What and why? Seriously help me out here
Small convection ovens
Good for making food crispy without the need for actual frying
Bad because they take up space on your counter and most of them are a chore to keep clean
Con
- only good for frying
No? "Air fryers" are just small countertop ovens. Anything that fits in one can be cooked the same way it can in an oven. Usually quicker and using less energy.
Everything I air fry can just as easily be baked. The only upside is saving like, 15 minutes? If saving that much time every time you want tater tots or onion rings or whatever and you don't mind the $75 or more upfront cost and the pain in that cleaning the thing is, you do you. I have an air fryer and 90% of the time it sits encrusted in food debris on my kitchen counter in between waves of me feeling fat and housing bags of tater tots
what is: thing my roommate keeps trying to get me to buy because I happen to make french fries with peanut oil every so often and "the smell of oil lingers for days!!" (in what fuckin world -- and bitch how come you don't smell the wet-dog/dog piss smell that wafts out of your room whenever the door's open if that's the case?????)
Help me understand why you'd ever want an air fryer rather than a convention toaster oven.
Air fryers are basically top loaded convection ovens that warm up real quick. Because they're round, they have a big footprint that is difficult to organize around, while also not having a lot of actual cooking space inside.
So I guess the advantage is speed?
But yeah I was amazed at how huge they are.
Thanks!
Yeah, more or less -which isn't nothing, I admit, but I prefer a regular connection oven, myself.
Fried air sucks, it's never very filling at all because of how light it is. I think fried water is a vast improvement, though there aren't many consumer level water frying machines available yet, and that sucks. But you better believe that once fried water starts to catch on, it'll be extremely popular all over the world. Just absolutely delicious on a whole new level. It's like taking the very few good qualities of fried air, namely the crisp outer layer texture and deep flavor, and making it much more substantial.
See, I think fried earth takes things a bit too far, it's actually too dense. Eating that stuff is like drinking a cup full of olive oil, or eating a stick of butter, generally just unpleasant. Makes me feel bloated. It can be good in small amounts when used as an ingredient in recipes, though.
Fried fire isn't too bad. It has the same issues as fried air where it's not filling or substantial, but at least it is spicy. It makes for a good snack, especially if you're watching your weight.
Okay, you know how fried food is very crispy and delicious? Imagine making food like that but instead of the fat that makes it taste good, it’s just very dry.
I mostly kid. They’re overhyped, but can be really nice for some things. If you’re going to get one, worth springing for a toaster oven that can air fry. Way more versatile.
If you have an oven with a broiler, or a convection oven, you don't need one. They take up a painful amount of space and I would advise against any big-ass kitchen appliances like this except a pressure cooker because they actually do a job that you can't just do in a conventional oven. Also the time it will take to clean will negate any time savings gained.
Get an oil spray bottle, spray things with a light coat of oil and put them in the broiler instead.
An small countertop oven ("air fryer") is quicker and more energy efficient than a normal oven.
And they really don't take up that much space. There are also microwave/"air fryer" hybrids that fit above the stove like a normal microwave, though they're kind of expensive right now.
If you're boogie enough (like $600 at the low end), check out the hybrid microwave/convection ovens. They can do either, or both at the same time. And it totally makes since because microwaves cook from the inside out and ovens cook from the outside in, so doing both makes cooking the whole thing quicker.
I don't have one, but I live in a place without an oven, so getting one would make a lot of sense if I didn't already have a toaster oven and a George Foreman grill.
