Denise Van Outen, presenter of Channel 4's Air Fryers: Are they worth it?
Do you hear the constant whirring sound of fans before the sound of food being eaten? If so, you either use an air fryer or have watched plenty of documentaries about this trendy kitchen gadget.
While many new cooking appliances may remain untouched and unloved after being given as a Christmas gift , this humble device has won legions of fans, and as air fryer fever sweeps the UK, British broadcasters are joining in.
Fans will get into action this week when Channel 5 launches a four-part – yes, four-episode – series about air fryers. Having launched Air Fryers: Christmas Made Easy into the world of kitchen utensils on December 10, by the end of the next episode the channel will show nine documentaries about one kitchen equipment in just 124 days.
The first of two new episodes, airing Wednesday and Thursday, promises to show viewers how to cook a full Sunday lunch and host dinner parties using air fryers; The next pair, which will air in a week, will teach devotees how to prepare takeaway food and portion it out easily. It comes after Channel 4 launched in June when Denise van Outen demonstrated how fryers worked by standing under the dome of the Crystal Maze as gold tokens flew around her. The company has also ordered a gadget series from Jamie Oliver, sponsored by Tefal, which will air later in the spring.
But it is Channel 5 that is churning out volumes of documentaries about fast food-style air fryers. In recent years, under the leadership of content director Ben Frow, it has built a reputation for its almost comic laser focus on its loyal viewers, who are often older and live in the north of England. Many of its most popular factual shows focus on the railways, Yorkshire and the royal family.
The air fryer documentaries, directed by Alexis Conran and airing so far on Channel 5, have each attracted more than a million live viewers, exceeding their time slots. So what is it about air fryers that gives Channel 5 audiences catnip?
“They're the ultimate leveller: there's something in every price range, and you don't have to be a great chef to cook good food,” says Keith Morey, editor of Channel 5. “People who come to us come for reliable advice about how to get the most out of life.” Once the first documentary found a large audience, Channel 5 turned up the heat and commissioned more programmes.
Amanda Lamb and Alexis The Conrans host deep fryer show Sunday Lunch Made Easy on Channel 5
Some viewers may find that the programs, like the fryer itself, are filled with hot air. In one, the deep fryer takes on the microwave, its long-time rival, and sees the appliances placed in a boxing ring with gloves on top of them before facing off in a bout. The challenges, if you can call them that, involve determining which chips are the crunchiest by recording the sound of them being eaten and measuring which makes the loudest sound. The deep fryer triumphs: 41 decibels versus 35 for the microwave.
In another, airing tonight [April 4], avid air fryer skeptic and stand-up comedian Marcus Brigstock is appalled by the beef nachos and risotto that Conran's air fryer produces. “As much as it’s a shame, Alexis, it’s delicious,” he admits, eating his rice with a fork. “I’m quite convinced that deep fryers have more benefits than I thought.” Other luminaries who share their value include John Partridge, who has not made much of a dent in the public consciousness since leaving EastEnders in 2016, and former Coronation Street actress Sherri Hewson.
Alexis Conran hosts Channel 5's Air Fryers: Do You Know What You're Missing? Photo: Channel 5
According to cookware retailer Lakeland, around 45 per cent of UK households have a deep fryer, compared with 87 per cent who have an oven or hob, and 88 per cent who have a microwave. The largest concentration of air fryers is reported to be in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Actress Drew Barrymore is so enthusiastic about air fryers that she released her own line of them.
As in the modern world, the trend has been picked up by Gen Z TikTok users who are praising the air. Air fryers are a quick and easy way to prepare your favorite dishes. The #airfryer theme has been tagged in nearly 500,000 videos with a total of 13 billion views, and they have become something of a cost-effective status symbol. Conran says, “How do you know if someone has a deep fryer? They will tell you about it!”
The air fryer—a fancy way of referring to what is essentially a miniature convection oven—began developed in 2005 by Dutchman Fred van der Weij because he was struggling to get crispy chips without deep-frying them.
One exciting channel 5 shows air fryers vs microwaves. Photo: Channel 5
Van der Weij took three years to develop his prototype, and his egg-shaped gadget was unveiled by consumer electronics giant Philips in 2010 at a trade fair in Berlin. The key was to combine a heating element at the top of the device and a fan circulating quickly around it, meaning it can heat from 0°C to 240°C in less than a minute, creating a method that's more like frying than frying. frying. bakery. Philips holds the patents for van der Wey's technology.
“It was kind of the Holy Grail that a lot of companies were looking for—to make better French fries,” he told The New York Times before his death in 2022. “Finding a way to make the processing much easier and the results much better.” it would have very great potential, that was clear. But I didn’t expect it to be as big as it is now.”
Much of the initial marketing of air fryers placed a lot of emphasis on the fact that cooking food required much less oil than on the stovetop or in the oven, meaning that meals cooked in them were much healthier. However, they are now primarily marketed as a way to cut rising fuel bills. Van Outen's documentary, released last year, told viewers that while running an electric oven costs £220 a year, cooking the same meals in a deep fryer costs just over £42 (a microwave is even cheaper, at £21, but much more expensive). less universal).
I see Emmerdale's Cain Dingle is fed up with the deep fryer show on Channel 5 pic.twitter.com/CGmL83O2NW
— David Brisbane (@DavidB1996) April 3, 2024 < p>Dean Edwards, winner of Masterchef in 2015 and published a book of 90 air fryer recipes called Cook Smart, claims they have “changed the way we cook: saving people time and money.” “.
After immersing himself in the knowledge of deep fryers and receiving one for Christmas, Mori now has the zeal of a convert and uses it five nights a week to cook exotics such as soups and baked oysters. for a wife and three children.
If the latest glut of documentaries turns out to be another hit, Mori plans to give audiences more of the same kind. “Our only job as a broadcaster is to give viewers more of what they want,” Mori adds. Get ready for more of these buzzing fans.
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