Johannesburg - Air fryers aren’t quite what they seem – they are essentially small fan-driven ovens that heat up to very high temperatures and can be used for a variety of functions, not only frying.
I was recently given a DeLonghi Multifry to try out, but I wasn’t very enthusiastic as I am not a great chip lover. And, having previously tested low-oil fryers, I decided that an appliance like this makes sense if you eat a lot of deep- fried food.
But I have to admit that after having the machine on my kitchen counter for a few weeks now, I am reluctant to give it back. In fact I only recently even tried frying chips in it as I was too busy discovering how many amazing applications this machine has.
One of the first dishes I tried was a beef stew and the multifry cooked it perfectly in just over an hour, and I didn’t even have to stir it once.
I next decided to try a baked cheesecake. Having done one in a pressure cooker, I thought I could fill the machine with water and bake the cheesecake in the “bain marie”.
This did not work, as the machine kept cutting out. I tipped out the water and put the tin containing the cheesecake directly into the machine and in less than 30 minutes it was baked to perfection without a single crack, which can easily happen if you bake a cheesecake in the oven without a bain marie.
With only having to cook for two in my household, the multifry was the perfect alternative to switching on my large oven. It required no or little pre-heating and baked as well as my traditional oven when I prepared muffins, focaccia and roast chicken, and scrummy baked apples.
Oh yes, I almost forgot, you can also use it to fry chips. If you use frozen chips, pop them straight into the fryer with no oil and in 20 minutes you have crisp, delicious chips. If you make chips from scratch, toss them in about 15ml of oil and in 20 minutes you also have crisp, golden chips.
The fryer makes use of SHS (Surround Heat System) technology which means the heat generated surrounds the food and cooks it evenly.
The upper heating element and fan deliver uniform heat from the top, and the lower heating element delivers heat from the bottom. The removable mixing paddle slowly stirs the food to promote even cooking.
Cleaning the machine is made easy by the fact that the lid, paddle and bowl are dishwasher-safe.
The pre-set programmes for cooking chips or roasting sweet potatoes are a good idea. Set it and when it’s done, it will switch itself off.
The removable paddle makes the machine versatile as when you remove it you can bake muffins, cheesecake, pizza, fry meatballs and roast a spatchcocked chicken.
With the paddle in place, when you make stews, soups or casseroles it keeps your mixture moving which saves you constantly having to stir.
The BPA-free transparent lid lets you check the food during cooking/frying. You can open the lid at any time during the cooking to check the food. The machine stops working when the lid is opened, but resumes automatically when you close it.
DeLonghi have an app you can download with recipes. I used it as a guide when making my own recipes to make sure I was using the correct settings and timings.
The machine is pricey, selling for R3 999.
The Star