Dear Gear Heads,
I've read that I need to flip my food when I'm air frying. That seems counterintuitive. Doesn't the hot air already circulate around the food?
Kevin
Published July 10, 2023.
Dear Gear Heads,
I've read that I need to flip my food when I'm air frying. That seems counterintuitive. Doesn't the hot air already circulate around the food?
Kevin
Air fryers are convenient, efficient, easy to clean, and even fun to use (if you buy the right model). I’ve spent months testing them, during which I went from an air-fryer skeptic to a frequent user.
I love our recipes specifically designed for air fryers, including chicken Parmesan, homemade french fries, and smoky and sweet pork tenderloin.
One question I’ve often heard: Why is it necessary to flip or agitate food when air frying? It may sound like a silly question, but it’s a legitimate one.
Air fryers are essentially small convection ovens; this means that they include fans that circulate hot air around the food, hopefully cooking it evenly. If this circulation is working the way it’s supposed to, shouldn't you be able to set your air fryer and forget about it until your food is cooked?
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Well, no.
I took my own air-fryer knowledge and combined it with some expertise from our senior science research editor, and here are the facts:
Even if your air fryer has top-notch air circulation from its fan, you need to give most larger pieces of food (such as pork chops, burgers, and chicken cutlets) a turn about halfway through cooking. It’s also best to give most smaller foods (such as cauliflower florets, french fries, or chicken nuggets) a good shake or toss in the middle of the cooking cycle to expose new parts of the food to the heating element.
Even with this necessary turning or shaking, we’ve still found air fryers to be faster than ovens for cooking most foods, among several other advantages.
Some final notes: