Air Fryer: Advantages and Disadvantages

The air fryer was listed as one of the most popular appliances of 2021 and it’s no wonder. This device proposes to promote a healthy lifestyle and enables people to consume fried foods without using oils.

You can cook all types of food including French fries, golden chicken, and even fritters without worrying about excessive fat. At first glance, an appliance like this only has advantages, which we’ll talk about in this article. We’ll also mention some of the disadvantages too.

Air fryer: what is it and how does it work?

An air fryer is a kitchen appliance with an appearance similar to a rice cooker or a kitchen robot. It works through a mechanism in which hot air circulates inside and cooks any food that you introduce it to. The end result is similar to frying with a crunchy texture on the outside.

This system avoids using fat to cook some foods, although, a minimum amount of fat is still required to cook other foods. Although this is something that depends more on the decision and preference of each person. Using it is very simple: add what you want to cook, choose the cooking mode or time and wait for the appliance to notify you that it’s ready.

The advantages of cooking in an air fryer

In addition to minimizing the consumption of oils, cooking with an air fryer has other advantages that are worth delving into. Read on to discover what they are!

This appliance contributes to weight loss

By reducing your intake of fat and fried foods, the air fryer can contribute to weight loss and a healthy eating plan. If you’re following a strict diet, using an air fryer can make this easier because you can still consume the foods you enjoy, such as fried chicken, French fries, and nuggets.

Reduces your consumption of harmful compounds

People believe that the only problem with fried foods is the impact that fat has on weight and cardiovascular health. However, this isn’t the only issue. The process by which fried foods are cooked (with hot oil) means that the end result for these food types contains acrylamide. This is a chemical that’s classified as a carcinogen and has been proven to promote cancer.

A study indicates that foods such as French fries cooked with hot air contain up to 90 percent less acrylamide than those cooked in hot oil.

Saves cooking time

The air fryer offers a much faster cooking process which helps to save time when cooking. In addition, its operating system is simple. All you have to do is add the product that you want to cook, program the machine and wait for it to notify you that it’s ready.

Disadvantages of an air fryer

Although the disadvantages of cooking with an air fryer are few, you must know about them before you make this purchase. This, considering that it’s not the cheapest appliance on the market. Here’s every disadvantage that you need to know:

• The taste isn’t the same: some people feel that the taste of food cooked in an air fryer isn’t the same when compared to cooking in a traditional oil fryer.
• Disincentives vegetable consumption: for those people looking to lose weight, this appliance may become an excuse to consume more fried foods rather than fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
• It can raise the cost of your energy bill: although these types of modern appliances have energy-saving systems, using the air fryer constantly can increase your energy use.
• Not everything can be cooked in an air fryer: products such as rice and grains can’t be cooked in this appliance because they require liquid to cook. In addition, certain products can leak through the holes in the machine and damage it.

Do you want to buy an air fryer?

As you can see, the air fryer has considerable advantages that outweigh its disadvantages. What stands out the most is the health impact of avoiding the consumption of harmful foods and compounds.