s a professional chef, health and fit-
ness expert and entrepreneur, I lead
a rather busy, hectic professional
life. I am also the mother of six
ACTIVE (yes, all caps) boys. I want us to eat
well, but I need to balance that with simplic-
ity and trying to satisfy the finicky taste buds
of a tableful of kids. Thankfully, preparing
tasty, healthy meals does not need to take a
lot of time with the latest appliances, includ-
ing one of my favorites: the air fryer.
An air fryer is just what the name says;
it cooks food through the circulation of
superheated air (up to ;;; F). In essence,
hot air replaces the fat or grease that is used
in traditional frying methods. The movement of heated air around and through the
cooking basket locks in flavor and creates a
perfectly crispy exterior.
An air fryer is similar to a convection
oven, as both use hot air to cook. Ovens,
however, don’t use rapid air movement to
Air extras
Want more ways to use your
air fryer? Here are four tips.
1. For traditional oven-
baked recipes, experiment
with cooking temperatures
and time. Generally, reduce
the temperature by 20 to 25
degrees and the cooking time
by 40 to 45 percent.
2. Cook all meals at one
time. Put the food with the
longest cooking time in first;
add the remaining parts of
the meal as the clock counts
down to have them all finish
at the same time.
3. For crispier food, spray
a thin coating of your favorite
healthy oil on the food.
4. Is your leftover takeout soggy? Your air fryer can
come to the rescue to reheat
last night’s dinner and keep
it tasting fresh.—CC
cook, relying instead on heating elements
and fans to disperse the heat.
Air fryers are easy to use. They cook
food in a fraction of the time it takes for
stovetop or oven cooking. They use little
to no fatty oil or messy grease, so they are
ideal for preparing healthy meals. And, as
my boys can tell you, air-fried cooking still
satisfies the craving for the irresistible
crunch of their favorite fried foods. You
know, things like fried chicken, french fries,
crispy hot wings, fried shrimp, fried poppers,
kale chips, onion rings, chocolate banana
empanadas and apple hand pies.
And I don’t mind them eating any of
that, because there is no unwanted fat or
grease, no overload of calories, no cholesterol worries or any of the other issues
involved with traditional frying.
Another good thing about owning an
air fryer is they are far from being one-dimensional. Not only can I fry with mine,
A
Frying
with air
Air fryers are a fast way
to fry, bake, roast and
grill your favorite foods
by CAT CORA
Cat Cora
is a chef, author,
restaurateur,
contributing editor,
television host and
personality, health
and fitness expert,
and lifestyle
entrepreneur.
C
L
A
R
K
J
AC
K
S
O
N
COSTCO
CONNECTION
The Costco-exclusive
Gourmia Digital Air
Fryer, Item #1232432,
is available in limited
quantities in select
warehouses and
on Costco.com.
Air fryer cookbooks
are available at most
Costco locations.