Saw a recipe claim air fryers use less oil than pan frying and I actually did the math

I was scrolling through a blog post last night about crispy tofu and the writer said an air fryer uses 90% less oil than traditional frying. That number seemed too perfect so I grabbed my measuring spoon and actually tested it myself. I used 2 teaspoons of oil in my air fryer versus about half a cup for pan frying a block of tofu. Turns out the difference was even bigger than their claim since the pan absorbed way more than I expected. Has anyone else fact checked those wild cooking stats they see online?

3 comments

3 Comments

lindal132d ago

That "90% less oil" number sounded fishy to me too but I tested it with chicken and got similar results.

black.jake1d ago

And the thing is, people don't realize how much oil a pan actually holds onto. You pour it in and think it's fine, but then you drain it after and see half the cup is gone. The air fryer just needs a light spray or brush and you're good. I tested it with frozen fries once, zero oil at all, and they came out fine. So yeah, that stat was probably legit, though I bet most bloggers just make stuff up and hope nobody checks.

grace_campbell2d ago

Honestly I did the same thing with fries and chicken wings and the air fryer barely used any oil at all compared to the pan. Ngl I was skeptical too because everyone throws around "90 percent less" without proving it but my measuring cup backed it right up. Tbh the pan method soaks up way more oil than people realize especially if you're not measuring carefully like the blog post probably did. I used maybe a tablespoon of oil in the air fryer for a full batch of wings versus almost a full cup in the pan and the difference was insane. It makes me wonder what other cooking stats are just made up numbers that nobody bothers to check.