Did you know…. Cooking in an air fryer or electric pressure cooker can use up to 80% less energy than cooking in an electric oven?
In a time when energy consumption and the cost of living is at the forefront of most households mind, we at Instant Brands wanted to understand how our products can benefit you at home – in more ways than just cooking delicious meals!
A recent independent study conducted in the UK, has revealed that when cooking in an Air Fryer or Pressure Cooker, you can save up to 80% energy compared to an electric oven. The research by Unconventional Connections put our products to the test, cooking a chicken recipe in each appliance and comparing the same recipe to that of an electric oven. And the results are just as we anticipated…
Testing Process
For reliability of results, each recipe was cooked three times in each appliance. To understand the energy demand for each recipe and appliance, electricity meters were connected to the pressure cooker and air fryer; whilst for the oven, preheating and cooking steps were timed and manufacturer information was used to determine energy consumption. We measured the temperature of the chicken before and after cooking, to ensure the chicken was cooked and shown similar conditions.
The Recipes
We tested a whole Roasted Parmesan Chicken Recipe for comparing the energy consumption of an Instant Pot Pro Crisp and an electric oven, and a Cajun Roast Chicken Recipe was followed to compare the energy required to cook the chicken using an Instant Vortex Plus ClearCook Air Fryer and electric oven.
The Results
Instant Pot vs. Electric Oven
Pressure cooking used on average 0.57 kWh per kg of raw chicken, which is equivalent to an average of 4.4 times less energy required to roast the chicken in the oven. (With minimum and maximum values showing energy saving ranges from 4 to 4.7 times from the three cooking tests)
Instant Air Fryer vs. Electric Oven
Air Frying consumed on average 0.44 kWh per kg of raw chicken, which represents on average 5.2 times less energy than what is consumed when cooking in the oven for the same recipe. (Energy saving ranges from 4.7 to 5.7 times from the three cooking tests)
What does this mean for me?
The findings of the study conclusively show that both the Instant Pot Pro Crisp and Vortex Plus ClearCook Air Fryer consume much less energy than an electric oven when cooking a roast chicken.
This is because air frying and pressure cooking are essentially a more intense cooking process. They preheat in next to no time and are much more efficient as you don’t need to heat an entire oven, and instead cook your food in a more concentrated and smaller area. Keep the heat in = energy saver! And less energy used, means lower energy costs, money savings and reduced carbon footprint associated with the use of electricity when cooking.
It’s win win when it comes to cooking with Instant Pressure Cookers and Air Fryers.
Read the full study here.