“What space contraption is that?” I questioned my mother, inwardly rolling my eyes that she had purchased yet another kitchen appliance which wouldn’t really work, and would just gather dust. A plate of french fries sat on the table.
Golden.
Crunchy.
Delicious.
Perfect.
I gawked. Mother had discovered an appliance that was a game-changer, and I sat humbly enjoying the most crispy, perfectly cooking, non-oily fries I had ever eaten.
After my mother purchased a Phillips Air Fryer, one of my sisters did too, and then, another sister, and then… I did too. After I did, a colleague of my husband’s who stayed with us for a few days bought one. Why? Because the proof is in the pudding, and after eating food cooked in a fraction of the time, without deep frying, it’s hard to argue the worth of this new appliance in our busy lives.
People will have different reasons for loving air frying. Some will say it’s healthier, some will say the food is more delicious, or that they save money on their power bill.. I will say, it’s fast. Much faster than using an oven to get similar results (similar, because air fryer gives better results with it’s rapid cooking).
My first “dish” was french fries. Why? Because I LOVE them. It’s my guilty pleasure, and by air frying, the guilt got a lot less. But then I discovered roasting vegetables to use in gourmet salads. I realise the air fryer could do more. I started to experiment with pastries.. Savoury at first,then sweet.
I am convinced that air frying is not a fad, but a new way to cook which will only gain momentum as people experience and learn a new way to cook. From quickly roasted pine nuts for out of this world pesto, to 6 minutes to turn a vegetable pastry into a meal with a side salad – it’s only a matter of time before air frying shows up in cookbooks as the norm with a subnote on how to use a conventional oven to get similar results.
Since my first introduction to the Phillips Viva Air Fryer, Phillips has come out with a larger size – catering more to families. And while Phillips is the leader of the pack for air fryers, they surely are competing against a pack with new air fryers from competitors frequently hitting the market.
Will air frying every replace a conventional oven? Only if they make one the size of a conventional oven. Air fryers will never be the “Thermomix” of a kitchen, but it does something really well. It cooks smaller portions of food very fast and with much less oil.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be publishing some guides on how to get the most of our your air fryer. Until then, if you’re already an air fryer fanatic, join the AFFR community, share your air fryer recipes, favorite some, try out some, and most of all, experiment, take notes and embrace a new way of cooking.
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