Air Fryer - Page 2

Diana3271 · 05-03-17, 07:18 PM

Jusca I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it. The good thing about BB&B, you can return it if you don't like it.

jusca · 05-03-17, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diana3271

Jusca I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it. The good thing about BB&B, you can return it if you don't like it.

I just got it and will be using it tomorrow. I'll let you know after I cook the food. I've got high expectations of super crispiness and I'm excited to try it out! Your tip about BBB taking returns on these kimd of products let my guard down to try it without worrying about being stuck with an item I might not like.

Cleda · 05-04-17, 05:47 AM

I've added it to my "gadget" cooking devices. I am still working on getting the timing on things. Thought maybe a rack would be good for it. (They pile stuff in and then shake it part way through?) I've done potatoes (french fries) and was amazed at how crunchy they came out. AGain, need to only do a single layer.

I've done barbecued pork chops, came out moist and yummy. Dh was happy with them. Made chicken legs (with frosted flakes bread crumb outside). They were good. Needed more to do a single layer. I hink I did boneless chicken. yes. I did! with regular bread crumbs.

It's convenient to open, put it in and let it run. (I'm all about convenience). It is not hard for clean up. One word of caution - you know how they say make sure it's on a flat surface when you push the red button to take the basket out??? Make sure you do that. I did NOT the first time (dont' know what I was thinking?!?

and the bottom fell off and the front face (Plastic) broke off when it hit the floor. It kinda snaps on, but it's not ideal. I tried to contact them to order another one, but to no avail. i will have to try again. I went for the live chat and they never responded.

It still works, but I would like a new face plate for it. Live and learn.

So, it's ok in my book. I'm not as "in love" with it as some people are, but it's convenient, does not heat up the kitchen like the oven (thinking about summer time cooking here) and I am glad I purchased it. It is big though and it sits atop my dehydrator. I do have the gadgets!

HTH.
Cleda

Diana3271 · 05-04-17, 08:45 AM

Cleda, Thanks for your thoughts.

Jusca I can't wait to hear about your experience.

DH loves fried foods but does not like grilled foods as much. I prefer grilled, broiled, etc. I think DH would be happier if I would "fry" foods for him. We have a very small kitchen, so I'm still unsure. I could probably take some kitchen stuff to the Goodwill to make room. I am not a gadget person. I think this has more to do with the lack of space.

jusca · 05-04-17, 08:58 PM

Fryer used: NuWave 3 qt. Brio Air Fryer

I've finally tried cooking with the air fryer. For this test run, I decided to cook fried fish two ways:

1. White all purpose flour breading. The fish was dipped in an egg white and 1 tsp buttermilk mix then dredged with flour then I put the fish back into egg mixture followed by a final flour dredging to make a double breading.

2. I used an off-the-shelf cornmeal-based product by "House of Autry" which was dipped in the egg mixture once. No double breading.

I preheated the air fryer for 5 mins. I sprayed both sides of the fish samples with Pam cooking spray. The sprayings were about 3 seconds on each side. I placed the fish into the air fryer once the preheat ended. The fish cooked for 12 minutes @ 375 degrees initially. I checked the fish after 12 mins and it was cooked and crispy. However I noticed after everything, the fryer has a suggested 390 degree temp for cooking fish. So, I added an additional 4 minutes fry time @ 390 degrees to see it the fish got any crispier. It pretty much stayed the same in terms of crispiness.

Here are the air frying results:

#1. Flour breading -- The fryer does an excellent job. It has nearly the same nice hard crunch as deep oil frying. Unfortunately you won't be able to trick a deep fryer eater into believing the food was deep fried. Something about deep frying gives the food a unique hard & crunchy texture that I haven't been able to reproduce without deep frying. Air frying comes close as a subsitute but there's just this something that air frying doesn't impart on the food. Maybe it's the taste of the fat from the oil that is missing? I don't know how to quite describe it. Maybe someone else has been able to get better results but so far I haven't luck with any fan-forced cooking equipment like a convection oven or an air fryer as a permanent replacement for deep frying.

#2. Cornmeal breading -- the fryer did an ok job. The crust wasn't soggy but it wasn't an audible crunch-noise-when-you-bite-into-it. It provided only a very light crunch. It could be that the cornmeal was too finely grounded to give a harder texture when fried.

Overall, an air fryer is much better than using my counter top Farberware convection oven in one respect -- the air circulation makes sure both sides of the food are crisp whereas the convection lets the juices build on the bottom of the food and gets soggy.

My verdict: Air fryers are for those who don't mind sacrificing a little bit of crunchy texture & taste that deep frying provides. Any hardcore deep fryer eater may not be satisfied. I like the air fryer but I don't love it at the price they are going for. I'll just stick to deep frying even if it means I'll only have that kind of food on 1 or 2 times a month instead of several times a week. (by the way, my only intent for using an air fryer is to make fried foods. There are other things that can be made in the gadget from other reviews I see but I do not plan to test those out. I am otherwise satisfied with what my convection oven can do. I'll return the air fryer.)

