What are the advantages and disadvantages of air fryers? Does long-term use of air fryers cause cancer?

Many families are worried that fried foods may be harmful to children, so they buy air fryers to fry French fries or other ingredients.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of air fryers?

The air fryer uses high-speed air circulation technology and a unique combination of fast-circulating hot air and internal spiral patterns to achieve the cooking effect and taste of fried food. In layman's terms, when heating, high-temperature hot air will be generated in the pot to form a crispy surface on the food, locking in the moisture inside the ingredients, achieving the fragrant and crispy taste of ordinary fried food.

advantage:

Advantage 1: Air fryer is efficient and easy to operate.

Those who have an oven at home should know that no matter whether it is a large or small oven, it must be preheated before making food. The preheating time is about 10-30 minutes. If the time is too short, the food will cook slowly, and if the time is too long, the service life of the oven will be shortened. Cooking a meal is not troublesome enough. The air fryer is relatively fool-proof. Just put the prepared food in. Usually two servings of meat can be eaten in 20 minutes, which is more suitable for the current fast food style of eating.

Advantage 2: It does not take up space and saves space.

The smallest household oven is at least 15L, and the one used by a family is generally around 25-40L. It is large in size, heavy, and takes up quite a lot of space, especially for those kitchens that are not very big. The air fryer is better in this regard. It is about the size of an electric rice cooker and can be put away after use. It is very easy to move.

Advantage 3: Low fuel consumption, healthy, this is also a signature

The principle of the air fryer is to use high-temperature hot air to force out the fat and moisture in the food itself. Compared with frying, it can indeed avoid excessive fat intake when eating.

Advantage 4: Easy to clean

Because the air fryer uses less oil and the frying basket can be easily taken out and cleaned, the oven is different. The oven generally uses a baking tray, and it needs to be oiled every time it bakes. It is inevitable that oil stains will drip into the inside of the box. It is definitely impossible to wipe it clean, and it is also very difficult to drag it to the sink to clean.

shortcoming:

Disadvantage 1: The price is a bit high, you can buy two ovens with this price, but for the sake of health, it is still within the acceptable range for most people.

Disadvantage 2: Small internal cooking space and limited choice of dishes;

Being small is both an advantage and a disadvantage. It is an advantage in terms of portability, but a disadvantage in terms of practicality. The limitation of the small box means that it can only make dishes for 2-4 people. It is not enough for home banquets. The food it can make is also quite demanding. It can make chicken wings, but if the thickness of the whole chicken is too large, the taste will be affected during the preparation.

Disadvantage 3: The food tastes a bit inferior

The food cooked in an air fryer is somewhere between deep-frying and cooking in an oven. During the cooking process, the hot air forces out the fat while also taking away the moisture in the food itself, so the taste is a bit drier. Excessive intake of dehydrated food can actually affect your health and cause problems such as enlarged skin pores.

Does long-term use of air fryers cause cancer?

Compared with ordinary frying, food cooked in an "air fryer" does have a lower fat content, but its heating temperature exceeds 120°C, which will also produce acrylamide, a suspected carcinogen.

Starchy foods are prone to produce acrylamide when cooked at high temperatures (>120°C). Studies have shown that the human body can be exposed to acrylamide through the digestive tract, respiratory tract, skin and mucous membranes, and drinking water is an important exposure route. In April 2002, researchers from the Swedish National Food Administration and Stockholm University first reported that acrylamide was detected in some fried and grilled starchy foods, such as French fries and potato chips, and the content exceeded the maximum limit allowed in drinking water by more than 500 times. Subsequently, countries such as Norway, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the United States also reported similar results.

According to a study by the Hong Kong Consumer Council, foods containing carbohydrates will produce acrylamide after being fried. Studies have shown that acrylamide can cause cancer. However, the World Health Organization said that it is difficult to calculate the concentration of acrylamide that will cause cancer.

Is the air fryer useful?

I am lazy, so I usually buy semi-finished products directly from the supermarket and then process them appropriately. This is also the first step in making pumpkin pie, which is to prepare the semi-finished products and sprinkle some sesame seeds on them. Black sesame seeds or white sesame seeds are both fine, which mainly depends on everyone's personal taste and aesthetics.

Then, brush some olive oil on the pumpkin pie, just a little, not too much.

While you sprinkle sesame seeds and apply olive oil, you can turn on the air fryer and preheat it. It usually takes 5 minutes. The temperature does not need to be set too high, 200 degrees is enough.

Is the air fryer useful? How to make pumpkin pie in an air fryer

After that, turn on the air fryer and put the pumpkin pie in. It usually only takes 5 minutes for the palm-sized air fryer to cook through. If you want to feed it to the elderly, you can heat it for a minute or two longer, but not too long, otherwise the taste will change.

Finally, take it out, put it on a plate, and eat it!