In a modern grill, more and more often, new household appliances are replacing old household appliances, leaving no chance for the first. Now absolutely any process of home care can be improved and automated. An air grill is such a device, against the background of which the previous generation cooking tool will seem inconvenient and impractical. One of the main advantages is that it cooks exclusively on the supply of hot air, using neither gas, nor oil, nor fat.
Aerogrill replaces devices such as: oven, stove, microwave and even a double boiler. However, despite the abundance of useful functions in this device, it is not always possible to assess its necessity the first time. You may not need all the features offered by the manufacturer, for which no one wants to overpay. There are also features that you should pay attention to when choosing an air grill, and now we will analyze which ones.
Content
Airfryer selection
The device that is the subject of our discussion replaces most of the kitchen items in the house. So, the air grill contains the following functions:
● Frying;
● Cooking;
● Longing;
● Smoking;
● Roasting;
● Drying;
● Defrosting;
● Warming up;
● Sterilization.
Moreover, the quality of the dish that you get as a result will not differ in any way from what would have turned out on traditional kitchen appliances. Therefore, before choosing a home air grill, you need to decide on the following points:
● Preferred list of dishes;
● Cooking frequency;
● Products used (meat, fish, vegetables, etc.);
● Variety of menus.
Based on these factors, it is easier to determine the parameters of your future air grill, such as: power, volume of dishes, type of control and other characteristics of the device. At home, an air grill basically replaces the stove and oven. If you cook based on the recommended recipes, then the food will turn out to be of really high quality, and the life of the air grill will increase. In addition, due to this type of heat treatment of products in the device, the food retains a greater amount of nutrients, in contrast to the same cooking in oil.
Main differences
To choose a good device that will serve you for many years, you need to pay attention to the main parameters, namely:
● type of heating element,
● design features.
Let’s look at these options a little deeper.
What heating elements are used in air grills
Basically, there are three types of heating elements:
1. TEN;
2. Halogen;
3. Carbon;
heating element
The heating element is a thin curved metal tube. Inside it is a spiral. When current is applied, it glows and radiates heat. The main advantage is a long service life and high strength. Such a heating element lasts at least 10 years on average.
Halogen
A halogen heater is a kind of analogue of a light device. It also consists of a flask that is filled with gas and a spiral. The principle of its operation is very similar to the heating element, but the main advantage is the relatively rapid achievement of the required temperature. However, its main drawback is strength, or rather its absence. A halogen heater can easily break even from the softest fall due to its fragility, and also, if there is a poor-quality protective grid, then sooner or later a layer of fat will form on the surface of the flask. This will undoubtedly affect the functioning of the heater.
A halogen heater lasts on average about 2 years, even with careful and careful use. After this period, it has to be changed, or the entire convection oven needs to be changed.
Carbon
A carbon heater looks practically no different from a halogen heater – it also has an elongated glass bulb, but it contains a thicker spiral of carbon material. When the current passes through the coil, the heater emits infrared radiation, which allows you to accurately reach the set temperature in the shortest possible time.
Such a carbon heater has the following advantages:
1. High energy efficiency (maximum efficiency);
2. Low energy consumption;
3. Service life not less than 6 years;
4. Accurate temperature setting.
Design
Any grill has the same components: a lid, a control panel and a bowl. However, the components of each grill also differ in the following ways:
1. Volume;
2. Stand format;
3. Cover fixing;
4. Functional features.
Second plan options
There are also secondary parameters, due to which the features of the air grill become very diverse. The grill, thanks to these features, can be chosen absolutely for any preferences. These features are:
1. Features of the control system;
2. Variety of fastening of the cover;
3. Complete set;
4. Power.
Let’s take a look at these options in more detail.
Control system
There are two types of airfryer control system:
1. Electronic;
2. Mechanical.
Electronic
The first option expands the possibilities of using the air grill many, many times over. Thanks to this type of control, you can change the temperature, blowing speed, time and much more. This type of management can be advised to e connoisseurs of the variety of dishes and experimenters. In addition, cooking automation for certain recipes is added to this type of plus control. However, the main disadvantage of the electronic type of control system is the price. Yes, oddly enough, but for more modern technologies you have to pay more than for mechanical aerogrills.
Mechanical
A mechanical grill is a more primitive device. Such a control system allows you to change the time and temperature parameters, but already manually. The advantage is ease of use for not too knowledgeable users. Also, there is a limited number of operating options here. However, such a device will cost you a little cheaper than the first option.
For example, among models with mechanical control, one can note the air grill from Delta. Very budget model with good reviews.
Equipment
This setting is quite individual. The package will depend not only on the manufacturer, but also on the seller, so carefully read the description and characteristics of the air grill before purchasing.
Separate the following components:
1. Lattices (in height) – lower, middle, high or one adjustable;
2. Trays;
3. Forceps;
4. Pallet;
5. Skewers;
Power
The power depends on how much energy the air grill will consume, and how quickly it will cook. In modern models, the power varies from 600 watts to 1800 watts and even higher. For occasional use, you can purchase a low-power device: trips to a country house, trips to nature, a summer house.
Models with a power rating of 1600 watts or more are a fixture of professional kitchens where food is cooked quickly, often and a lot. An ideal option for a home would be an air grill with a power of 1200-1400 watts. In addition, it should be enough with a margin – otherwise the convection oven will function for wear and tear and is subject to rapid deterioration.
Lid
Types of covers are divided into the following types:
1. Removable;
2. On the bracket.
The removable lid is famous for being much more compact, while there is an additional possibility to install a ring to increase the capacity of the bowl. Despite this, be careful: during cooking, the lid heats up to two hundred degrees, so it will not be possible to simply remove and put the lid on a random surface.
The lid on the brackets does not have this feature, but the appliance will be much higher and will take up additional space in the kitchen. It is also necessary to pay attention to the quality of the fasteners so that the operation of this type of device does not take the shortest possible time.
Volume
By volume, aerogrills differ in three categories:
1. Small – 2-7 liters;
2. Medium – 8-12 liters;
3. Large – up to 18 liters;
Before choosing a grill, consider in your head the frequency of cooking on it. It is the frequency and volume of cooking that will determine the capacity of your air grill. For example, for an average family, a device with a volume of 10-12 liters is suitable, however, with frequent holidays and meetings of guests, an air grill with a volume of 18 liters would undoubtedly be suitable.
Among models with a large volume, KT-2236 from Kitfort can be noted, in which the volume reaches up to 15 liters. The heating element is located inside the heating element and the power is as much as 1800 watts. At the same time, the model is quite budgetary, at the time of publication of the article, the cost varies about 14 thousand ***.
Conclusion
Now you know how to choose the right air grill model and you can easily figure out the characteristics of the device in front of you. The main thing to build on is cooking preferences. Everything in your future air grill will depend on this: power, equipment, type of control, volume, and so on. Also extremely important parameters when choosing a device is the type of heating element and design features.
Did we forget to mention something? Be sure to write about it in the comments. Thank you for your attention!
If you are still thinking not only about buying an air grill, but also a vacuum cleaner, then we recommend the article “How to choose a home vacuum cleaner and what to look for when buying”.
