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Does that really work in the air fryer? [1]

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Date: 2023-04-02  

For an old person, I’m pretty good with technology. I don’t bother with things that are only “fun” but I do a lot with computers, with my phone (my mini-computer), and now with a kitchen gadget that I depend on. In fact, I was talking with a friend who’s much older, turning 90 this summer, and she, too uses her air fryer more than almost any other kitchen appliance.

If you believe all the hype on YouTube, you can make a full Thanksgiving dinner in one, no muss, no fuss, no clean-up. Okay, it isn’t quite that easy, although it truly is a very small convection oven with a full-sized convection fan. So I thought I’d see if it would do more things than crisp up frozen french fries.

One of my staples is hard-boiled eggs. There are videos! (Of course there are; there are videos on how to butter toast—really!) So I tried making them in the air fryer. Good thing I did only one at a time until I had the technique down, because it didn’t work exactly “as shown on TV.” But by the third try, I had the perfect method and timing for my air fryer and my eggs. It takes a bit longer for me than for those people online, and that extra 2 minutes was the difference between a perfect hard-cooked egg that was easy to peel, and one that had a gummy yolk and a white too soft to peel in one piece. I particularly liked the “no hot water” part, and not waiting for the water (the water that isn’t there, mind you) to boil. Put the eggs in, set the time and temperature, take the eggs out with a spoon or tongs and put directly into the cold water. Done!

Today I wanted nachos for lunch. (I’d anticipated this when I bought groceries last, so I had corn tortillas in the freezer.) I needed tortilla chips, but I didn’t need a whole bag. So—I cut 4 tortillas into wedges, sprayed them with oil (I use avocado oil), and did the air fryer thing. Know what? It works! You need to keep an eye on them so they are at your preferred crispness, but it was incredibly easy. And tasty. A tad messy, eating nachos, but then a lot of Mexican or Tex-Mex food is messy. (Darn! I just realized I didn’t add sour cream or black olives! Well, there’s always tomorrow.)

This isn’t to diminish the “real” cooking you can do with the air fryer. There are a couple of channels on YouTube that do an exceptional job of showing things you can make, either starting with some prepared ingredients or going all in from scratch. But I’m old and live alone (except for cats) and I want to eat well but not do cooking that takes half the day. So I’ve assembled a list of things that I can do easily.

What about you? Do you have an air fryer? Thinking of getting one? No way, now or ever? What tips/hints/ideas do you have?

If anyone hears from Coloradowoodsman, let us know. He was supposed to meet with the new mortgage company to make arrangements. Morgansmom also had a small amount come in this week. For the others on this week’s needs list, see the Helping Humpday diary.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/2/2161650/-Does-that-really-work-in-the-air-fryer

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