P.S. Soggy deep fried foods are brought back to life with an air fryer. Hands down it was like dipping the food back into oil for a nice reheat.

Diana3271 · 05-06-17, 07:49 PM

Jusca Thank you for your review and thoughts. DH mentioned the air fryer to a friend of his. The friend loves fried food and was looking at them online. I am still hesitant to buy one. I would rather DH get his friend's opinion and let DH decide if he really wants one. LOL If he does, I will get it. DH likes fried shrimp, French fries, and chicken and pork chops.

yogapam · 05-09-17, 03:12 PM

Thanks for the review Jusca! I'm not surprised that it can't quite duplicate real deep frying. I'm still interested though as it looks like a good way to make close to oven baked fries & wings using less power than the oven and generating less heat in the summer.

bzar · 02-07-18, 01:40 PM

bumping old thread:

any updates on this? I want to get one.

is yours "loud"? how exactly does this work? is it like superheated baking? is the cooking duration the same as if you're baking in a conventional oven?

jusca · 02-08-18, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bzar

bumping old thread:

any updates on this? I want to get one.

is yours "loud"? how exactly does this work? is it like superheated baking? is the cooking duration the same as if you're baking in a conventional oven?

The cooking duration is rather shorter with the hot air circulating around the food on all sides. I think of an air fryer as a smaller convection oven.

wishiwasinhawaii · 02-11-18, 09:13 AM

I bought an air fryer at Walmart just yesterday. I've had my eye on it for a couple of months and finally decided to take the plunge. I haven't tried it yet, but my SIL has the same one and loves it so I'm sure it will be fine. The only issue I have is I have a small kitchen and it is bulky, so I'll have to get rid of something else to make room.

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05-03-17, 07:18 PM
Diana3271 Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: South Carolina	Jusca I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it. The good thing about BB&B, you can return it if you don't like it. __________________ I started my most recent weight loss journey January 2008. I lost 1/2 of my starting body weight and entered into maintenance May 2011. Now the real work begins! You can fight it, or do what you've got to do to get it done. The choice is yours. ~Diana You have the rest of your life to get old. Stay young, as long as you can. ~Diana 10 Pound Slimdown Xtreme Graduate 02/12 Insanity Graduate - I actually survived! LM Combat 02/13 21 Day Fix Survivor! 6/14 Diana

05-04-17, 05:47 AM
Cleda VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001	Air Fryer I've added it to my "gadget" cooking devices. I am still working on getting the timing on things. Thought maybe a rack would be good for it. (They pile stuff in and then shake it part way through?) I've done potatoes (french fries) and was amazed at how crunchy they came out. AGain, need to only do a single layer. I've done barbecued pork chops, came out moist and yummy. Dh was happy with them. Made chicken legs (with frosted flakes bread crumb outside). They were good. Needed more to do a single layer. I hink I did boneless chicken. yes. I did! with regular bread crumbs. It's convenient to open, put it in and let it run. (I'm all about convenience). It is not hard for clean up. One word of caution - you know how they say make sure it's on a flat surface when you push the red button to take the basket out??? Make sure you do that. I did NOT the first time (dont' know what I was thinking?!? and the bottom fell off and the front face (Plastic) broke off when it hit the floor. It kinda snaps on, but it's not ideal. I tried to contact them to order another one, but to no avail. i will have to try again. I went for the live chat and they never responded. It still works, but I would like a new face plate for it. Live and learn. So, it's ok in my book. I'm not as "in love" with it as some people are, but it's convenient, does not heat up the kitchen like the oven (thinking about summer time cooking here) and I am glad I purchased it. It is big though and it sits atop my dehydrator. I do have the gadgets! HTH. Cleda

05-04-17, 08:45 AM
Diana3271 Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: South Carolina	Cleda, Thanks for your thoughts. Jusca I can't wait to hear about your experience. DH loves fried foods but does not like grilled foods as much. I prefer grilled, broiled, etc. I think DH would be happier if I would "fry" foods for him. We have a very small kitchen, so I'm still unsure. I could probably take some kitchen stuff to the Goodwill to make room. I am not a gadget person. I think this has more to do with the lack of space. __________________ I started my most recent weight loss journey January 2008. I lost 1/2 of my starting body weight and entered into maintenance May 2011. Now the real work begins! You can fight it, or do what you've got to do to get it done. The choice is yours. ~Diana You have the rest of your life to get old. Stay young, as long as you can. ~Diana 10 Pound Slimdown Xtreme Graduate 02/12 Insanity Graduate - I actually survived! LM Combat 02/13 21 Day Fix Survivor! 6/14 Diana

