The secret genius of the air fryer is revealed

The Advertiser

9 hours ago

This is the start of the third season of this engaging series that looks into the origins of everyday items.
Host Hannah Fry will take the long view in explaining things, which is what makes the series so good.
Take the investigation into air fryers, which have only been around for a little while.
Fry's story goes as far back as World War II and a US Navy pilot's efforts to work out a way of serving a hot meal in the skies.
His invention was quickly taken up by passenger airlines and ultimately ended up providing the quick cooking capabilities in the air fryer.
That is using heated air similar to the standard oven in your kitchen (yeah, despite the name, there is no frying going on) but, because the air fryer is much smaller the cooking time is decreased.
What also helps that speedy cooking time are those ridges at the bottom, which circulate the air around the food.
Back in 1999 when the original series under this name aired it was a bit of a big deal.
The BBC had splashed the cash to bring dinosaurs to life with some pretty good special effects for a TV show.
And it paid off in terms of ratings, with the show becoming one of the most popular science programs ever.
The same can't be said of this 2025 revamp. The world of special effects has moved forward a whole lot since 1999, with people expecting so much more realism.
And realism is a real problem for the new version of Walking With Dinosaurs. The effects that bring the dinos here are pretty unimpressive and sometimes even look a little dodgy.
At no stage in this episode did I think "wow, those dinosaurs look real". They always, always, always look fake.
It feels as though the makers realised the special effects were not up to scratch. The show regularly cuts away from the dinosaurs and to scenes of palaeontologists digging up fossils (though they appear to be re-enacting the moment of their discovery for the camera).
The two stories are meant to be linked - the palaeontologists are digging up the bones of the dinosaurs we see in the special effects scenes. But it doesn't really come off and instead feels the former is padding out time because the latter aren't good enough on their own to hold up the show.
Binge-watchers will be pleased that all six episodes of this show have been let loose on 7Plus at the same time.
That's a good thing because Stags is an unusual show that draws you in.
It's kind of like a nightmarish version of The Hangover movies in that it features a big party that goes very, very badly.
Here Stu is away in an unnamed South American country on his bucks party - called a Stag night in other parts of the world.
Much fun is being had until it all goes pear-shaped when one of their number gets busted trying to sneak a belly full of drugs out of the country.
That sees the lot of them end up in prison. But not just any prison, it's a jail on an island run by two warring siblings. You want anything - even food or medical attention - it costs money.
And the doctor on the island doesn't mind a little organ harvesting of prisoners.
The jail scenario doesn't make a lot of sense when you think about it, but the dark comedy and the endearing nature of the eight idiots abroad make it easy to overlook that.
This is the start of the third season of this engaging series that looks into the origins of everyday items.
Host Hannah Fry will take the long view in explaining things, which is what makes the series so good.
Take the investigation into air fryers, which have only been around for a little while.
Fry's story goes as far back as World War II and a US Navy pilot's efforts to work out a way of serving a hot meal in the skies.
His invention was quickly taken up by passenger airlines and ultimately ended up providing the quick cooking capabilities in the air fryer.
That is using heated air similar to the standard oven in your kitchen (yeah, despite the name, there is no frying going on) but, because the air fryer is much smaller the cooking time is decreased.
What also helps that speedy cooking time are those ridges at the bottom, which circulate the air around the food.
Back in 1999 when the original series under this name aired it was a bit of a big deal.
The BBC had splashed the cash to bring dinosaurs to life with some pretty good special effects for a TV show.
And it paid off in terms of ratings, with the show becoming one of the most popular science programs ever.
The same can't be said of this 2025 revamp. The world of special effects has moved forward a whole lot since 1999, with people expecting so much more realism.
And realism is a real problem for the new version of Walking With Dinosaurs. The effects that bring the dinos here are pretty unimpressive and sometimes even look a little dodgy.
At no stage in this episode did I think "wow, those dinosaurs look real". They always, always, always look fake.
It feels as though the makers realised the special effects were not up to scratch. The show regularly cuts away from the dinosaurs and to scenes of palaeontologists digging up fossils (though they appear to be re-enacting the moment of their discovery for the camera).
The two stories are meant to be linked - the palaeontologists are digging up the bones of the dinosaurs we see in the special effects scenes. But it doesn't really come off and instead feels the former is padding out time because the latter aren't good enough on their own to hold up the show.
Binge-watchers will be pleased that all six episodes of this show have been let loose on 7Plus at the same time.
That's a good thing because Stags is an unusual show that draws you in.
It's kind of like a nightmarish version of The Hangover movies in that it features a big party that goes very, very badly.
Here Stu is away in an unnamed South American country on his bucks party - called a Stag night in other parts of the world.
Much fun is being had until it all goes pear-shaped when one of their number gets busted trying to sneak a belly full of drugs out of the country.
That sees the lot of them end up in prison. But not just any prison, it's a jail on an island run by two warring siblings. You want anything - even food or medical attention - it costs money.
And the doctor on the island doesn't mind a little organ harvesting of prisoners.
The jail scenario doesn't make a lot of sense when you think about it, but the dark comedy and the endearing nature of the eight idiots abroad make it easy to overlook that.
