Scientists have compared air-frying methods to traditional cooking techniques like sautéing, deep-frying, and boiling, leading to surprising conclusions.
Recently, researchers from the University of Birmingham (UK) and the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (Germany) compared various cooking methods to assess the sources of indoor air pollution.
To do this, they set up a kitchen in a laboratory and examined different techniques used to cook chicken breasts. The methods included: pan-frying, deep-frying, sautéing, boiling, and using an air fryer.
These findings provide another reason for home cooks to trust air fryers (Photo: Getty).
Using particulate matter (PM) concentration meters, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and chemical pollutants found in food, scientists discovered that air frying is the least polluting method.
Specifically, for PM, measurements were taken in micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3), showing peak levels of 92.9 μg/m3 for pan-frying, 26.7 μg/m3 for deep-frying, 7.7 μg/m3 for sautéing, 0.7 μg/m3 for boiling, and only 0.6 μg/m3 for air frying. This result is 150 times lower compared to pan-frying.
For VOCs, measured in parts per billion, the highest levels recorded were 260 during pan-frying, 230 during deep-frying, 110 during sautéing, 30 during boiling, and 20 during air frying.
Therefore, frying chicken in a pan will release an average of 13 times more volatile compounds compared to using an air fryer.
These findings offer another reason for home cooks to trust air fryers, as they reduce the presence of pollutants in the home, which are associated with health issues like respiratory infections, heart failure, and dementia.
The researchers emphasized that, regardless of the cooking method used, it is crucial to keep the kitchen well-ventilated during and after cooking.
