Love Is Not in the Air
Let me begin with an admission: I am not a cook who loves culinary gadgets. No electric egg boiler, banana slicer, or vegetable spiralizer for me. Nope. Keep your bamboo steamers and pancake makers. Give me a set of nice pots and pans, some sharp knives and big spoons, a few bowls, a thick wooden cutting board, and a corkscrew, and I’m pretty good to go. You might say I’m a bit old school when it comes to cooking.
Imagine my surprise then when a black plastic oval apparatus showed up unannounced on my front porch. It proclaimed to be an “Air Fryer,” but it looked more like a crazy sci-fi hair dryer from North Korea. It wasn’t in a box. There was neither a note nor an instruction manual. Nevertheless, I had a good idea who had left it. He regularly gives me all sorts of lovely gifts before departing Rehoboth each winter for sunny south Florida. Last year’s gift was a tub of synthetic butter and two bags of frozen pattypan squash.
The machine was used, but it was clean. Still, there was a faint whiff of cooking oil surrounding it. As a Southerner, I am used to frying in oil. I like the danger. But frying with air? The concept seemed so banal. I left the big black egg outside on the porch for a week to air out while I pondered what to do with the contraption.
Air fryers, I learned, have been around since 2010. They burst onto America’s culinary consciousness in 2016 when Oprah added it to her annual “must-have” list and a few celebrity chefs began touting them. New Orleans super chef Emeril Lagasse even launched his own Emeril Power AirFryer 360, promising to elevate practically any meal by cooking in a whirlwind of superheated hot air instead of fat.
Fry without the guilt! No wonder American consumers have gone gaga for the air fryer. In 2020, the US air fryer market was worth $754.37 million dollars. There are so many brands and models of air fryers on the market today that fan clubs have formed, just like with cars. I found blogs, Pinterest groups, podcasts, and even influencers who just love the air fryer lifestyle.
There’s even a $12.99, 96-page glossy magazine titled Air Fryer. I spotted it on the rack while standing in the checkout lane at the Fresh Market. It was chock full of recipes, tips on selecting an air fryer, and even useful advice such as taking your air fryer on vacation. If Oprah and Emeril were air fryer lovers—and I’m oh so certain they are—then I figured I should give it a try.
I brought the air fryer inside, sat it on the kitchen counter, and plugged it in. I was hosting an intimate dinner party that evening and thought it would be fun to serve some air fried vegetables alongside a roasted chicken. How hard could it be?
If I were cooking conventionally, I’d simply put potatoes, mushrooms, and green beans in the roasting pan with the chicken, and two hours later everything would be done and ready to serve. Cooking them in the air fryer proved annoying. I had to air fry—a new culinary colloquialism—each vegetable dish in sequence and then figure out how to keep them all warm until the chicken was done, and it was time to eat. Work smarter, not harder, all the air fryer gurus say. This fry daddy says hogwash. Nevertheless, my dinner guests and I were excited to be part of America’s air fryer love fest!
Here’s the thing about love. It can be fleeting. Remember fondue sets, Hibachi grills, and bread makers?
The vegetables all came out of the air fryer with the same dingy brown color. They looked shriveled up. And they all tasted the same. Obviously, I’m not skilled with an air fryer, but seriously…. Perhaps the air fryer isn’t meant to be used with vegetables? According to the magazine, some of the most popular air fryer recipes are for chicken tenders, crumbed fish, French fries, and tater tots. Seriously? How much fried food can one eat on a regular basis? Do I really need an innovative new way to cook and eat macaroni and cheese?
Before the first bottle of wine at dinner was finished, I unplugged the Air Fryer and kicked it to the curb. My dinner guests cheered me on.
Of course, I didn’t give the air fryer a fair shake. While millions of people use an air fryer, I realized it wasn’t for me. I just wasn’t gonna love it. Not like I do my stainless steel electric brisker that I keep plugged in 24/7 to keep my Goldfish crackers dry and crunchy. Love can also be fickle. ▼
Rich Barnett is the author of The Discreet Charms of a Bourgeois Beach Town, and Fun with Dick and James.