Oil-free fryers: benefits and what to do in them

To this day I am sure that there is no one who has not heard of, seen or already has an air fryer in their kitchen , also known as an oil-free fryer . Oil-free fryers have been making a name for themselves in many kitchens with the promise of fried foods as rich and crunchy as traditional ones, but much healthier and without the feeling of guilt that eating delicious French fries can cause us to accompany them. the meat. But...

What is an oil-free fryer and how does it work?

Without going into details, we could say that an air fryer is a small appliance that allows us to fry without oil , achieving healthier frying that is easy to digest and with much fewer calories. Going a little deeper, an air fryer or oil-free fryer is something very similar to a small convection oven, a mini tabletop oven that, without taking up much space, offers great versatility.

To cook, the fryer heats the air inside, moving it quickly and making it circulate in the chamber in which what we are going to prepare is placed. In this simple way, it combines the flow of hot air and movement, adjusting the temperature and speed according to the option chosen or the food to be cooked, to which we will have added a minimum amount of oil.

The very little oil that it requires can be applied by lightly brushing the food or with a spray (you can even use the release spray that you use for the molds in which you bake the biscuits or bundts). That pinch of oil has a clear objective: to help the interior temperature rise and give the outer layer of the food that crunchy point that we like so much.

What is the fryer without oil for?

One of the common questions when talking about air fryers is what can I cook in an air fryer . The answer is as broad as the possibilities it offers. Here are just a few examples, but I assure you there are many more!:

Traditional frying (but with practically no oil!):

Nuggets
croquettes
chips
spring rolls
dumplings
cod fritters
breaded fish fillets
or even sardines, no odors!

To bake . As an oven you have a huge range of possibilities:

mini pizzas or pizzettes
savory tartlets or mini quiches
the sandwiches of sliced bread, hot and with cheese, are luxurious
gratin stuffed mushrooms (or not stuffed!)
some cannelloni or a portion of lasagna gratin
rolls, muffins, or sticks of bread
Scones
muffins, scones or cinnamon rolls
biscuits
roasted chestnuts
or donuts and cookies, it's like an oven!

Like iron. For healthy and tasty cooking or grilling:

chicken breasts, which you can accompany with some strips of vegetables
fish, both sliced and loins, the result is phenomenal
Vegetables, any of the ones you can cook in the pan or in the oven: peppers, asparagus, artichokes, carrots...
the ears of corn.

To cook various dishes :

eggs on the plate (in a casserole), with spices or with ratatouille
chopped chicken with sauce
cuttlefish with onion
Marinated skewers, meat or vegetables. Or mixed!
meat or vegetable stews
meatballs with tomato
fried rice with prawns, and many more recipes. Any dish is possible!

To make desserts :

Chocolate brownie
baked apples
caramelized fruit
delicacies or coconut balls
banana or apple donuts
and, of course, the wonderful French toast!

In addition to all this, it is a great way to make popcorn , or to caramelize nuts or dehydrate fruits and vegetables . By being able to cook with it at temperatures from 80ºC to 200ºC, we can prepare our recipes in the same way that we would in the conventional oven, but with much lower consumption .

And it is ideal for preparations that require double temperature in its preparation , starting at a low temperature so that the interior is cooked, and finishing the last minutes at a higher temperature to brown the exterior and achieve the final crunchy point.

How to choose your air fryer

In the store we are such fans that we have a special section dedicated to fryers without oil , so you can choose the one that best suits your needs. For this, it is important to take into account several aspects:

Capacity: Depending on the number of people you are at home or the quantities you want to cook each time, you will require a greater or lesser capacity:

For one or two people you will need a small fryer, with a capacity of between 1 and 2 liters.
If you are between two and four people at home, you will need a medium oil-free fryer, with a capacity that is between 2 and 3 liters, approximately.
And if there are more of you at home or you like to cook larger portions (for the tupperware the next day or to freeze), your air fryer should have a minimum capacity of 4 liters.

Easy to use : Most air fryers have presets for the most common recipes or preparations. Just by pressing the selected option you can cook French fries, fry croquettes, dehydrate food or even bake some rolls. But if you like to cook at your leisure, it is ideal that it include the manual option, so that you can use it to your liking.
Temperature: The usual thing is that the temperatures of the fryer are between 80 °C and 200 °C, although in some models they can be between 70 °C and 220 °C.
Comfort: The fryer without oil, in addition to cooking healthy, has to help you cook in a comfortable and practical way so that you can really get the most out of it. Being able to forget about cooking or stirring when it is convenient to do so is one of the great advantages offered by the Tefal Actifry Genius model.

Discover the benefits of Actifry

I think the Actifry is worth highlighting. The Tefal Actifry Genius oil-free fryer has an important added value compared to the other models: its stirring blade that takes care of doing that work for you, being able to cook any dish without having to watch it cooking, while you do anything. another thing.

How long does a deep fryer take to fry without oil?

Although it will depend on the type of food and the amount we want to cook, the average time for each preparation is usually between 20 and 30 minutes .

While that time elapses and depending on what we are cooking, we will have to stir or turn the food to get a crispy texture and we will have to do it several times in any air fryer, except the Actifry.

How good is air fryer cooking?

Cooking fried foods in a fryer without oil implies not only the benefit of a healthier diet. It has many more advantages !

Here are just a few:

The amount of oil that we will have to use is drastically reduced compared to what we need to fry in a pan or in an electric fryer.
By requiring less oil, we will achieve significant savings, while reducing the amount of waste to be recycled . In addition, using a spray dispenser or a brush to apply it, we will optimize the necessary amount by distributing it throughout the food.
Cooking with the air fryer consumes less energy than doing it in an electric oil fryer, in the microwave or frying conventionally. And of course, it is also greater if we cook in the oven.
Food cooked in the air fryer hardly absorbs oil, providing us with approximately three times less calories and avoiding undesirable substances derived from frying that can increase the risk of suffering from certain diseases, especially if they are consumed regularly.
It is a quieter and more pleasant cooking. We can forget about turning on the extractor, since there are no annoying odors or smoke when we cook in the fryer without oil.
We will avoid the risk of burns , stains and splashes, when cooking the food in the inner tray of the fryer.
And this is one more advantage, because we will have to clean less .

Differences Between Oil Free Fryer and Air Oven

With a function similar to that of convection ovens, the use of a fryer without oil for frying and for other types of preparations is much more advantageous as it is a smaller appliance:

Its design , normally rounded, allows the air inside to circulate more easily, cooking food faster than in the oven and with different results than in the oven.
By needing less time to heat up and cook food, it requires less electricity consumption , resulting in a lower electricity bill.
In addition to frying, it is very practical for cooking all kinds of daily recipes , more or less elaborate, fast and very successful, being a great help when we do not usually have time to cook in the oven.
And its small size makes it very easy to transport , so we can place it anywhere in the house, take it to a second residence, to the campsite or have it in the motorhome.