AirFryday: 10 things I’ve learnt about using an air fryer

In the beginning, air fryers were a bit puzzling. How do you fry something in air? We figured that out: that the term is merely the lovechild of marketing people. 

“Let’s call it an air fryer, it’ll sell!”

“But it doesn’t fry in air?”

“But it’ll sell!”

“Okay then.”

Great logic, that. But it worked. They did sell, in their millions. A worldwide craze was born, and now if you don’t have an air fryer everyone else is asking why and trying to convert you. They were right: those two little words continue to result in sales of what is now a massive array of air fryers of many brands and specifications.

Even I was converted. I didn’t see that coming. I was a bit of an air fryer Neanderthal: Why would I need that? 

So, the marketers were right. But they were also wrong: the branding of this vessel by that name is a lie. A folly. It is not what it claims to be. If they had called them mini convection ovens, chances are that they would not have bought over the market. 

So, I’m torn. I don’t know about you: I dislike the name, because it is a marketing manipulation, but I call it by that name because it has become habitual.

It took time to get to know this creature. Like meeting somebody who intrigues you but you don’t know anything about them. Whether you’ll be a fit. What are its habits? Does it behave the way it claims to?

Then a year went by, and another half-year. Time to look back.

Here’s what I’ve learnt:

1. They’re easy to use, and you won’t take long to get a handle on its habits. They are all different, just like people are. Read the manuals and decide which one you’re most likely to get along with. You know what you like, so find out what it seems to like to do. Like speed dating.
2. It is very hot in there. You know exactly how hot, because you set its temperature; but the temperature somehow seems hotter because of that whirring sound you hear when it is switched on. That’s the sound of very hot air blowing around at 70km/h. Like that town speed when you’re just a tad over the speed limit. Experts say this is “strong enough to send large, loose objects (garbage cans, patio furniture) flying”. It stands to reason, then, that anything inside an air fryer should be weighty enough to stay put. Foil, for instance, can be used but must be secured underneath what’s cooking.
3. Preheat or not? An air fryer heats up quickly, and I’ve found over time that often there’s no need to preheat it as it comes to its heat in very little time. In fact, more and more, as time passes, I find myself ignoring much of the early air fryer advice.
4. Oil and butter: Yes, you should go easy on the oil. But that other, related, thing we were all told is not true: that the only way to grease something before cooking it in an air fryer is to spray the basket and perhaps the food before it goes in. Nah: I do that, sometimes, but I’d much rather toss something in oil and seasonings in a bowl, shake them off, and then put them in the machine.
5. They’re not going away any time soon. This is something the naysayers love to say, but where is the evidence? Almost every day, somebody tells me that they’ve bought, or are thinking about buying, an air fryer. You may as well give in and buy one. Maybe two.
6. Talking of which: Many of us will ultimately own two or even more air fryers. Why? Because we often cook different elements of our supper in different pots and pans, and air fryers, at their core, are just that: pots, with their own heat/power source. Relatively speaking, they are not wildly expensive. You’d pay more for a Le Creuset casserole than you would for many air fryers on the market. My sister bought me a small one for R900. Fancy stainless steel pots cost more.
7. They’re quick and effective for a weeknight family supper. In the twin drawer machine (see point 10), I’ll have potatoes going in one drawer and carrots in another. Something meaty will be in the larger machine. Oh, and with a roast you even get pan juices. They collect at the bottom of the drawer beneath the rack. Just pour them off.
8. They are ridiculously easy to clean. I don’t understand why some people say they have difficulty cleaning them. Just pull out the basket, rinse it in slightly soapy warm water, rinse it off in clean water, drain and dry. Just like any pot. The basket detaches and is washed separately and just as easily. Those little clips confound some, I don’t know why: they unclip, wash and dry them and clip them back on. QED.
9. You need to know how big the capacity of your air fryer should be. I wouldn’t choose one lighter than about 5 litres. I think it needs to be able to roast a medium-sized chicken, for one thing. Like this one. That size covers a lot of bases. Eye out the basket when you’re choosing: you’ll know if it can fit a decent chook. There’s not much else bigger than that that I can think of that you’ll need it for. Except a turkey maybe. Oh, and I did a turkey in my Instant Vortex, too – but it was deboned. That made the difference.
10. Twin drawers are a big win. My Kenwood kHealthy Twin (ghastly name, what were they thinking?) is fabulous. Each drawer has its own settings, for both temperature and time. And you can synchronise them to end simultaneously. An example: set the left hand drawer to cook for 20 minutes at 200°C, and the right hand one to cook for 60 minutes at 180°. Hit “sync” and then “start”. The right hand drawer will start cooking at 180°C immediately but the left drawer will be dormant. Precisely 40 minutes later, the left hand drawer will spring to life at 200°C and cook for 20 minutes. Then, both drawers will switch off.

Dinner is ready. DM