The advantages of an air fryer, in a smart device: we tested the Proscenic T22

If there is one appliance that has gained notoriety in the kitchen in recent years, it is the hot air fryer, to the point that it has become a “meme” on the Internet.

[Probamos la freidora de aire de Xiaomi, la Xiaomi Mi Smart Air Fryer]

But that’s no laughing matter with a device like this; once I learned of its pros and cons, I learned of the great potential it has, and it convinced me to put the pan down, at least in some dishes.

Discover the benefits of an air fryer

The Proscenic brand makes its appearance again at The free Android, and if a few months ago we were talking about its commitment to vacuum cleaners, now it’s the turn of its new air fryer, the T22. It is not the only model that the company offers in Europe, but it is undoubtedly the most complete and modern.

The concept of an air fryer isn’t new, but for beginners like me, it’s one of those things that open our eyes. I admit that initially I didn’t pay much attention to it when he came to try it, and I didn’t give it the priority that maybe I should have; It changed the first time I cooked something, burgers. I thought this would be the ideal initial test, as one of the supposed advantages of this device was that it didn’t need to use oil.

The results surprised me so much that since then I’ve only been thinking about what I’m going to do next with the T22, what new dishes can I make with this device. It really opened up a whole new world to me, although it is true that I am saying this from the perspective of a complete beginner in the kitchen.

Basically and simply, an air fryer is nothing more than a small oven. The concept is the same, using hot air to cook food; but the results I got are very different from what I get with my oven. The key is in two aspects.

For starters, the size is much smaller, which translates to better cooking of food since the hot air is concentrated in one place; it also implies more efficient energy consumption. Although the T22 has a power of 1500W, the cooking times are shorter than with a conventional oven, simply because there is less air to heat up, so in the long run it is much cheaper ( which is especially important during these months).

Related to this, Proscenic also boasts of the Turbo-Air technology, which heats the air 360 degrees inside the fryer, circulating air up to seven times faster than with a conventional oven. When I read this before trying the device, my biggest fear was that the meat would dry out and anything I put on it would turn into a tough, inedible lump.

Nothing could be further from reality. This system manages to cook the food completely, sealing the outside and keep a juicy interior. This is something I saw firsthand when I made chicken wings for the family and to my surprise, inside they were completely juicy and with delicious flavor.

The use of oil is not necessary, but I would recommend buying spray oil for certain types of food. Concretely, the fries and the potatoes were browned simply by applying a little oil in this way; By itself, this type of food can be somewhat “bland” if we just put it as is in the fryer container, at least in my experience.

This device has the benefits of an oven, without many of its drawbacks. The internal container can be easily removed and filled, and it is possible to cook the same dishes that we would do in a normal oven; so if you want to make pastries, it is perfectly possible and there are even programs dedicated to it.

The big downside I noticed was the amount of food I was able to cook at once. When I made fries, I added two layers of cut potatoes and moved them around when the machine told me to; despite this, many pieces were not fully cooked and some were much crispier than others. I solved all of this by just making one layer at a time, instead of putting the potatoes on top of each other; so, the amount of food you can prepare at one time is very small, and you will have to make several “trips”. Something important if you have a large, hungry family like I did.

Smart and mobile connected

One aspect that sets the Proscenic T22 apart from other air fryers is the amount of technology it incorporates; It is not even necessary to connect the mobile, although it is a very useful and interesting addition.

Controlling the T22 is as easy as controlling an oven. If you don’t want any ‘fuss’, just use the buttons to increase or decrease the temperature and increase or decrease the time; There you have it, if all you want is a quick and easy cooking method, here it is. But just by looking at the large number of buttons at the top, you can realize that this is just the “tip of the iceberg”.

In the fryer itself, you have a large number of specific programs for different types of food and dishes, including steaks, fried foods or cakes, for example. If this is what you want to cook, all you have to do is put in the food, press the right button and wait. The T22 will do the rest. We also have a preheat button, which you should not forget to use because the programs assume that the interior is already at the right temperature.

The top display will tell you the temperature and time remaining for cooking, and that’s it. Seen in this light, it’s simple, but it’s only the beginning.

The Proscenic T22 can also be connected to our mobile, using the official Proscenic app, which is also used to control other company products. What is interesting is that here the possibilities are enormous thanks to the inclusion of a virtual cookbook, which guides us through the necessary steps for the dish we want and which automatically sets the fryer to the necessary program at the press of a button. It’s a really cool thing to browse through the app, find a dish you’d like to prepare, and let the device set up without a second thought.

The fact that the T22 connects to the mobile also means that we can control the cooking status at all times directly from the application. And when it’s done, or when we have to return the food, the app will send us a notification; so we don’t have to watch the fryer, we can do other things in the meantime with the assurance that the application will notify us if necessary. Ultimately, the Proscenic T22 is also compatible with assistance, such as Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, allowing the control with free hands simply indicating a new intelligent altavoz lo queremos que haga, algo útil si tenemos las manos ocupadas con otra cosa en the kitchen.

A great addition to the kitchen

The Proscenic T22 convinced me that I needed an air fryer in my kitchen, even though I never really thought it was necessary. What I liked the most was the way he opened up new horizons for me, especially for a novice like me; The in-app recipes and default programs have helped me both in an emergency and in times when you don’t know what to eat today.

Moreover, it is not very big and I was surprised by its lightness, despite its capacity of 5 liters. The food container is easily washable and non-stick, and includes a grid that we can use as a double bottom, which is ideal for meats, for example.

However, if you’re buying an air fryer like this, you should keep in mind that it’s not a miracle appliance; Not all types of cookers are suitable for this appliance, and this is also the case with the T22 despite the great versatility it offers.

The Proscenic T22 is already available in Europe, with a starting price of 139 dollars.

• Buy Proscenic T22 on Amazon

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