Air fryers are known all over the world, because they allow you to fry food in a practical and much healthier way. It uses less oil compared to a regular fryer and cooks in less time.

But you have to ask yourself if this fryer is a cheaper and healthier option for cooking than a conventional oven. Here are the pros and cons of an air fryer:

Takes up less space

An air fryer is basically a fan oven, only smaller and with a more powerful fan, explains Jakub Radzikowski, a culinary education designer at Imperial College London, UK.

It circulates hot air at high speed around the food, the airflow velocity is similar to that of an oven that would be used for professional cooking.

Cook faster in small quantities

Air fryer fans are more powerful than oven fans, plus they are smaller in size, and preheating larger ovens will take longer. “Chicken thighs probably cook faster in the frying pan than in the oven,” says Radzikowski.

But the frying drawer is small, so it can’t cook for four or six people, only small portions.

Healthier

In an air fryer, all the oil placed is received by the hollow basket, unlike food that is soaked to fry it in a frying pan or when cooking in the oven and the food absorbs the oil.

Also read: Six Tips to Eat Healthy Without Breaking Your Budget

If you’re looking for something healthier, you can choose not to use any oil at all. The newer models have about 15 functions, adds Anya Gilbert, editor of the BBC’s Good Food magazine, which specializes in equipment and appliance reviews.

consume less energy

Simon Hoban, producer of the BBC’s Sliced ​​Bread show, tested cooking two chicken tenders and two potatoes in an air fryer and oven to see how much electricity they used.

Oven-cooked chicken takes about 35 minutes to cook and the electricity meter shows it uses 1.05 kilowatt hours of electricity, while frying chicken takes 20 minutes and uses 0.43 kilowatt hours.

A potato cooked in the oven takes about an hour, consuming 1.31 kilowatts per hour, and in a frying pan it takes 35 minutes and consumes 0.55 kilowatts per hour.

Is the fryer a substitute for the oven?

Radzikowski does not believe that this invention will replace the oven, because despite its practicality it is so much smaller that it is limited.

“But I think it’s a great invention. I have one, I use it a lot. I think it’s great for someone who doesn’t have an oven,” concluded Radzikowski.

Main news sources: BBC.