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Journalism of Courage
Air fryers are a wonderful invention that helps you enjoy crispy, delicious food, minus the oil – that can be harmful to heart health. However, with every new invention, there comes a lot of buzz surrounding it. It is no different with air fryers, with many worrying that it may cause cancer. Addressing such concerns, Krish Ashok, author of Masala Lab: The Science of Indian Cooking, shared that all the fear surrounding air fryers is false and the equipment is completely safe to use unless you burn your food — which can lead to the release of unsafe chemicals. But that is not the case just with air fryers, but with any method of cooking that you adopt.
“Air fryers are really just small-sized convection ovens (or OTGs) with a fan to circulate hot air more efficiently than in a large oven. This allows you to dehydrate the surface of foods really quickly and with very little oil. As long as you don’t char your food till it’s visibly dark brown or black all over, air-fried food is perfectly safe. Convection baking has been used by human beings since the dawn of cooking, and air fryers (despite their name) use the exact same physics of hot air transferring heat to food,” he explained on Instagram.
He added that the appliance is “perfect” for those looking to cut down calories from fat and also like crispy textures. “As always, focus on what you are ultimately eating rather than the appliance,” he continued.
Speaking with indianexpress.com, Dr G Sushma – Consultant – Clinical Dietician, CARE Hospitals, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad also soothed all our fears by stating that air fryers are completely safe to use.
“In fact, cooking with an air fryer can be a healthy cooking method as it uses hot air to cook food rather than oil. By using less oil, it can reduce the fat and calorie content of the food compared to deep-frying or pan-frying,” said Dr Sushma.
She also asserted that there is “no scientific evidence to suggest that air fryers cause cancer”. The heating element in an air fryer operates at a temperature below the level at which it could produce cancer-causing substances, she added.
Air fryer vs deep-frying
Compared to deep-frying, air frying is generally considered to be a healthier cooking method. “Deep-frying involves immersing food in hot oil, which can increase the fat and calorie content of the food. Air frying, on the other hand, uses hot air to cook the food, which can reduce the amount of oil needed and therefore reduce the fat and calorie content,” said Dr Sushma.
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