What is an air grill and how to choose a decent model?

Surely many have heard of such a device as an air grill. How can he come in handy on the farm and what is it all about? In fact, an air grill (or, as it is also called, a convection oven) is a very useful thing in the kitchen. This appliance is designed for the processing and cooking of food by streams of heated air.

Air grills were invented in the mid-eighties of the last century in the USA. Well, in the nineties they appeared on our market. And it was then that the beautiful word "aerogrill" was attached to them.

The device and equipment

A modern air grill is a transparent bowl or a flask with a stand and with a lid that covers the entire structure from above. Inside the lid is a heater (tubular electric heater) and a fan, and outside is a control panel.

In some budget models, instead of heating elements, halogen heating elements are used. The glass of the bowl when using halogens is practically not subject to oxidation and corrosion, and this is a clear plus. However, at the same time, halogen heaters have a modest working life and a not too long service life. Usually it is 3 years. In metal heating elements, by the way, this indicator is much larger - 8-10 years.

In addition to the elements listed above, grills for cooking meat are usually included in the air grill package. As a rule, there are three of them, and they differ in height. Often in the kit you can see a special mesh baking sheet, which may be needed for cooking steamed and deep-fried foods, as well as for drying. Most inexpensive models, plus everything, are equipped with a metal ring - it is installed on top of the bowl and serves to increase and adjust its volume.

Principle of work and varieties

The principle of operation of the air grill is as follows: the heater is heated to the desired temperature, then, under the influence of the fans, multidirectional hot air enters the bowl, uniformly blows food and warms it with high quality. As a result, you can bake, fry, stew, cook the dish in the air grill. By the way, the temperature of heating the air varies here in the range from +60 to +260 degrees.

Air grills can have one of two control types:

• mechanical;
• electronic.

Mechanically controlled models are quite simple - they have only one operating mode. In general, this option is gradually becoming a thing of the past, but it has one obvious advantage: the price of air grills with this control is quite low.

Electronically controlled devices have several speeds and operating modes, as well as various additional functions. For example, modern air grills are equipped with timers, and therefore the presence and constant monitoring of a person is not necessary. The device will automatically turn off at the right time.

Many electronic grills have the function "Maintain temperature." It allows after the cooking process to continue to simmer the dish in hot air.

Another useful feature is Self-cleaning. The bowls of modern air grills are made of unbreakable heat-resistant glass, so they are quite heavy and it is not easy to take care of them. The self-cleaning function makes everything extremely simple: you just need to pour water with detergent into the air grill and press the button.

The presence of the height adjustment function will also be a nice bonus for customers. This function allows you to place dishes higher or lower in relation to the heating element.

Advantages

The air grill is able to replace other appliances, for example, a microwave oven, a toaster, an electric stove, a double boiler. This is a very significant argument in favor of its acquisition for those who still doubt whether this appliance is needed or not in the kitchen.

• The advantage of an air grill is that it can be cooked without oil, margarine and fat - absolutely nothing will stick to the bowl.
• In the air grill, you can cook several dishes at a time, and this distinguishes it from a similar appliance - a multicooker.
• Since the cooking container is transparent, the whole process can be observed from the side.
• Aerogrill allows you to cook or reheat food in absolutely any dish

How to choose a good model?

First of all, the buyer should learn about the functions of the device. And you should not always choose the most "sophisticated" aerogrill. Why is it needed if it is supposed to be used only for certain purposes? A large number of functions in many situations seems redundant.

It is also worth looking at the offered equipment. It is good if the kit includes tongs for replacing and grabbing ready-made dishes. The presence of skewers for chicken and skewers is also a significant advantage.

Another important point - it is better to choose models with a removable cord. This will facilitate both washing and storage of the appliance. But the removable lid on the air grill is not very convenient. In the process of cooking, you will probably have to look for a place where to put it, very hot. The cover attached to the body with the bracket is much more practical - it will always be in place. And you should definitely look at the place of its junction with the body. Mounts should be metal, not plastic, since the cover has a solid weight.

Tip

If possible, choose a model of an air grill with a removable protective grill (it is designed to protect heating elements). Of course, this grill gets clogged pretty quickly, and if it is removable, it will be much easier to care for. It is enough to unscrew the bolts, remove it, wash it and put it in place.

What can be cooked in an air grill?

Aerogrill can actually be considered a universal device for cooking any kind of hot food. So what can you cook with it?

• You can cook borscht, soups and other first dishes in the air grill. Here, for example, you can make tasty porridge, bake potatoes in pots, cook pizza.
• Defrosting various foods and heating ready-made meals is also quite feasible in aerogrill.
• You can cook, stew and bake vegetables in the air grill.
• In the preparation of homemade yogurt and cottage cheese, the device in question will surely become a faithful assistant for the housewife.
• You can not do without a convection oven and when creating blanks for the winter - when pickling and canning, as well as drying for the winter mushrooms, fruits, berries and vegetables.
• For hot-smoked processes, for deep-fried and steam cooking, it is also important to use this machine.
• Those who want to test their culinary abilities can bake pies, rolls or, for example, home-made fragrant bread in an air-grill. It is also important that you can cook baked goods from almost any type of dough without any problems.
• Meat and fish are perfectly fried in the air grill, and without the use of sunflower oil. Want to cook fish fillet or chicken cutlets? No problems! Grilling kebabs with an air grill is also quite possible.
• Among other things, using this technique you can, for example, cook jam and cook mulled wine.

So, an air grill, without a doubt, will facilitate the cooking process and take its rightful place in the kitchen. And many consumers have already seen in practice that this is such a device that can replace several other household appliances similar in function. That is, buying an air grill is an economical and reasonable choice.