I Love My New Air Fryer - There's No Grease To Dispose of!

I recently ordered a new early Christmas Gift for myself, an Air Fryer!  I absolutely love this thing.  Last year I had purchased a deep fryer for the family.  My children, love to fry food, so I had bought a regular fryer to help them support this habit.  They know that I loathe frying food, and dealing with grease.  In fact, I fry foods so infrequently that I have to rethink how to dispose of grease each time. LOL! With an air fryer there's no need to use oil, or if you do use oil, its such a small amount that it's not even a factor to think of disposal.  I decided to do a quick "q" and "a" with questions that I asked before and after making my purchase.

What's an air fryer? 

An air fryer is an appliance that cooks by circulating hot air around the food at a high speed.  Foods are cooked with a crispy layer.

What foods can be cooked in the air fryer?

Vegetables, including potatoes, french fries, sweet potato fries, frozen foods, hamburgers, chicken, pork, fish, steaks, salmon, and baked goods, such as cakes to name a few.

What brand did you purchase?

I purchased the 5.5 Liter Nutri Air Fry by Chef di Cucina.

What made you choose that brand? 

I actually ordered a "Power XL" originally from Amazon,  however when I plugged it up it didn't work at all.  I guess I got a bad one.  I sent it back, and then ordered the Nutri Air Fry by Chef Di Cucina from Best Buy, which I also purchased an additional warranty for. The Nutri Air Fry worked right out of the box, came with a cookbook, and was much less expensive than the other brand. At least it was less expensive a week ago on sale!!!

How did you know what size to order?  

I have a family of 5, so I know that I needed one of the larger Air Fryers, so that I could cook larger portions.  I chose the 5.5 liter to make sure that I had a spacious gadget to cook for several people.

What was the first meal that you cooked in your air fryer?

I made sweet potato fries from scratch.  Yum!

Pros:
-I can cook vegan meals, and meals that contain meat by using little to no oil to prepare meals.

-The no-stick pan is so easy to clean!

-It's a healthier way to get a crispy meal without adding lots of calories with oil.

-The Unit is pretty.

-I've learned that a spray of Pam sprayed on food halfway through cooking time, gives a nice crisp exterior similar to food fried in oil.  I've tried this on chicken and fish.

-The unit has several presets, so you don't have to figure out the time and temperature (e.g. chicken, shrimp, steak, fish, cake, etc.).

-My children love the ease of cooking with this device, so they've cooked more meals for the family using this than I have!

-Most foods cook within 10-25 minutes!

-It's simple- you pop the food in the basket, and sit back and wait a few minutes until it's done!

Cons:

-It takes up counter space (however it's a great looking kitchen appliance, so it's not a true con).

-The maximum amount of meat that I can prepare in the 5.5 Liter basket is approximately 1.5 lb., therefore I still have to cook another batch of food if cooking a large portion.  The other option is to squeeze more into the cooking basket and increase the cooking time.

-When cooking certain foods, you need to pull out the basket and shake it during cooking so that it doesn't overcook a portion of the food ( especially applies to foods like french fries).


Hey, have you tried cooking in an air fryer? If so, what do you like about it?

Check out previous article(s) about foods/ meals:

Home Made Veggie Burger With Amazing Flavor

Vegan Quinoa Tacos