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We stayed at a B&B that lacked a kitchen range but had a MW oven and an air fryer that was bigger (taller) than a toaster oven.
I made toast in the air fryer. Nothing that a toaster or toaster oven couldn’t do, and a toaster is smaller. I’d been curious why people raved about air fryers. I think it’s because people like to have the latest Thing. For us, it would not provide any purpose already served by our kitchen range, MW, and plainjane toaster. We do not want more Things unless they do something we really need that is not already doable.
The recipes in the manual for the B&B’s air fryer were for things I practically gagged at just thinking about. It’s like they were trying to find applications for the device that showed off its abilities, yet all that stuff could be made with standard basic kitchen appliances or even “primitive” cooking methods.
And it is just another Thing that won’t work at all in a power outage.
You can cook just about anything in them, or a modified version.
They come in many sizes and shapes. Odds are you will out grow the one you buy.
They are fairly easy to clean, depending on what you cook. IE:
Frozen Fries or Tots will leave oil in the bottom that is easy to clean out. While something like mozz sticks that leave melted cheese stuck, will take some extra scrubbing. But nothing to tedious.
Lets see home made fries 3-4 russet potatoes
Deep Fryer4 cups of oil vs Air Fryer1 TBS of oil. I'd take the air fryer any day.
The come in various shapes, and sizes. Like coffee pot, toaster ovens, etc. I currently have two different kinds. I got my very first Power XL Air Fryer back in 2016. It gave my a good 4 yr run. I got it's *current replacement for free.
*Power XL 7-QT Vortex Air Fryer (had for 2yrs)
When my last convection oven died, I replaced it with the Ninja® Foodi 10-in-1 Smart XL Pro Air Fry Oven (had for 3 months).
Some food may turn out better in one or the other. But both work great.
Just make sure the aluminum foil is weighed down so it doesn't fly around inside. For example I use aluminum foil when I cook pot pies. I take a sheet of foil, set the pot pie on it. Then I roll up the sides to cover the crust edges. I cook the the pot pie halfway, them remove the foil. This method gives it a nice browned crust.
Since I would never fry potatoes in a deep fat fryer and use 4 cups of oil, a specious comparison. I would never own a deep fat fryer. I don't keep 4 cups at oil in the house. My home is not McDonalds.
I still have not found any reason to own a large ugly appliance when the other appliances work as well or better.
Here is a list of questions to answer before buying the oft-touted "indispensable" air fryer.
"Like shearling-lined Birkenstocks and children, an air fryer is something you want, not something you need. The only person who needs an air fryer is someone who has no other oven. However, if you answer yes to two or more of the following questions, you’re a prime candidate for the air-frying lifestyle:
Do you have counter space for extra kitchen appliances?
Are you kinda impatient?
Do you get extremely excited about new kitchen gadgets and just want permission to buy this one?
Do you want the crispness of fried food without using a deep fryer?"
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pikabike
We stayed at a B&B that lacked a kitchen range but had a MW oven and an air fryer that was bigger (taller) than a toaster oven.
I made toast in the air fryer. Nothing that a toaster or toaster oven couldn’t do, and a toaster is smaller. I’d been curious why people raved about air fryers. I think it’s because people like to have the latest Thing. For us, it would not provide any purpose already served by our kitchen range, MW, and plainjane toaster. We do not want more Things unless they do something we really need that is not already doable.
The recipes in the manual for the B&B’s air fryer were for things I practically gagged at just thinking about. It’s like they were trying to find applications for the device that showed off its abilities, yet all that stuff could be made with standard basic kitchen appliances or even “primitive” cooking methods.
And it is just another Thing that won’t work at all in a power outage.
You can't deep fry, toast or bake in a power outage either if you have an electric stove, and outages are rare in most places.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lillie767
Since I would never fry potatoes in a deep fat fryer and use 4 cups of oil, a specious comparison. I would never own a deep fat fryer. I don't keep 4 cups at oil in the house. My home is not McDonalds.
I still have not found any reason to own a large ugly appliance when the other appliances work as well or better.
Here is a list of questions to answer before buying the oft-touted "indispensable" air fryer.
"Like shearling-lined Birkenstocks and children, an air fryer is something you want, not something you need. The only person who needs an air fryer is someone who has no other oven. However, if you answer yes to two or more of the following questions, you’re a prime candidate for the air-frying lifestyle:
Do you have counter space for extra kitchen appliances?
Are you kinda impatient?
Do you get extremely excited about new kitchen gadgets and just want permission to buy this one?
Do you want the crispness of fried food without using a deep fryer?"
Yes, we have plenty of counter space, 44 sf.
Yes, I tend to be impatient, and saving time by 50% makes me happy.
