Just learned air fryers can cut cooking oil by 75% compared to deep frying

I was reading a cooking science blog yesterday and saw a study from a university test kitchen. They measured the oil absorbed by chicken wings cooked three ways. The air fryer version used about a tablespoon of oil total, while the deep-fried batch soaked up over a quarter cup. I've been using mine for a year and never actually measured. Has anyone else done a side-by-side test with something like fries or fish sticks?

3 comments

3 Comments

faithg262mo ago

Yeah, that tracks with what I've seen. I don't do side-by-side tests, but I can tell just from cleaning the thing. My old deep fryer left a greasy mess, but the air fryer basket just has a light film. It's a huge difference in how much oil you're actually eating.

paul1172mo ago

That's a really good point from @faithg26 about the cleaning telling the whole story... it's like a lot of modern stuff hides the real cost until you have to deal with the mess yourself. You see it with those single-serve coffee pods too, so clean and easy until you see the little plastic cup mountain. Makes you wonder what else we're not seeing.

iris3941mo agoMost Upvoted

Paul nailed it with that coffee pod comparison. I got a Keurig last year thinking it would be so much easier and cleaner than my old drip machine. But after a few months I had this growing bag of used pods under my sink and it was just awful. I switched to a reusable pod that you fill with your own grounds and honestly it's not that much more work. But it's crazy how the convenience stuff just hides the waste until you're staring at it. Makes you really think about what other everyday things are doing the same thing.