The oil-free fryer, also called an airfryer, uses forced air to cook food and promises healthier cooking. A dietician did the test with a cone of fries.
The oil-free fryer, or airfryer, promises healthy, tasty and easy-to-prepare cooking, all in record time. The name is a little misleading: in fact, you still need a small amount of oil for the device to work and fry food. “The fryer will heat the air inside the fryer, and ventilate it around the food. By adding a small quantity of oil to this hot air circulating at high speed, this creates a crispy texture almost similar to deep fryingwithout the need for a large quantity of oil”explains dietician Charles Brumauld to Women’s Journal.
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As the appliance requires less oil, the cooking will necessarily be less greasy. This is therefore the case for fries, which are very high in calories in fast food due to the quantity of oil in which they are bathed before being served. “Air fryer fries are less fatty”indicates Charles Brumauld to our colleagues. “What can contribute to weight regulation if we often eat fried products. But the accounting view of calories is not enough to regulate our food intake”he specifies.
A gap of 30%
According to Charles Brumauld, 100 grams of fries cooked in a conventional fryer correspond to approximately 285 calories, compared to about 200 calories per 100 grams of fries cooked in an airfryer, or around 30% fewer calories. Knowing that the number of calories also depends on the quantity of oil added.
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Nevertheless, “frying oils are often rich in omega-6 and saturated fatty acidsfats that we consume in excess today, to the detriment of omega 3 (rapeseed, flax, camelina oil, etc.)”, adds Charles Brumauld. There is no miracle recipe: if fries cooked with the airfryer are less greasy, This doesn’t mean you can eat it more frequently..
French fries exposed to a possible carcinogen
According to Charles Brumauld, fries cooked in an air fryer are associated to the production of acrylamide. According to ANSES, this is“a substance that forms when certain foods rich in asparagine (an amino acid) and starch are cooked at high temperatures [dont la pomme de terre, NDLR].” The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) also considers acrylamide to be proven carcinogen for animals and possible for humans.
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If cooking in an airfryer produces less acrylamide, Charles Brumauld estimates that “this remains a short and very intense cooking process, so not comparable to steaming or marinating, which better preserves nutrientsespecially those sensitive to heat. He therefore recommends “limit the frequency of consumption, even if, once again, everything has to be balanced with lifestyle.”
Journalist
Passionate about writing, Floréane is interested in a wide variety of subjects. When she is not writing about current affairs, the environment or gender issues, she takes refuge under a blanket…