This is the start of the third season of this engaging series that looks into the origins of everyday items.
Host Hannah Fry will take the long view in explaining things, which is what makes the series so good.
Take the investigation into air fryers, which have only been around for a little while.
Fry's story goes as far back as World War II and a US Navy pilot's efforts to work out a way of serving a hot meal in the skies.
His invention was quickly taken up by passenger airlines and ultimately ended up providing the quick cooking capabilities in the air fryer.
That is using heated air similar to the standard oven in your kitchen (yeah, despite the name, there is no frying going on) but, because the air fryer is much smaller the cooking time is decreased.
What also helps that speedy cooking time are those ridges at the bottom, which circulate the air around the food.
Back in 1999 when the original series under this name aired it was a bit of a big deal.
The BBC had splashed the cash to bring dinosaurs to life with some pretty good special effects for a TV show.
And it paid off in terms of ratings, with the show becoming one of the most popular science programs ever.
The same can't be said of this 2025 revamp. The world of special effects has moved forward a whole lot since 1999, with people expecting so much more realism.
And realism is a real problem for the new version of Walking With Dinosaurs. The effects that bring the dinos here are pretty unimpressive and sometimes even look a little dodgy.
At no stage in this episode did I think "wow, those dinosaurs look real". They always, always, always look fake.
It feels as though the makers realised the special effects were not up to scratch. The show regularly cuts away from the dinosaurs and to scenes of palaeontologists digging up fossils (though they appear to be re-enacting the moment of their discovery for the camera).
The two stories are meant to be linked - the palaeontologists are digging up the bones of the dinosaurs we see in the special effects scenes. But it doesn't really come off and instead feels the former is padding out time because the latter aren't good enough on their own to hold up the show.
Binge-watchers will be pleased that all six episodes of this show have been let loose on 7Plus at the same time.
That's a good thing because Stags is an unusual show that draws you in.
It's kind of like a nightmarish version of The Hangover movies in that it features a big party that goes very, very badly.
Here Stu is away in an unnamed South American country on his bucks party - called a Stag night in other parts of the world.
Much fun is being had until it all goes pear-shaped when one of their number gets busted trying to sneak a belly full of drugs out of the country.
That sees the lot of them end up in prison. But not just any prison, it's a jail on an island run by two warring siblings. You want anything - even food or medical attention - it costs money.
And the doctor on the island doesn't mind a little organ harvesting of prisoners.
The jail scenario doesn't make a lot of sense when you think about it, but the dark comedy and the endearing nature of the eight idiots abroad make it easy to overlook that.
This is the start of the third season of this engaging series that looks into the origins of everyday items.
Host Hannah Fry will take the long view in explaining things, which is what makes the series so good.
Take the investigation into air fryers, which have only been around for a little while.
Fry's story goes as far back as World War II and a US Navy pilot's efforts to work out a way of serving a hot meal in the skies.
His invention was quickly taken up by passenger airlines and ultimately ended up providing the quick cooking capabilities in the air fryer.
That is using heated air similar to the standard oven in your kitchen (yeah, despite the name, there is no frying going on) but, because the air fryer is much smaller the cooking time is decreased.
What also helps that speedy cooking time are those ridges at the bottom, which circulate the air around the food.
Back in 1999 when the original series under this name aired it was a bit of a big deal.
The BBC had splashed the cash to bring dinosaurs to life with some pretty good special effects for a TV show.
And it paid off in terms of ratings, with the show becoming one of the most popular science programs ever.
The same can't be said of this 2025 revamp. The world of special effects has moved forward a whole lot since 1999, with people expecting so much more realism.
And realism is a real problem for the new version of Walking With Dinosaurs. The effects that bring the dinos here are pretty unimpressive and sometimes even look a little dodgy.
At no stage in this episode did I think "wow, those dinosaurs look real". They always, always, always look fake.
It feels as though the makers realised the special effects were not up to scratch. The show regularly cuts away from the dinosaurs and to scenes of palaeontologists digging up fossils (though they appear to be re-enacting the moment of their discovery for the camera).
The two stories are meant to be linked - the palaeontologists are digging up the bones of the dinosaurs we see in the special effects scenes. But it doesn't really come off and instead feels the former is padding out time because the latter aren't good enough on their own to hold up the show.
Binge-watchers will be pleased that all six episodes of this show have been let loose on 7Plus at the same time.
That's a good thing because Stags is an unusual show that draws you in.
It's kind of like a nightmarish version of The Hangover movies in that it features a big party that goes very, very badly.
Here Stu is away in an unnamed South American country on his bucks party - called a Stag night in other parts of the world.
Much fun is being had until it all goes pear-shaped when one of their number gets busted trying to sneak a belly full of drugs out of the country.
That sees the lot of them end up in prison. But not just any prison, it's a jail on an island run by two warring siblings. You want anything - even food or medical attention - it costs money.
And the doctor on the island doesn't mind a little organ harvesting of prisoners.
The jail scenario doesn't make a lot of sense when you think about it, but the dark comedy and the endearing nature of the eight idiots abroad make it easy to overlook that.