Who? is the latest organization to offer air fryers. In a study published this week, it was determined that an air fryer is one of the cheapest and most versatile means of cooking.
The consumer protection organization’s research team tested several cooking appliances, including a conventional electric oven, air fryer, pressure cooker, slow cooker, induction hob and halogen oven. They performed a series of cooking tasks to determine which was the cheapest to perform and which made the best food.
In each test, using an air fryer costs significantly less than using an electric oven: one-third to one-half (33% to 46%) of the running cost. In addition, it cooks food faster and with better results. Keep in mind that if you have a gas oven, it will cost less to use than an electric oven, but it’s still nowhere near as economical as using an air fryer.
You can see all the results on the Which? to place. It’s a UK organization, so results are in pounds and pence, but the ratios will be similar wherever you are in the world.
But even if you are using your air fryer, you may not be using it as well as you can. To make the most of its money-saving potential, follow these tips.
It’s not just for beige – use it for baking
When people think of an air fryer, they tend to think of beige foods like frozen chicken nuggets and fries. But you can use it for much more than that: it’s a mini convection oven and can do everything an oven can do. If you’re baking a cake, you’ll probably turn on the oven out of habit. But you’ll be heating a large enough space just to cook a small enough item, wasting electricity and money.
All you need is a baking pan that fits in your air fryer. If you don’t have one, it’s worth investing in. In most cases, this means baking round rather than loaf-shaped cakes. You will also need to adjust the cooking time, and it may take a few tries to get it right.
But the savings can be significant. Who? found that a cake baked in an air fryer took just 33 minutes and cost 8p in electricity, compared to 56 minutes and 24p in a built-in electric oven. It also turned out even better than the traditional cake.
Jrubleshoot with toothpicks, bread and water
Air fryers cook quickly by whipping hot air around the food. It is an effective method, but it can create problems that you are not used to solving. Don’t be discouraged: there are hacks you can use.
- Air fryer smokes: If you cook fatty foods like bacon in your air fryer, you may find that oil collects at the bottom and begins to burn during cooking. But there are easy solutions. You can put a slice of bread under the basket to soak up the oil, or add a tablespoon or two of water to the bottom of the drawer to keep the oil from burning.
Alex Greenwood / Foundry
- Your Food Is Blown Away: A grilled air fryer sandwich is a surprisingly good thing, but there’s a catch. Put a sandwich in an air fryer and when you open the drawer, it looks like it’s been hit by a tornado. There is little chance that everything is still in place. But if you secure it with a few toothpicks, you’ll get crispy toast with no problem.
Do not cram, shake
An air fryer works by circulating hot air around food. This means that for best results you need to make sure there is enough space between the items you are cooking. It will also help give you the crispy results that an air fryer is known for.
If you overload the basket, you will find that the food will not cook properly and will have soggy plates. Ultimately, this means longer cooking, which will waste energy and money.
This doesn’t mean you have to completely separate foods. In fact, one of the best things to cook in an air fryer is gnocchi: they’ll be chewy, crispy, and delicious. But you can cook a whole lot of it: just pause the cooking once or twice and shake the basket to make sure it’s been evenly exposed to the hot air.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Similarly, if you are cooking fish or meat, pause the program halfway through to turn your food. So you never have to add a few extra minutes to the cooking time.
Many air fryers beep for 50-60% of the cycle to remind you to shake the basket or turn your food, but if not, set an alarm.
Don’t forget to clean this hidden item
We are all guilty of not cleaning the inside of the oven. It’s tedious, difficult to access and easy to put back.
But there are no excuses with an air fryer. In most cases, the basket and the drawer can be put in the dishwasher. You can find out in your device’s manual if you can do this with yours. If you can’t find your manual, simply search for the make and model online.
If it can’t go in the dishwasher, the nonstick surfaces of the basket and drawer make it easy to wash by hand. You can even cover it with aluminum foil or a baking sheet to make cleaning easier.
But there is another part of the air fryer that requires regular maintenance. If you remove the air fryer drawer, you will see a heating coil above it.
If it is splashed with burnt food, it will not only affect the taste and smell of the next meal you prepare, but will also affect the cooking performance of the appliance. Once cool, brush the coil with a soft brush or dish sponge. Do not use soap or wet it very much. If you have a smaller air fryer, you can flip it over to make this job easier.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
An air fryer uses between one-third and one-half the electricity of an oven. But it does mean that if you use it two or three times to cook separate parts of a meal – for example, if you use it to cook chicken, roast vegetables and jacket potatoes – you’ll wipe out the savings you make.
So, if you have several dishes to cook at the same time, it is more economical to cook them all together in the oven. You only pay once for cooking time and if your oven is full, it’s probably worth it. If you use multiple devices, you will pay multiple times.
But if you’re only making two dishes, the cheapest option might just be to use two low-cost cooking appliances at once, like your microwave and air fryer. Which ? The team found that cooking a coated potato in the microwave cost 5p, rather than 13p in an air fryer or 37p in the oven. Yet you are missing crispy skin.
You can read more about the cost of running your appliances, or if you’re considering buying an air fryer, check out our roundup of the best air fryers we’ve tested to see our recommendations.
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