No, I get excited about power tools, not new kitchen gadgets.
Yes, I want the crispness of fried food without using a deep fryer
I'll add another, saving money. For example, using our gas oven to bake frozen fries for 25 minutes at 400 will cost us more than 12 minutes in the air fryer, and in summer, the air fryer won't heat up the house like the oven, causing a higher AC bill. The cost using an electric oven is even higher.
Well, I have one that is like a glass dutch oven, but with the heat unit integrated into the lid...and it is nice for certain things. But my concerns regarding cleaning pertain more the the metal cabinet type where I can just picture the sizzle spatter from steaks, ribs, & such,.. reaching all far corners of the interior.
And it just looks like it would be a contest of allowing the cabinet cool down sufficient that you can comfortably wipe down the interior, complicated by the realization that if you allow it to cool down too much, you're gonna have to scour it all out.
So, it seems like it would be similar to those old electric broilers I used to have, in that regard.
Thank you, some interesting reply’s thank you, but I think now I’m going to give it a pass reading some of them , just hope my family keeps their receipts , I have a feeling there thinking of buying me one this year.
Thank you, some interesting reply’s thank you, but I think now I’m going to give it a pass reading some of them , just hope my family keeps their receipts , I have a feeling there thinking of buying me one this year.
Yes- unfortunately that's how I acquired mine. It was non-returnable, so it sits in my closet.
Different strokes for different folks.
One appliance that I absolutely love but is very uncommon here is my electric kettle. When I mention an electric kettle, people look at me confused. Apparently, most people prepare their water for tea in the microwave. IMHO, that results in overly hot water that is devoid of flavor. But it works for them.
We have a gas range by choice. Power outages are not rare here, nor were they rare when we lived in a town before that, nor were they rare when we lived far from town before that.
In all three houses, I’ve been grateful to have a gas range. Not just during power outages, either. But THAT is the subject of a different thread.
If we want fried potatoes, I pan-fry them on the range. No frozen French fries in this household. Fresh-cut FF can be had in at least three local restaurants here.
Yes- unfortunately that's how I acquired mine. It was non-returnable, so it sits in my closet.
Different strokes for different folks.
One appliance that I absolutely love but is very uncommon here is my electric kettle. When I mention an electric kettle, people look at me confused. Apparently, most people prepare their water for tea in the microwave. IMHO, that results in overly hot water that is devoid of flavor. But it works for them.
But
As I said, different strokes for different folks.
Some lovely colors in those electric kettles , but I can’t think I’d have much use for one , only use that much boiling water when I make a batch of iced tea , might as well just wait for pan of water to boil to throw tea bags in like I usually do .
Your right though , I wouldn't want an air fryer as a gift ..
I own, and previously used a table top "Galloping Gourmet" convection oven. It was pretty good with roasting a whole chicken... and I really didn't use it for anything else. It was somewhat easy to clean the lower glass container and metal grates... if you partially filled it with soapy water, and ran the fan on "clean" (no heat).
Downsides, the accumulation of gunk inside the heater unit contributed to its demise. There's really no way to clean it out.
I have since migrated my chicken processing to a pressure cooker. I debone the cooked chicken, collect the skin, and microwave until golden brown and crunchy ("Chicken rinds"), and toss the bones into the stock and pressure cook the stock - or - leave the lid off and reduce the stock (concentrated strength).
I can then further process the deboned chicken into portions and freeze them. And I often freeze the stock in 2"x2" silicon ice cube molds (roughly 3.5 oz. each).
If I use a silicon muffin mold for chopped chicken, I add some stock to hold them together when they freeze. Then they don't crumble apart when removed and stored in a plastic freezer bag.
- - -
Though deep fat fryers have a bad reputation, those on a KETO diet (high fat, moderate protein, low carb) have no problems with the extra fat. In addition to typical fried items (onion rings, french fries, green tomatoes), one can fry batter dipped items that would not fare well in a convection oven. Another tasty variation is egg foo young - basically two scrambled eggs with a vegetable filling, tossed into a deep fryer. It floats to the top, forms a delicious crunchy base, and can support a wide variety of fillings. You can go with spicy, savory, crunchy, cheesy, or whatever suits you.
I've had good results using a small (2 qt) cast iron dutch oven, that's around 7"-8" diameter. And that baby will NOT fall apart no matter how much I cook in it. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074DFMR8K/
It's perfect for one or two. Great for RVs. You can stir fry in it. Sear. Deep fry. Use it as a roasting pan in the oven. And its small volume requires less oil to "deep" fry.
[Addendum : one can make an egg and xanthan gum batter for KETO friendly deep frying.]
Last edited by jetgraphics; 08-04-2022 at 04:34 AM..
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