Air Fry! What's the hype?

Why are we so obsessed with Air Fry?

The sole purpose of using and air fryer is to achieve the taste of fried food with a fraction of the oil. But most users have come to find many other positive outcomes of using air fryers for various other things, such as reheating leftovers and even baking.  

The problem with air fryers is that they are small. The average air fryer can only hold 2-3 servings at a time, which can make cooking larger quantities of food very difficult. Thus leading to the rise in ovens with air fry capabilities. "But air fry is just using convection in an oven!" Well yes and no. The convection element is important to using air fry - but it is not the same. For those unfamiliar with convection cooking, a fan distributes air evenly throughout the oven allowing items on the top rack and the bottom rack to cook evenly. So you can use multiple racks for cooking. There are several types of convection: True European Convection and Fan Convection. True Convections adds a heating element at the back as opposed to the only heat source coming from the bottom. Fan convection uses the traditional bake element at the bottom of the range and a fan to distribute heat and is more popular among American brands..

Air frying is different in the respect that it will use all three heating elements in your oven: bake (bottom), convection (rear), and broil (top). This technique creates a surrounding heat that is more intense, which really crisps the outside of your food.

Unlike convection, your best results are achieved when using one rack for cooking. Some brands will come with a mesh air fry tray accessory or sell one separately. it is recommend putting a sheet pan on a lower rack to catch the juices before they get to the bottom of your oven for easy cleaned.

As an avid user of a countertop air fryer, I can honestly say my next oven will have air fry capabilities. We use our air fryer 2-3 times a week-and not because we are cooking fried foods.  From roasting, or "air frying" vegetables to reheating takeout leftovers, the results are much quicker than using our conventional oven and much better than reheating in a microwave. More and more consumers are looking for convenience, which is the number one reason i believe air fryers are so popular. They are quicker and more convenient to using a traditional oven, and the results are preferred over the latter.


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