Whipping up breakfast in the morning can sometimes seem a bit of a chore, yet air fryers have simplified cooking prep massively – it’s even a bit better for our health. Air fryers aren’t just easy to use; they’re also a boon for keeping those energy bills down.
Last November, culinary whiz Sam Stern demonstrated that even the ultimate boiled egg isn’t beyond the scope of the air fryer. Stern assured that the results are “exactly the same” as their traditionally boiled counterparts.
To achieve this, eggs are left in their shells and placed into the air fryer for around eight and a half minutes before taking a quick chill plunge in a bowl of ice-cold water. Just a two-minute cooldown and the eggs are ready to be peeled, revealing beautifully soft and runny yolks within, reports the Express.
It’s a potential time and effort saver when rustling up your morning eggs, but some argue the classic methods are best. Food safety experts at CPD Online College say that there’s a handful of food items, including eggs, that you might want to think twice about cooking in your beloved air fryer.
They said: “Although it is safe to cook eggs in an air fryer, the taste and texture may not be desirable. For example, boiled eggs may become chewy and rubbery when cooked in an air fryer.”
The culinary experts over at BBC Good Food concur, citing that particularly with hard-boiled eggs, you might end up with a rubbery texture, with traditional approaches giving tastier results. Nonetheless, if you’re keen on giving your air fryer a go at eggs, BBC Good Food recommended cooking a medium egg straight from the fridge at 125°C for ten minutes for an outcome that’s sure to be edible.
Another issue was raised concerning cooking eggs in an air fryer due to the unpleasant odour that persists afterwards. Millie Fender, who tested the method for T3, experienced a significant drawback as her air fryer retained an unfortunate smell.
She said: “The main downside to this technique is the smell, because three attempts later, there were no amount of scented candles that could get rid of the sulphuric scent from my kitchen.
“At one point, my partner even emerged from his office to complain about the egg smell and looked mildly horrified at the number of partially-peeled failed attempts sitting on our kitchen counter.”