Don’t you love having crispy fried food on a chilly evening every now and then? From craving pakoras on a typical rainy day to wanting to pair French fries with your cocktails or mocktails, the satisfying crunch of fried food cannot be replaced. But who needs the guilt of having fatty food? Fixing the problem for once and all, air fryers help you minimise the use of oil and still get to satiate your cravings for munchies.

So, if you are looking for ways to make your favourite snacks healthier and faster to whip up, you must invest in an air fryer. Revolutionising the day-to-day cooking processes, an air fryer can also handle grilling, baking, roasting, reheating leftovers, and much more. To know more about how to use an air fryer, tips to maintain it, and the dishes you can whip up with the modern appliance, here is a detailed guide.

What is the Use of an Air Fryer?

An air fryer is like a compact convection oven. The mechanism behind its working is that there is a heating element in the gadget that rapidly circulates hot air around the food, making the exterior surfaces crispy and cooking it evenly on the inside. While one of its most common applications is replacing deep frying with a healthier way of cooking, you can also use it for other cooking processes like grilling, baking, and reheating.

Benefits of Using an Air Fryer

Before you invest in any appliance, the first thing you would always do is learn more about its benefits. Here are some reasons why investing in an air fryer is one of the best decisions you can make for your health.

1. Healthier Cooking

An air fryer mimics the results of deep frying using hot air flow. Cutting down the use of oil to a minimum, an air fryer can help you enjoy crispy snacks without the lingering guilt.

2. Crispier Munchies

One of the most common alternatives to fried snacks is baked munchies. But baking doesn't always give you the crispy texture you’re looking for. Instead, you can air fryer, lower the fat content, and enjoy your snack time.

3. Faster Cooking

Air fryers have powerful convection fans and a small basket where you keep the food. Since it takes a lower time to preheat the air fryer, you can get the same results as conventional ovens in less time.

4. Multiple Cooking Processes

Even though the name ‘air fryer’ will make you think all you can do with the appliance is fry, you can actually bake, grill, reheat, and much more.

5. Safer Cooking

While deep frying, the risk of the oil splashing is always there. As for beginners, air fryers are a much safer and, of course, healthier option.

For more information you can also read Benefits of Air Fryers in Indian Kitchens

8 Tips on How to Use an Air Fryer

Knowing the many benefits of an air fryer will surely help you make the decision to add the modern appliance to your kitchen. Once you have the air fryer on your kitchen slab, read through these tips and be a pro at whipping up air-fried dishes.

Tip 1: Read The Manual

No matter how many appliances you have already installed, the first and non-negotiable step is to read the manual. Once you have familiarised yourself with the settings, applications, and modes, you’d be better equipped to use the air fryer.

Tip 2: Preheat The Air Fryer

Just the way preheating an oven goes without saying, make sure you preheat the air fryer before cooking. And the best part is, unlike ovens, you’ll need to preheat for about five minutes, and you can start by adding food to the air fryer basket.

Tip 3: Don’t Overcrowd The Basket

An air fryer works by circulating hot air around the food. If you put a lot of food in the basket of the air fryer, the gush of hot air would not be able to circulate properly, resulting in uneven cooking. It can even lead to soggy and undercooked food. So, it’s best to cook in batches to give the treats the perfect crunch.

Tip 4: Add A Little Oil

While an air fryer drastically reduces the amount of oil of frying, you can gently brush the exteriors with a little oil to get that extra crunch. If you’re grilling or roasting vegetables, you can toss them in some oil before cooking.

Tip 5: Adjust Settings

If you are used to baking, note that air fryers usually work at a lower temperature. You can start by reducing the temperature by about 15°C from what you’d set the oven at. Also, since the air fryer cooks faster, the timer can be reduced by 20-30% from that of a conventional oven. Just keep checking for the first few times before you get the hang of the settings.

Tip 6: Flip Or Toss

Since the basket of an air fryer is not very large, some surfaces of food might not be exposed to the gush of air. So, to make sure you get evenly cooked dishes, flip or toss the ingredients in the basket.

