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Manufactured Home Air Fryers Guide For An Healthy Food Cooking Alternative

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Crispy fried food prepared with very little or no single drop of oil can be a tempting offer. That’s exactly what air fryers promise.

Air fryers don’t really fry food. Rather, a fan circulates some hot air in the main compartment to rapidly cook and crisp a basketful of food.

Buffalo wings and French fries are just a start.

Air fryers can also do a superb job cooking a variety of other foods like vegetables – asparagus, kale, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower – fish, and chips.

This cooking technology probably helps explain the ever-increasing sales that make air fryers to be some of the most sought after countertop appliances.

If you are thinking quality air fryers then you have some proven brands to count on –

How do you choose an air fryer that meets your needs?

Firstly, you need to be clear with what you want the appliance to do for you.

If you are looking for a frying workhorse that will juggle chips, vegetables, and some baking jobs, then you should choose a hardy machine capable of doing the enormous work.

There’s no point in going for the biggest machine in the store when you are single or a family of two.

Secondly, you need to bear in mind a list of factors that determine a great product.

Eight Things To Look For In A Quality Manufactured Home Air Fryer

Here are the things to bear in mind when shopping for an air fryer:

  • Capacity vs Kitchen Space
  • Power Consumption
  • Safety
  • Preset Settings for Popular Meals
  • Additional Features
  • Cost v/s Budget
  • Ease of Cleaning
  • Smoke and noise levels

1. Capacity vs Kitchen Space

Buy an air fryer that will meet your cooking capacity needs.

The capacity of the unit may influence the size of the space it will occupy on your countertop.

Most of the products you will find in the store fall into three capacity categories:

0.5L – 2L

This is the lowest you could go. Products that fall in this capacity range are designed to adequately service a single-person household.

Also, if your kitchen has a limited countertop space, this is the best capacity category to choose from.

These models are normally compact enough to be brought into your motorhome or RV for easy cooking both on the road and in the wild.

The best thing about this capacity class is that it supports rapid cooking, something that makes them perfect for small families that wish to cook in batches.

2L – 4L

If you are a couple or a small family of, say, 3 people, this is the best capacity range for you. It can still work for a single-person household especially if you plan to use the machine more frequently.

Also, it can be just the right choice for those looking for a decent medium-sized machine that won’t take up a big space on the countertop.

4L – 6L

If you are a family of three to five individuals, this is the best capacity category to buy. It is perfect for large kitchens with a lot of counter space.

A family that prefers to prepare their meals in batches for the whole week might find this class capacity to be useful.

Also, if you like to entertain guests at your place, this is the perfect capacity for preparing appetizers or snacks for them.

It is worth mentioning that air fryers with two baskets let you fry two different foods simultaneously, hence boosting your cooking capacity.

2. Wattage

Not just any size of wattage would be good for your machine.

Ensure that the electrical outlet in your kitchen can support the wattage of the air fryer of your liking. If the outlet can support anything between 800 watts and 1500 watts, pretty every standard air fryer can work with it.

Also, note that high wattage means the air dryer will achieve higher temperatures and will also cook faster.

For greasy or frozen foods like frozen meat and peas, you need a machine with a high wattage rating.

Most of the air fryers you will find in the store are rated anywhere around 1800-W.

3. Power Consumption

The last thing you want is a bloat electricity bill as a result of power-hungry appliances in your kitchen. Most of the air fryers you will find in the store wattage rating in the region of 1,500-W and seldom consume more than 1 unit of power per day.

If you plan to cook for about 30 minutes with your machine, the maximum electricity you could consume can be about half a unit of that day’s electricity.

However, this can depend on an array of other factors, including the kind of air fryer model you choose.

The typical air fryer takes the utmost 15 minutes to complete an average cooking task. Most Air Fryers comes with a power rating not less than 1500-W, meaning less strain on your usual power consumption. Choosing a product higher than this means more power consumption.

4. Safety

You’d be surprised by the number of buyers who never factor in the safety of an air fryer before buying it. Choose a well-insulated product equipped with cold-touch hand grips.

These grips help reduce the chances of getting your hands burned while removing the basket.

Also, ensure that the base of the product of your choice has non-slip feet that prevent the machine from slipping off.

You want a product with a tight-locking lid with exterior basket controls. Be sure to check whether the air fryer is equipped with the auto shut-off feature so that you don’t end up over-cooking your food.

Are you looking forward to frying lots of chicken or French fries with the air fryer?

Be it hard-boiled eggs, Ravioli, raw vegetables, or raw greens, everyone has a list of specific favorite dishes that would be less boring to cook if you bought a unit with specific programmed settings.

Pretty every manufacturer has one or a few models in the market with a few pre-programmed settings for easy and fast cooking.

Air Fryer Recommendations

For example, the Cosori line of air fryers comes with 11 preset items from steak to chicken to dessert and vegetables.

Here are more recommendations:

6. Additional Features

Air fryers too come with additional features that serve to enhance your cooking experience. These additional functionalities also make some air fryers to be more versatile tools in your kitchen.

Here are some of the features you might find useful:

Air fryer/toaster ovens

Imagine a toaster oven and an air fryer in one unit!

This combination is quite popular especially for those who don’t want to buy the constituent units separately.

The best thing is that the combination resembles the conventional toaster oven and cuts on space.

It can bake, toast, and broil for you any time you feel like it.

Air fryer dehydrators


Are you a fan of homemade beef jerky or dehydrated fruits?

An air fryer dehydrator is a simple air fryer with dehydrating abilities.

Air fryers with this capability are some of the most sought after models in the market today.