05-04-17, 08:58 PM
jusca Join Date: Aug 2011	Fryer used: NuWave 3 qt. Brio Air Fryer I've finally tried cooking with the air fryer. For this test run, I decided to cook fried fish two ways: 1. White all purpose flour breading. The fish was dipped in an egg white and 1 tsp buttermilk mix then dredged with flour then I put the fish back into egg mixture followed by a final flour dredging to make a double breading. 2. I used an off-the-shelf cornmeal-based product by "House of Autry" which was dipped in the egg mixture once. No double breading. I preheated the air fryer for 5 mins. I sprayed both sides of the fish samples with Pam cooking spray. The sprayings were about 3 seconds on each side. I placed the fish into the air fryer once the preheat ended. The fish cooked for 12 minutes @ 375 degrees initially. I checked the fish after 12 mins and it was cooked and crispy. However I noticed after everything, the fryer has a suggested 390 degree temp for cooking fish. So, I added an additional 4 minutes fry time @ 390 degrees to see it the fish got any crispier. It pretty much stayed the same in terms of crispiness. Here are the air frying results: #1. Flour breading -- The fryer does an excellent job. It has nearly the same nice hard crunch as deep oil frying. Unfortunately you won't be able to trick a deep fryer eater into believing the food was deep fried. Something about deep frying gives the food a unique hard & crunchy texture that I haven't been able to reproduce without deep frying. Air frying comes close as a subsitute but there's just this something that air frying doesn't impart on the food. Maybe it's the taste of the fat from the oil that is missing? I don't know how to quite describe it. Maybe someone else has been able to get better results but so far I haven't luck with any fan-forced cooking equipment like a convection oven or an air fryer as a permanent replacement for deep frying. #2. Cornmeal breading -- the fryer did an ok job. The crust wasn't soggy but it wasn't an audible crunch-noise-when-you-bite-into-it. It provided only a very light crunch. It could be that the cornmeal was too finely grounded to give a harder texture when fried. Overall, an air fryer is much better than using my counter top Farberware convection oven in one respect -- the air circulation makes sure both sides of the food are crisp whereas the convection lets the juices build on the bottom of the food and gets soggy. My verdict: Air fryers are for those who don't mind sacrificing a little bit of crunchy texture & taste that deep frying provides. Any hardcore deep fryer eater may not be satisfied. I like the air fryer but I don't love it at the price they are going for. I'll just stick to deep frying even if it means I'll only have that kind of food on 1 or 2 times a month instead of several times a week. (by the way, my only intent for using an air fryer is to make fried foods. There are other things that can be made in the gadget from other reviews I see but I do not plan to test those out. I am otherwise satisfied with what my convection oven can do. I'll return the air fryer.) P.S. Soggy deep fried foods are brought back to life with an air fryer. Hands down it was like dipping the food back into oil for a nice reheat.

05-06-17, 07:49 PM
Diana3271 Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: South Carolina	Jusca Thank you for your review and thoughts. DH mentioned the air fryer to a friend of his. The friend loves fried food and was looking at them online. I am still hesitant to buy one. I would rather DH get his friend's opinion and let DH decide if he really wants one. LOL If he does, I will get it. DH likes fried shrimp, French fries, and chicken and pork chops. __________________ I started my most recent weight loss journey January 2008. I lost 1/2 of my starting body weight and entered into maintenance May 2011. Now the real work begins! You can fight it, or do what you've got to do to get it done. The choice is yours. ~Diana You have the rest of your life to get old. Stay young, as long as you can. ~Diana 10 Pound Slimdown Xtreme Graduate 02/12 Insanity Graduate - I actually survived! LM Combat 02/13 21 Day Fix Survivor! 6/14 Diana

05-09-17, 03:12 PM
yogapam VF Supporter Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: West coast of Canada, eh. ;)	Thanks for the review Jusca! I'm not surprised that it can't quite duplicate real deep frying. I'm still interested though as it looks like a good way to make close to oven baked fries & wings using less power than the oven and generating less heat in the summer. __________________ **~Pam~** Certified Level 4 Essentrics Instructor - March 2021 Hatha YTT - 2011 Your body keeps an accurate journal regardless of what you write down..... "Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live." Jim Rohn "It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently.” - Tony Robbins Check out my Instagram account, @fitness.ficti0n.inspirati0n

02-07-18, 01:40 PM
bzar Exchange Moderator Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: PalmTreeVille	bumping old thread: any updates on this? I want to get one. is yours "loud"? how exactly does this work? is it like superheated baking? is the cooking duration the same as if you're baking in a conventional oven? __________________ ~jeannine Miyagi: Wax on, right hand. Wax off, left hand. Wax on, wax off. Breathe in through nose, out the mouth. Wax on, wax off. Don't forget to breathe, very important. [walks away, still making circular motions with hands] ~ Pat Morita, The Karate Kid, 1984 disclosure: in the years 2002-2004 i had a professional relationship with a distributor of fitness videos; see profile.

02-11-18, 09:13 AM
wishiwasinhawaii Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: NJ	I bought an air fryer at Walmart just yesterday. I've had my eye on it for a couple of months and finally decided to take the plunge. I haven't tried it yet, but my SIL has the same one and loves it so I'm sure it will be fine. The only issue I have is I have a small kitchen and it is bulky, so I'll have to get rid of something else to make room.