Latest news with #homeChefs
Irish Times
26-05-2025
- Irish Times
Cooking a whole chicken in an airfryer? It might save you money
Have you cooked a whole chicken in an air fryer yet? Converts to this small, countertop appliance will tell you it's a faster, healthier and often tastier way to cook most things. An airfryer can save you money too – by halving the cooking time for some items, it also halves cooking costs. It's no wonder cooking purists, once skeptical of the hype, are succumbing to a 'middle aisle' deal. Some new owners report not having turned on a conventional oven in weeks. So how does the air fryer work? An air fryer isn't really a fryer at all. It's actually a high-intensity convection oven. It uses a combination of radiation and convection to cook food. READ MORE A heating element near the top of the fryer gives off heat into the cooking chamber – radiation. A fan circulates the heated air rapidly – the convection bit. This creates a very intense heat transfer. While a convection oven is typically big and takes a while to heat up, an air fryer is small and takes no time at all. That's where the savings come in. Research by consumer magazine Which? found that households cooking with an air fryer can make considerable savings on energy costs compared to those using a built-in electric oven, particularly if you are only cooking small amounts. Testing the device by cooking regular staples like a whole chicken, chips, a jacket potato and even a cake, Which? researchers found the air fryer used less than half the energy of an oven – and the results were just as tasty. A chicken in an air fryer was cooked 23 minutes faster than in a conventional built-in electric oven, and it used half the electricity. This more than halved the cooking cost too, from 31p (28c) to just 15p (13c), according to the research. Cook a roast chicken once a week for a year and you would save £8.30 (€9.85). Cooking oven chips was faster too. The air fryer shaved 10 minutes off the cooking time and cooking them was a third less expensive than using an electric oven. But surely the oven will trump the air fryer for baking a cake? Not so, according to the Which? research. A cake that took 56 minutes in the oven was done in just 33 minutes in an air fryer. The cost was a winner too, with cooking in the air fryer costing over two thirds less. The Which? research was based on UK electricity prices, but you can do your own calculation by multiplying the power rating of your air fryer (in watts) by the time in hours that the appliance is running and dividing this by 1,000. This is the energy consumption in kilowatt hours (kWh). Then multiply this figure by the cost of energy to get the cost. The average price of electricity this month in Ireland per unit is 34.63c per kWh, according to price comparison website, Selectra. This is based on a standard, 24-hour urban rate comparing all providers with VAT included. This is more expensive than the UK rate of 27.03p/kWh used in the Which? calculations. So air fryer users here can expect even bigger savings. Air fryers don't have as much space as a conventional oven, however, so if you have lots to cook, doing it all in the oven together rather than using the air fryer multiple times may be the more economical choice.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Say Goodbye To Greasy Pizza With This Ingenious Pepperoni Hack
No one wants to pull a pizza out of the oven only to see shiny pools of grease sitting on top of the pepperonis. If you're looking for a crisp, flavorful slice, it's not exactly the vibe you want, having grease drip down your hand each time you take a bite. Thankfully, there's a simple way to avoid this issue and it doesn't involve skipping the pepperoni (because that's not an option). Grease ultimately comes from fat being released during the cooking process, so you just have to find a way around it. Using the microwave is a quick way to reduce grease without losing that savory flavor. Place your pepperoni slices in a single layer on a paper towel-lined plate and microwave them for 20 to 30 seconds, or until they start to release the grease. As they warm up, the fat will begin to pool on the surface of the paper towel. Once the timer goes off, take another paper towel and gently blot the tops to remove any remaining grease. This step not only helps lower the overall grease content but also slightly pre-cooks the pepperoni so it gets a little crispier in the oven. When you transfer the slices to your pizza, they're less likely to ooze excess oil as they bake since you've already removed a good amount. You're still getting the same great flavor, but the finished result will have a cleaner texture. This is especially helpful if you're working with store-bought or lower-cost pepperoni which is often fattier than premium brands. Even with higher-end varieties, though, pre-cooking helps maintain a crisp top layer. Read more: Once-Popular Pizza Styles That Are Slowly Disappearing Look, you have some healthy pizza options, but this isn't really a debate about healthy or unhealthy. This is about improving flavor and texture without sacrificing on toppings. When your pizza isn't drowning in grease, the sauce stands out more, the cheese stays melty but not soupy (you'll want to choose a cheese that doesn't break down too easy), and the crust actually has a chance to stay crisp. This method works especially well for pizzas that use a thinner crust or lighter toppings. When there's less structure to absorb excess moisture, grease can make everything feel weighed down. Even thick, hearty pizzas benefit from this step because it helps each bite taste more balanced. Instead of being hit with a mouthful of oil, you get the pleasant, meaty flavor you expect from well-cooked pepperoni. If you're sharing with others, this little adjustment can go unnoticed in terms of effort, but it makes a big impact on the overall result. It's one of those tricks that, once you start using it, you won't want to skip it again. With just a microwave and a couple of paper towels, your next pizza night can be a lot more enjoyable. Now you can stack those ronies until your heart's content because you can never have too many. For more food and drink goodness, join The Takeout's newsletter. Get taste tests, food & drink news, deals from your favorite chains, recipes, cooking tips, and more! Read the original article on The Takeout.
