How does an air fryer work?

An air fryer never fries. It is a tiny, ferocious fan oven. An air fryer is a small convection oven. A spiral heating element of about 1,500 W sits in the lid, with a fan above it. The food sits in a basket with a mesh or perforated floor, inside a pan that slides out like a drawer.

Read how it works: How does an air fryer work? · The history of the air fryer · More boxes on Glassbox

Chapters in this interactive model

1. Inside an air fryer: A heater, a fan and a basket with holes in it. No oil bath at all.
2. Why moving air cooks faster: Heat flow q = h × A × ΔT, and a fan makes h several times bigger.
3. Dry first, then brown: The surface is stuck near 100 °C until its water boils away. Then it can brown.
4. Frying in oil, frying in air: Oil carries heat brilliantly, and some of it stays in the chips.
5. Don’t crowd the basket: Hot air has to reach every chip. Pile them deep and the middle ones stay pale.
6. Click on, click off: A 1,500 W heater, a thermostat, and why a small box saves energy.