Which is healthier and cheaper: cooking with the air fryer or in the oven?

The UK saw a 400% increase in air fryer sales in 2021.

Since they use little or no oil at all, are they an option? Healthy What are other cooking methods?

at a time when the cost of living is rising, It’s also worth asking how the air fryer affects energy consumption and pockets.

Greg Foot, show host sliced ​​bread dI bbc radio 4, Consulted with two experts to understand the advantages and limitations of the air fryer.

The air fryer is about the size of a bread machine and fits on the kitchen counter. circulates very hot air high speed around food.

“It’s basically a very strong and very hot wind, It can be compared to using a hair dryer,” explains Jacob Radzikowski, culinary education designer at Imperial College London, UK.

“It’s essentially the same thing as a fan oven. But it’s smaller and the fan is usually much stronger.”

The force of air flow inside such a fryer looks like a very sophisticated oven Which will be used in professional kitchens.

Because the fan of a fryer is more powerful and its compartment is smaller, the overall appliance is more efficientsays Jacob.

“I can probably cook a chicken thigh in an air fryer in 20 minutes. In the oven, it will take longer.”

Plus, it takes longer Preheat a Conventional Oven Big.

But since the capacity of the fryer drawer is small, only a small amount can be prepared.

“If you’re cooking for four or six people, this won’t save you time because you’ll need multiple batches in the fryer,” says the food scientist.

The stars of air fryer commercials often do Chicken and French FriesBecause this tool is great for making “whatever crisp you want,” says Jacob.

Kale chips, bananas, breaded zucchini or whatever.

4. Is it healthy?

“Compared to the technology of dipping food in hot oil, it’s apparently healthier because it uses less fat”, says Jacob.

But it can also be healthier than cooking in a traditional oven.

If oil has been sprinkled on the potatoes, they will absorb it while they fry. With the Air Fryer, Everything Falls perforated basket,

“Yes, there are excess fatIt will flow to the bottom, and you will not eat it.”

There are still healthier ways to cook: You can steam without using oil.

“Some of the newer models have approx. 15 tasks”, says magazine editor Anya Gilbert good food From BBCWhich specializes in tools and equipment reviews.

In arriving at this conclusion, the show’s creator, Simon Hoban sliced ​​bread dAnd this BBCPrepared chicken thighs and potatoes, serving one in the oven, the other in the fryer (make sure all other appliances were turned off while cooking).

then he checked electric meter To see how much energy was used.

“It took about 35 minutes to cook the chicken in the oven, and the meter told me I used 1.05 kWh of electricity per hour. The fryer took 20 minutes and the meter indicated 0.43 kilowatt hours of usage.

In turn, the peeled potatoes took about an hour to cook properly in the oven, which equates to 1.31 kilowatt hours.

,The fryer took very little timeSimon Says. “35 minutes”, consumption of 0.55 kW per hour.

“Cooking Uses in the Air Fryer” less than half the energy Essential in an oven,” concluded Greg.

Jacob doesn’t think an air fryer can completely replace an oven. “Obviously you can’t fry a whole chicken in a deep fryer. Or at least not turkey,” he says.

“But I think it’s a great invention. I have one, I use it a lot. I think so outgoing For anyone who doesn’t have an oven.”