Pros and Cons of Air Fryers with Liz Shaw, MS, RDN

Air fryers are the hot new appliance. Maybe you’re considering getting one. Or, perhaps you, like me, already have one but haven’t quite figured out what to do with it.  Joining me this week to share the mysteries of air frying is Liz Shaw.  Lis is a registered dietitian and she’s just written the Air Fryer Cookbook for Dummies—a follow up to her wildly popular Instant Pot Cookbook for Dummies.

Q. Air fryers have grown in popularity, but a lot of people aren't quite sure what they are. Can you explain what an air fryer is and how it works?

A. Have you ever seen one of those money machines, where someone steps inside a cylinder, closes the door, and air starts flowing up from the bottom with money flying through the air? An air fryer is kind of like one of those money machines. When you put your food into the air fryer and close it, hot air circulates around the food and begins to cook it. The temperature of the air fryer and the type of food you’re cooking will help determine the amount of time you need to cook your recipe.

Q. So, an air fryer just uses hot air to cook food. That explains the “air” part. But why do they call it a”fryer”? 

A. Essentially because the way the hot air circulates around the food imparts that same crispy, crunchy flavor of a deep-fried food--but with minimal oil.

Q. Can you break down for us the different types of appliances that fall into this category?

A. There are three main models of air fryers

• Paddle type: Typically, a self-turning fryer that has a paddle or cylinder basket inside to help cook the food and turn it evenly throughout. It does not necessarily use any more oil; you just need to evenly coat the food as you would with any other model
• Basket type: A drop-in basket that traditionally calls for multiple shakes within the cooking cycle. This type of air fryer requires a little more attention during the cooking process, but it’s also a lot less expensive than the other varieties.
• Countertop oven: This model resembles a toaster oven and has multiple uses, like a toaster oven or mini pizza oven too!  Depending on the make and model, they’re fairly inexpensive and they usually allow for a greater volume of food to be cooked at one time than the basket types do.

Q. What kinds of things can you make with an air fryer? What are they really good for?

A. You can truly make SO MANY THINGS in the air fryer! From ribs and fish to...

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