Air fryers have been around for a while now – but are they really worth it? Can the student budget stretch enough to benefit from them?
This week, I’ve decided to take on the challenge of using an air fryer every day and see how much it can really do! This kitchen appliance can be quite pricey and might take a sizeable bite out of your shopping budget, but for good reason! I’ve been a long-time fan of my mum’s air fryer and it’s high time we test it out fully and see if it’s worth forking out the cash.
Here’s the plan:
- Try out a different ingredient every day.
- Taste test each meal with absolute scrutiny.
- Work out which meals are best suited to the air fryer.
day 1 – salmon teriyaki
One of my favourite Japanese sauces is teriyaki and it pairs perfectly with salmon! After sitting in the marinade for a couple of hours, the salmon fillets were well and truly marinated to perfection. I cooked the salmon in the air fryer for ten minutes at 200oc but really should’ve been 180oc for 8 minutes. Although I did overcook it (oops), the air fryer worked really well in cooking through the fillet well. This is when I realised an issue with the air fryer, it just isn’t big enough when cooking for a family of five. The surface area is definitely important when cooking in bigger quantities and you should try avoiding stacking too much in the tray or it just won’t cook as well. Even though it saves time per fillet, when you have to do multiple sets, the time you spend cooking it adds up. Air fryer – 0: Oven – 1.
Pro tip: Use baking paper in the tray to avoid too much mess and cleaning up!
day 2 -katsu curry
Using the MOB Kitchen recipe to create the katsu curry sauce, I replaced the chicken with courgette for a meat-free alternative. The panko-breaded courgette was a great way of comparing the air fryer to oil frying, either in a deep fryer or shallow frying. Whether you prefer batons or circles, I’d recommend not cutting the courgette too thick, as it will take longer to cook. Using oil takes less time and allows the breadcrumbs to get crispier and have that irresistible golden brown colour. I must admit that, although the courgette was much healthier and less greasy when cooked in the air fryer, I can’t help but directly compare it to shallow frying. Getting the courgettes to the same level of crispiness takes a lot more time, and I think in the future, I’d spray some oil to help the courgettes get crispier quicker.
day 3 – pizza
Today I chose to test out the air fryer in a completely different way – with pizza! I make my own pizza at home by mixing water, oil, and plain flour for the base and creating my own tomato sauce, but you can buy this in any supermarket if you want to save time. The pizza turned out great! The cheese was fully melted, the sauce was piping hot and the base was perfectly done, I would absolutely do this again! Success!
Pro Tip: If you prefer a thicker base, cook for a few minutes without any toppings and then cook again with the toppings for longer to make sure it is fully cooked.
DAY 4 – CHIPS
I’m sure cooking chips in an air fryer isn’t the shock of the century, but I wanted to directly compare it to deep-frying chips. I love a burger and chips meal and making it at home means you can control the ingredients that go into it. I prefer doing a fake-away at home because it feels a lot healthier than going to the local Maccies and you save those pennies. Although the deep fryer would take 3-5 minutes for a batch of chips, the added 10 minutes makes it worthwhile in the air fryer. The chips are much less oily and still as crispy. A win for the air fryer!
Pro tip: Make sure to give the tray a toss to make sure each chip gets its own “air time”.
day 5 – cauliflower
Cauliflower might not strike you as the most interesting vegetable but I’ve been converted with this new twist! Cut your cauliflower into little fleurets with oil, salt, pepper and curry powder in a bowl. Once the fleurets have been propery coated pop them in the air fryer for 10 minutes at 180 oc, giving them a toss halfway through. Using the air fryer meant they were cooked and softened to perfection with still a bit of a crunch, a difficult texture to achieve in the oven.
Pro tip: For half a cauliflower, use 2 tbsp of mild curry powder but for a stronger taste add more!
day 6 – gyoza
Gyoza, otherwise known as Japanese potstickers or dumplings, are one of my family’s favourites. Usually paired with sweet chilli sauce, they go great alongside noodle soup or stirfried vegetables. Making these at home is time-consuming so I prefer to buy them premade. Many prefer to steam them using bamboo steamers but are recommended to be panfried with water. Using the air fryer created a crispier texture but still retained some softness to the dough. Making sure not to overfill the tray, cook the gyozas in your air fryer at 160oc for 7-8 minutes.
day 7 – falafels
Whether they’re for a lunch or a cheeky mid-afternoon snack, falafels are always delicious, and always best warm. I eat the Cauldron vegan falafels which take 18 minutes in the oven to warm up, so I decided to put air-fried falafels to the test. Falafels are usually fried but most use an oven for a healthier version whilst keeping that softness to them. Using the air fryer for only 5 minutes created the perfect texture, a soft and fully inside with a crispy exterior. I’ll definitely be digging out the air fryer in future for my falafels!
Final Thoughts
This was a very interesting week… not all recipes went to plan and I’d say quantities play a big part in this. It’s not easy to cook for a whole family using a regular-sized one, but worth thinking about if you only cook for small numbers. Who knew an air fryer could cook such a wide range of food! I’d say, go for the air fryer if you want to avoid using too much oil and not spend as much time cooking, I know this is an investment I’ll be making!