Am I the only one who saw the air fryer demo at the Portland farmers market?

They were cooking Brussels sprouts for the crowd, but they kept opening the basket every minute to shake it. I thought the whole point was to set it and forget it for even cooking. Does constantly checking really make that big of a difference, or are they just making a show?

3 comments

3 Comments

lucasking2mo ago

My aunt swears by shaking her fries every five minutes for crispiness. She says it stops them from steaming in their own moisture. I just let the machine do its thing and they turn out fine.

anthonyhunt2mo ago

So what's the actual science behind shaking the basket? I read that it moves the hot air around the food better, so nothing gets a cold spot and steams instead of crisps. But opening it too much lets all the heat out and messes with the cooking time. Maybe they were just doing it for the demo crowd to show the food cooking. Do you shake yours, or just let it run?

dianagreen1mo ago

Wait, does shaking the basket actually help or am I just dramatically tossing my food around for no reason? Honestly, I shake mine mostly out of habit and a little bit of theater, like I'm a chef in a cooking show. I have burned my arm on the basket more times than I care to admit because I get too aggressive with the shaking. But for fries and chicken tenders, I swear it helps them get that crunch. For stuff like veggies or frozen mozz sticks, I just let it sit, because they don't seem to need the extra handling.