If you’re looking for a change to help you take steps towards a healthier lifestyle, an air fryer could be the answer.
An air fryer offers a healthy alternative to deep-fried foods, allowing you to cook your favorite recipes with lower fat and calories, meaning that you don’t have to feel like you’re missing out by being healthier!
However, individuals who are new to air fryers might be wondering: do air fryers really taste like fried food?
Keep reading to find out more.
Do air fryers really make food crispy?
Yes, air fryers have the ability to make food crispy! A great thing about air fryers is that although it requires a fraction of the oil a deep fryer needs to make foods crispy, they create delicious recipes that are not too dissimilar in texture to deep-fried foods.
A top tip to remember is to not overcrowd the basket when it comes to air frying your food. You may want to save time and energy by making a big batch at once, but you run the risk of unevenly cooked food.
As a result, you should resist the temptation to jam a bunch of food into the air fryer basket, as this will lead to a dish that is unevenly cooked!
Instead, you should do multiple smaller batches to ensure that you get the crispiest results that are so good your whole family will be impressed.
Does air-fried food taste as good as deep-fried?
There’s no denying that air frying is definitely healthier than frying in oil. It can cut calories by a whopping 70% to 80% and generally has a lot less fat. As a result, then, air frying might also cut down on some of the other harmful effects of oil frying.
That being said, does air-fried food taste as good as deep-fried? That depends on who you ask as everyone has different preferences when it comes to food. As two different cooking methods, naturally they taste quite different.
Air fried food that you fry at home has been compared to extra-crispy oven-baked food. That being said, air-fried foods don’t feel nearly as greasy as deep-fried foods do, but also don’t have the added fat that enhances the incredible richness and melt-in-the-mouth taste that fried food has.
Generally speaking, you only need to use a tablespoon of oil with an air fryer. However, even cooking food items in an air fryer with this amount of oil does not provide the same taste as deep-fried foods in terms of the rich flavor.
However, there is an exception to this is. Frozen fried foods that you reheat in the air fryer, such as mozzarella sticks or fish sticks, are great to chuck in and taste delicious. These types of foods have already been fried prior to freezing, so you’re technically just reheating it and making it crispy.
Does an air fryer actually fry food?
Contrary to the name, no, air fryers don’t technically fry food. Instead, an air fryer circulates hot air around the food to cook it and give it a crispy, delicious taste and texture alongside a golden brown color.
The food that you’re cooking also sits inside a perforated basket, allowing lots of airflows all around your food to cook it evenly.
A similarity between an air fryer and a deep fryer is that you should never overload your fryer basket. To do so can significantly affect the dish that you’re cooking, and you won’t get an even cook. If they’re too crowded, they won’t cook evenly and you could run into potential food safety problems.
This is also a big problem and why a lot of people give up on air fryers, as you will struggle to get the same level of crispiness if you overpack food into the basket.
The air fryer will only work as well as you allow it to, so be mindful that you should be patient and try to cook in smaller batches as much as possible.
How does air-fried food taste?
Air fryers are great for recreating healthier versions of your favorite deep-fried recipes.
For instance, they can give you crispy, salty French fries in a matter of minutes with half the fat and calories that you would expect in a traditional restaurant order or your usual McDonald’s order.
Air-fried foods don’t have that greasy feeling that deep-fried foods have that leave you feeling unhealthy and like you need to cleanse your skin!
Air-fried food essentially tastes like crispy oven-baked food. You can still achieve beautifully crispy and flaky results that are a crowd pleaser with an air fryer.
From crispy tater tots to crunchy fish sticks, an air fryer is an excellent method of cooking without the cost and health issues associated with fried food.
Air-fried food is generally lighter than deep-fried food. Not only is it less fatty and greasy, but you also don’t feel as if you’ve eaten something really unhealthy.
Due to the lack of fat it uses, it is also far less rich, so you can eat more of it without feeling like you need to go on a run five minutes after. This makes it an ideal option if you’re on a diet, but you still fancy something that resembles a fried treat, and is a great option if you have kids, also.
There is no doubt that air-fried food tastes different from deep-fried food. However, that being said, if you want to eat healthier alternatives to fried food that possesses some of the same deep-fried characteristics then an air fryer is for you!
In summary
If you’re looking for a healthier alternative to fried food, why not try air frying your favorite recipes?
Just because you’re making healthier choices and are taking steps to lead a healthier lifestyle and diet, doesn’t mean you need to miss out on all of the delicious food.
Experiment with a variety of different recipes and most importantly, have fun!
