An air about it
The Airfryer, actually a convection oven, has a surprising number of uses
MLaurence thinks the air fryer would be a lot more popular if people knew what it really is: a compact cylindrical countertop convection oven — which is no doubt why Philips, the manufacturer that originated the device, went with Airfryer.
Laurence, known as “The Blue Jean Chef,” is the author of “Air Fry Everything,” which came out last year and sold 240,000 copies, and “Air Fry Genius,” to be released in November; it’s obvious she’s an expert on the device. But she said she was dubious at first.
“This came across my desk, and I thought,
‘Oh, c’mon, what is this?’ ” she said. “But the only gimmicky thing about this appliance is its name. Nobody would buy a compact cylindrical countertop convection oven.”
Laurence said the first thing she did was make french fries.
FRYER
“But then I cooked a steak in it,” she said. “When you make a steak in this machine, it’s crazy good.”
That’s because the air fryer isn’t really a fryer. Convection ovens, she pointed out, have been in professional kitchens for years (and more recently in home kitchens) and are beloved by bakers because they circulate the hot air through the oven, cooking food more evenly. But she notes that a rectangle isn’t an efficient space for the movement of air.
“This is compact and cylindrical, so air moves like a cyclone in there,” she said. “It only takes 2 minutes to heat. And because it cooks faster, you don’t have as much time to dry things out.”
Steaks, she said, come out like they’ve been perfectly grilled or sauteed, because the grease drains through the perforated basket.
But she said the machine also is effective at proofing doughs, roasting vegetables and, of course, frying, from making those french fries to cooking bacon. And since cooking is contained within the device, there’s no grease splatter.
It’s so quick, she said, that if you’re using a recipe and forgot to toast the nuts that are an ingredient, you can do it in five minutes.
Christopher Lindsay, a visiting professor at the Harrah College of Hospitality at UNLV, said he doesn’t have an air fryer, but he has experimented with his mother’s. His favorite thing to make in it? A grilled cheese sandwich.
“You just use a little bit of butter on top of each side of the bread, and the cheese in the middle,” he said. “Stick it in there. It doesn’t even take more than a minute.”
Another thing he likes to cook in the air fryer is empanadas.
“Anything with kind of like a pastry coating,” he said. “Like chimichangas; those kinds of things work really good.”
But he said while his mother has used it for steak, “you have to be kind of careful with that. A lot of times it can turn out tough. You have to be selective about the cuts you use.”
As for fried foods, while he said the result is similar to conventional methods, he said it’s more effective with fine bread crumbs instead of the coarser panko, which browns unevenly.
But he said a major drawback is the space the device takes up, which in his mother’s case is about a 13-by-14-inch footprint on the countertop.
“If you’re somebody who likes to cook at home a lot and you’re looking for alternatives, I think it’s good health-wise,” he said.
“It’s better for you than, of course, deep-fat frying.”
Laurence said the interest in air fryers is still building, with the first one out about five years ago and the devices hitting the mass market in just the past few years. They range from about $60 to about $300.
“It’s very, very new right now,” she said. And she said the interest stems as much from the convection aspect as the air frying.
“So few people use that convection feature (in their conventional ranges) because they don’t understand it,” she said. “This is opening people’s eyes on why convection heat is so good for food. That fan creates more energy. More energy means better browning.
This is really just a more accessible way to use that convection technology.”
Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at Hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474. Follow @Hkrinella on Twitter.