In more and more kitchens, we see the deep frying pan giving way to a new Airfryer. This small hot-air oven can do the same thing as a traditional fryer, only the food becomes less fatty and therefore healthier.
At least, that is what is assumed. Does the fact that you ingest less fat actually make the air fryer healthier?
Is an Airfryer healthier?
The Airfryer is wildly popular. Many people apply the Airfryer in the kitchen with the premise of eating healthier. An Airfryer has a big difference from deep-frying in terms of how the food is prepared.
No oil or fat is needed in the Airfryer, you only need to add oil to food in the Airfryer when it comes to processed food such as raw chicken, for example.
Airfryer gives the ”grill effect”
In the Airfryer, hot air circulates throughout the appliance at a constant temperature. By doing this, you create a kind of ”grill effect” and this gives croquettes, frikadells, chips and other snacks a crispy crust after all.
Many people like a crispy crust around fried snacks, and the Airfryer creates that effect very well.
The crispy crust
This crispy crust is created by proteins and sugars fusing together when food is heated. This also happens with ordinary deep-frying, fried or grilled food. The delicious smell and crackle of that crispy crust in your mouth makes the food enjoyable. But then, is the hot air fryer really healthier?
You don’t necessarily need oil or frying fat to prepare food from the hot air fryer, this means that it is indeed the case that compared to the deep fryer, food contains much less fat.
More preserved vitamins
In addition, preparation in the hot air fryer has another advantage. Due to the fact that air fryers use hot air, vitamins and minerals are much more likely to be preserved. So in these respects, the hot air fryer is a lot healthier compared to the deep fryer.
Less acrylamide
Foods from the Airfryer will also contain less acrylamide. This is a substance that can form in small quantities when starchy products such as pre-fried fries without water are heated above 200 degrees Celsius.
The substance is released anyway, whether you put something in the fryer or the Airfryer, but the acrylamide content seems to be lower when frying chips and snacks from the hot-air fryer. Too much acrylamide can be bad for health, so frying chips and snacks can also be healthier in the hot air fryer.
Less rapidly rising blood sugar levels
Another advantage of using the Airfryer is that you will suffer less from rising blood sugar levels. Normally, our blood sugar often rises very much after eating chips from the traditional fryer.
By frying chips and snacks in a good Airfryer, you will have less sugar to break down.
It’s important to stay realistic, though. It is certainly possible to make healthier fries and snacks with an Airfryer, and in this respect, the Airfryer is more than worth it. We just have to say that snacks still remain snacks, so they are not suddenly healthy when you switch from hot oil to hot air.
Fresh fries and pre-fried fries always contain fat
Fresh chips, pre-fried chips and almost all snacks are already prepared with fat because they are pre-fried. These have been cauterised, so to speak, so fat has been added that can no longer come out already. Although the hot air fryer does ensure that you consume less fat compared to the deep fryer because you do not need frying fat or oil.
Less fat
So it seems that in terms of eating less fat, the deep fryer cannot be avoided. Although, there can be a big difference in the amount of fat. This applies to fries alone, but also to other products. Always read the packaging carefully!
There are special snacks made for the Airfryer, these generally contain less fat than traditional deep-frying snacks.
You can also find snacks specifically for the Airfryer in the supermarket. Only, it can’t be wrong to compare the calorie count and grams of fat with other options you have.
What are the differences?
For example, the number of frikadells and croquette calories is different for the Airfryer than for the deep fryer. For a frikadell, the difference is bigger, which is easily around 50 calories, for croquettes the difference is about half as much.
Although you still notice the general difference between the deep fryer and the Airfryer as 75% less fat is used in preparing the snacks. In this respect, an Airfryer is healthy when compared to a deep fryer.
For example, a bag of fries especially for the Airfryer contains around 8 grams of fat per 100 grams, while a bag of pre-fried fries for the oven contains only 3 grams per 100 grams. In principle, it is perfectly possible to prepare snacks and fries for the oven in the Airfryer, you just need to let them sit for a little longer.
Fish from the Airfryer
Besides just fries, there are other good recipes for the Airfryer. For example, you can also prepare fish in the Airfryer. Via is quite a fine option. Deep-frying fish retains less of its fatty acids, which will dissolve in the fat of the fryer.
Self-fried fish from the hot air fryer is therefore not a bad idea at all. It is much healthier than the same product from the deep fryer.
Fish from the deep fryer less calories?
The funny thing to tell is that the calorie count does decrease when you eat fish from the deep fryer. This is because the fish loses some of its fats during frying, this reduces the calorie count.
For people who count calories, this seems like a favourable outcome, although this is incorrect. This is because the fatty acids in fish are essential for a healthy lifestyle, and fish loses just that in the fryer.
Vegetables and meats
In addition, the hot-air fryer is also good for preparing vegetables and meat. You can prepare cauliflower in the Airfryer, for example, if you like fried cauliflower. It’s a change from the pan!
However, you cannot cook all meats in the Airfryer, but if it can be cooked on the barbecue, you can also cook it in the Airfryer. This way, food often contains less fat.
Large portions
Whether you can also cook large portions depends on the products you put in the Airfryer. Large and small pieces of meat, for example, require different temperatures, otherwise, the meat will not cook properly or it will burn.
With vegetables, it’s usually not such a problem, as both large and small portions can be prepared there.
Easier to clean
A clear advantage of frying products from the Airfryer is that it is easier to keep clean. French fries or snacks like croquettes and frikadells that are deep-fried usually make for a lot of cleaning.
You will have to change the oil once in a while before you can fry snacks properly again. With the Airfryer, you only have to clean the basket after preparing the products.
Airfryer saves money!
In addition, with an Airfryer you also save money. Anyone who has ever fried Chips knows that frying fat is anything but cheap. If you want to keep frying those chips in the fryer. So the Airfryer also saves you a lot of money in that area if we compare it to the deep fryer.
XL airfryer
An XL airfryer can be a good option if you live with a large family, or if you expect to use the Airfryer mainly for a larger party.
An XL can cook up to one more portion at a time than the traditional version.
You can also opt for a combi microwave, which is an airfryer, microwave and convection oven in one
A regular Airfryer prepares up to 4 portions, so an XL prepares one more portion at a time. That may not seem like much, but especially if you are hosting a larger party, it still makes a much bigger difference than you think. With an XL Airfryer, you can quickly put something tasty on the table for a large party!
So are products from the Airfryer really healthier? It depends. Chips or any other snack from the Airfryer that you would normally cook in a deep fryer are certainly healthier, or rather less unhealthy.
You can also prepare vegetables and meat in the Airfryer. Only it depends on the preparation method whether it is actually healthier or not.