Tip 7: Use Foil

Thinking ahead can help you save a lot of time. To make the cleaning process easier, you can place a foil or parchment paper underneath the food to avoid making the basket greasy. However, make sure that while placing the foil, you leave room for the air to flow.

Tip 8: Clean After Every Use

The more quickly you clean an appliance, the better its durability will be. After each use, make sure you clean the basket and the drawer to avoid any residue buildup and make it harder to clean.

Tips to Keep the Air Fryer Safe and Long-Lasting

To increase the durability and longevity of your air fryer, you’d need to take care of the appliance. Some of the easiest tips that you can add to your routine are:

  1. Ensure that the air fryer is placed on a stable and heat-resistant surface.
  2. Only use non-metallic utensils in the air fryer.
  3. Don’t overfill the basket as it’ll lead to uneven cooking.
  4. While you make sure to clean the air fryer after every use, be mindful to unplug the appliance and give it some time to cool.
  5. Deep clean the air fryer at least once every month to prevent any residue or grease buildup.

Foods You Can Prepare in an Air Fryer

Apart from the all-time favourite fried snacks like French fries, chicken nuggets, tikkis, or even pakoras, there are a lot more dishes that you can prepare in an air fryer. Here’s a quick list.

  1. Classic munchies like chicken wings, onion rings, fries, and mozzarella sticks.
  2. Roasted veggies like potatoes, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, bell peppers, etc.
  3. Protein snacks, which might include fish fry, steak bites, grilled tofu, and more,
  4. Breakfast options like toasted bread, hard-boiled eggs, and a range of baked goods.
  5. Reheating leftovers without losing the crunch, for example, pizza, garlic bread, pakore, kebab, etc.
  6. Sweet treats such as cupcakes, cookies, and brownies.

People Also Read Recipes you can make with an Air Fryer

Cook with Our Best Prestige Air Fryers

As the name suggests, Prestige is a well-respected and trusted brand. If you are still toiling and exploring the many air fryers, here are some of the best Prestige air fryers you must consider investing in.

  1. Prestige Multi-Chef All-in-One Air Fryer - With a 6.5-litre capacity and 1200 W power, the Prestige Multi-Chef All-in-One Air Fryer claims to use 80% less oil while cooking.
  2. Prestige Nutrifry Digital Air Fryer - If you need a more compact air fryer that also fits well in your budget, you must go for the Prestige Nutrifry Digital Air Fryer with 4.5-litre capacity.
  3. Prestige Crysta Electric Digital Air Fryer - With a 4.5-litre capacity, the Prestige Crysta Electric Digital Air Fryer will be perfect for air-frying, grilling, roasting, and much more.
  4. Prestige Air Flip All-in-One Air Fryer - With a 4.5L capacity and a versatile 27cm grill pan, this innovative appliance lets you air fry or grill your favorite dishes to perfection.

Conclusion

An air fryer is trending amongst all generations, and for a good reason. To make your cooking process faster, snacks healthier, and add versatility to your meals, an air fryer would be the perfect addition to your home. Whether you want to make fried snacks with minimal to no oil or fasten the baking process, you must try cooking with an prestige air fryer.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Faq 1 - How to Preheat an Air Fryer?

A - Just the way you would preheat a conventional oven, you can simply:

  • Switch on the air fryer

  • Set it to your desired temperature

  • Set the timer

  • Wait around four to five minutes, and you’d be done

Faq 2 - What is the trick for using an air fryer?

A - The trick to getting the best results with an air fryer is to cook in batches. Since the hot air is going to cook the food, it is important that you don’t overcrowd the air fryer basket.

Faq 3 - What is the general rule for cooking in an air fryer?

A - Some general rules for cooking in an air fryer are:

  • Set the temperature about 15°C lower than an oven recipe.

  • Check the food once halfway through the cooking process.

  • Flip or toss to expose all the food surfaces to the air.

Faq 4 - What is the best food to air fry?

A - The best foods to air fry are the ones that you like crispy. Whether they are French fries, onion rings, chicken wings, tikkis, pakore, or anything else.

Faq 5 - Is it worth buying an air fryer?

A - Yes, with an air fryer, you can make the dishes healthier, faster, and crispier.