Air fryer rotisserie cooker

Who doesn’t love the flavor of moist rotisserie chicken on the dinner table?

Fortunately, you can count on air fryers that come as a combo with a rotisserie cooker especially if your toaster oven is not equipped with this feature.

7. Cost v/s Budget

The least expensive air fryers are the best in terms of affordability, but you don’t want the affordability to trade off the quality. Of course, some units are more expensive than others. The cost of the appliance can depend on the amount of high tech packed inside.

For instance, digital air fryers are inherently the most expensive. This type of product includes a handy touch screen where the user can control the timer and temperature settings with a simple touch of a button.

Also, digital air fryers normally come with pre-set buttons to use with some of your favorite dishes.

These pre-programmed settings make it highly convenient if there’s a meal you love to eat consistently; just select your dish by pressing the button and the appliance will pre-heat it to the right temperature setting.

Air fryers are not cheap especially if you are looking for a quality product that will give you value for your money.

For that reason, you shouldn’t conduct extensive research and understand all the different kinds of fryers available to you.

This could save you some money especially when choosing from a few pricey yet quality products that can suit your needs best.

So, what’s the price range you should expect? Generally, prices do vary between locations. In the U.S, a popular model of an air fryer can range from $70 to $300 – 400.

The price tag is simply affected by an array of factors, chief of them being the onboard technology and, to some extent, the performance skills that a fryer comes with.

Air fryers with price tags in the mid-hundreds tend to be the most recent models and can be either traditional or digital.

While all air fryers deliver the same cooking results, the performance can vary considerably between two price points. Also, the more expensive models tend to include more features and settings to your liking.

Once you have made up your mind about the kind of product you want, with which features, it would be prudent for you to prepare a budget.

A budget helps you consider other complementary items you’d need alongside the toaster oven.

It also helps you set aside the amount of money you’d be willing to splash on even the most advanced product in the store.

8. Ease of Cleaning

Air fryers still produce a significant amount of grease while cooking even though they don’t use oil most of the time. Once in a while, you might want to add a few drops of oil to enhance your dishes. The tiny amount of oil will add a percentage of grease to what the machine is already generating.

The food basket of a typical air fryer comes with tiny holes to permit the hot air and steam to pass through.

If the basket is not cleaned by periodically clearing these holes, it may become clogged with food particles and other debris.

In the long run, your French fries will start to come out with dark or brownish marks.

You don’t want dirty food – be sure to select a product that’s easier to clean and one that can operate safely straight from the sink after washing (some appliances may short if you attempt to plug them in the outlet with water droplets still inside).

Do some research and understand the ease of cleaning for the product of your interest.

If it often hides water in some parts away from the main compartment, it presents two problems:

  • Firstly, you will be forced to separate all the parts and remove water from the holes, then wipe after every washing session.
  • Secondly, if water can penetrate the sections where it isn’t needed then it may pose a safety risk if you go ahead to plug it in the outlet without wiping. your air fryer a quick clean after every use, and do some research into how easy it will be to clean a prospective new air fryer will be.

Today, many air fryers come with removable dishwasher safe components.

If you opt for a model with a non-stick surface but don’t plan to wash it in your dishwasher, remember to check whether it will be easy to wash with your hands.

Some manufacturers tend to accompany their products with cleaning manuals.

9. Smoke and noise levels

Whether you choose the most energy-efficient or most basic product you could find, all air fryers out there produce some amount of noise and smoke. Because the fan has to circulate the air as the food cooks, a characteristic hissing sound can be heard from even the ‘silent’ machines although some models tend to be louder than this depending on the extra settings onboard. Generally, your appliance shouldn’t generate more noise than your air conditioner.

Besides noise, an air fryer produces smoke during cooking, just like a regular frying pan would. The smoke problem, however, can be handled better with a working ventilation system. Before buying one, therefore, think about your kitchen’s ventilation as well as the potential positioning of the air fryer to reduce the amount of smoke accumulating in the room.

The amount of smoke can depend on the kind of food in the air fryer. Fatty foods such as chicken and similar meats are known to produce more smoke than vegetables or French fries.

Summary

Crispy food is irresistible. Since oil can be unhealthy in some cases, it only makes sense that you get yourself an air fryer for your frying-related cooking.

How do you choose an air fryer that meets your needs? Firstly, you need to be clear with what you want the appliance to do for you.

If you are looking for a frying workhorse that will juggle chips, vegetables, and some baking jobs, then you should choose a hardy machine capable of doing the enormous work.

There’s no point in going for the biggest machine in the store when you are single or a family of two.

Secondly, you need to bear in mind a list of factors that determine a great product.

Buy an air fryer that will meet your cooking capacity needs.

The capacity of the unit may influence the size of the space it will occupy on your countertop.

The 0.5L – 2L capacity range is the lowest you could go.

Products that fall in this capacity range are designed to adequately service a single-person household

The 2L – 4L capacity range is ideal for a couple or a small family of, say, 3 people, this is the best capacity range for you

The 4L – 6L capacity range is perfect for a family of three to five individuals, this is the best capacity category to buy

Not just any size of wattage would be good for your machine.

Ensure that the electrical outlet in your kitchen can support the wattage of the air fryer of your liking.

If the outlet can support anything between 800 watts and 1500 watts, pretty every standard air fryer can work with it.

Most of the air fryers you will find in the store wattage rating in the region of 1,500-W and seldom consume more than 1 unit of power per day.

Choose a well-insulated product equipped with a cold-touch hand grip – these grips help reduce the chances of getting your hands burned while removing the basket

Pretty every manufacturer has one or a few models in the market with a few pre-programmed settings for easy and fast cooking.