I did it.
I broke down and bought an air fryer.
I had been thinking about one for a while, and that gigantic online retailer had a big sale recently, so I was able to get a 4-quart machine for about 30% off.
It was frying falafel that changed my mind.
Not so much the actual frying, but cleaning up after frying a batch of falafel. I ended up pouring the used oil first into a liquid measuring cup and then back into the empty bottle before getting it in the trash.
And there were little drops of oil all over the stove — just a fine misting from putting the chickpea balls in the oil and letting them sizzle there.
It felt wasteful to toss the oil because I’m sure more things could have been fried, but I don’t really have the space to properly store used oil, and I don’t fry that often to justify making space for it.
When I started thinking about buying an air fryer, I thought of all the things I generally don’t make at home because of the mess of frying: doughnuts, chislic, wings. With an air fryer, I could make these at home.
I’ve been fairly critical of air fryers; they are just small convection ovens. But I don’t have a big convection oven, and an air fryer is much cheaper than a new oven.
It’s true there are a lot of kitchen gadgets that get purchased and are never or rarely used. Some because they’re a pain to clean, others because they’re just not practical.
There are a few ways to make sure those kitchen gadgets don’t just become expensive dust collectors, the first being wanting the thing in the first place.
Research what it can and can’t do, find recipes that sound good that use the gadget and see if a friend will allow theirs to be borrowed or used.
The second is making kitchen gadgets easy to use.
I have very limited counter space, which means I have to come up with creative storage solutions for my culinary arsenal. Most of my devices are easy to get to but stored off the counter, either in a cupboard or on a shelf.
My lefse griddle, which only gets used once or twice a year, lives in the basement, while my stand mixer holds a place of honor with a permanent spot on the counter. Mostly because it’s fairly heavy and not a good thing to be moving around and lifting all the time.
We all have kitchen gadgets we can’t live without, and we all have regretful purchases of things that either ended up at a thrift shop or in the garbage. Hopefully the regretful ones didn’t cost too much.
Air fryer sweet potato fries
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled.
- 2 teaspoons canola.
- 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder.
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika.
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 380. Peel the sweet potatoes, then slice each potato into even ¼-inch-thick sticks.
- Place the sweet potatoes in a large mixing bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, garlic powder, paprika and black pepper.
- Cook in two or three batches, depending on the size of your basket, without overcrowding the pan, until they’re crispy, about 12 minutes, turning half way.
- Serve immediately with a favorite dipping sauce.
Recipe adapted from Feel Good Foodie.
