep frying involves heating oil to a high temperature, usually around 350-375 degrees, creating a fire risk. The National Fire Protection Association estimates that deep fryer fires are responsible for 5 deaths, 60 injuries, and more than $15 million in property damage annually.
And finally, if you opt for the convenience of a countertop deep fryer, you’re going to need to find space for it. Whether it’s parked permanently on your counter or tucked away on a pantry shelf, it’s just one more appliance taking up valuable kitchen space.
Air Fryers
Many people have replaced their countertop deep fryer with an air fryer, and an air fryer will certainly help you cut down on fats in your diet! Instead of immersing ingredients in boiling oil, the air fryer circulates hot air around the food, resulting in a crispy exterior.
The Pros
First, let’s look at the advantages of using an air fryer.
If the quantity of oil used in deep frying is a big concern for you, cooking in an air fryer will certainly be an improvement! Just a light spritz of oil before placing your food in the air fryer will help ensure a crispy exterior without all the calories of deep frying.
An air fryer is also a much safer alternative to deep frying, as you don’t have to worry about large quantities of oil being heated to temperatures that present a danger of fire or burns.
Air fryers will cook food faster than in a conventional oven. Because they are a small, sealed space with hot air being circulated constantly, they heat up faster and finish cooking much more quickly than a normal oven.
Air fryers can end up saving you money, too. The fact that they cook food much faster than conventional methods, and can replicate many of your favorite take-out foods, may outweigh the convenience of picking up the phone and ordering in.
The Cons
Not everything about air fryers can be seen as a positive, however. There are some important things to bear in mind when deciding whether to buy one, or opt for a different approach to preparing healthy meals at home.
Whenever you add another appliance to your kitchen, you have to find room for it, and an air fryer is no exception. While small units are reasonably portable and can be easily tucked away in a cabinet (if you have space for it), larger models will probably end up living permanently on your countertop.
Size is certainly an issue. Those small, easily stored units won’t be able to handle much food at a time, so if you’re cooking for more than one or two people, you’ll end up having to cook in multiple batches. There’s a point at which it would just make more sense to use your oven to prepare a meal.
Finally, many models of air fryersfryer have the same nonstick coatings that you may be trying to avoid in stovetop and oven cookware. While some models do have stainless steel interiors, it’s extremely common to find them with plastic parts that may contain BPA, and coatings with forever chemicals that can off-gas when heated to high temperatures, or transfer to your food if the cooking surface is worn or scratched. If you don’t want a nonstick coating on your fry pan, why settle for that in an air fryer?
Oven Frying
Let’s look at oven frying as an alternative to deep frying or using an air fryer. If you have a convection oven, as is becoming the standard in ovens, you essentially have a very large air fryer! However, it’s not going to work exactly the same as a countertop air fryer.
Because an air fryer has a small, enclosed space, it’s an extremely efficient way to quickly cook food with the circulation of hot air. Even if your oven has a powerful convection fan, it’s still not going to work as efficiently as an air fryer.
Still, the advantages of oven frying are many. You’re getting the health benefits of using much less fat than in a deep fryer, while at the same time being able to cook a much greater quantity of food than in an air fryer. And because the oven is already there, you’re not cluttering your kitchen with yet another countertop appliance.
Finally, you can probably use your existing cookware for oven frying, reducing still further the cost of getting started in healthier cooking habits. This is where non-toxic stainless steel pans from 360 Cookware will shine! A jelly roll pan or roast pan will easily accommodate a batch of oven fries or wings, and the 3-ply construction of each piece, with a layer of highly-conductive aluminum sandwiched between layers of surgical-grade stainless steel, ensures even cooking for a perfectly crisp end result.
Vapor© Cookware: The Non-Toxic Way to Reduce Fat in Your Diet
Of course, 360 Cookware has another way for you to reduce fat in cooking and produce moist, flavorful food for your family. While it’s not a way to get crispy fries or battered wings, the unique properties of Vapor© Cookware will cook vegetables and meats with just a bit of water, ensuring maximum nutrients and minimum fat in your meals. The lid seals the pan and the vapor is circulated around the interior, bathing the food in its own juices as it cooks on low heat.
With the healthier alternatives available, there’s no reason to fry foods with lots of fat. Whether you opt for an air fryer, oven frying, or Vapor© cooking, you can create healthy, delicious meals that will contribute to an improved quality of life and lessen the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or obesity.
