Like many of us wanting to watch our weight and cut down on the amount of fried foods we consume, I’ve learned to cut back. But we are Southerners, after all, and we were raised on fried foods. It’s part of our culinary vernacular, and I can’t imagine going the rest of my life without a piece of fried chicken, french fries or fried fish. Maybe even a fried Twinkie, but that may be pushing the envelope a little too far.
So when I first heard about air-frying, I thought it was probably a one-time wonder, another piece of kitchenware that would end up in my closet for unused appliances. How could air fry food? Fried food is best when it’s plunged into a deep pot filled with sizzling oil and fried to a golden crisp, right?
After trying my new air fryer, I’m convinced that air-frying is the way to go.
Anne BralyMy first experiment was with a small potato. I cut one half into potato chips and the other into french fries, drizzled both with a touch of olive oil and salt, then air-fried them for a few minutes each. My Black & Decker air fryer (Amazon, $99) has a removable divider in the fry basket, so I was able to fry the two potato items separately. The chips were OK; the fries tasted just about as good as deep-fried fries. I was impressed.
Then I moved on to a large potato. It was perfect, taking just 40 minutes to produce a crispy skin with soft insides. Coating the potato with about a half teaspoon of olive oil was the trick.