"Actifry" news and stories

Could America's love affair with the French fry be hitting a rough patch? Inundated with press around obesity and nutrition, people seem to be getting the message -- and forgoing the fries. According to NPD Research Group, French fry consumption dropped by 10 percent last year, as restaurant patrons passed up the potatoes in favor of healthier fare, such as salads. The moment seems ripe for deep-fried alternatives.

Enter the T-Fal ActiFry, a European kitchen gadget that looks (as the Wired blogger Brad Moon pointed out) like the love child of a salad spinner and a deep fryer. Developed three years ago in France (bien sur!), the ActiFry requires merely one tablespoon of oil (make that oil "heart-healthy," as the nice lady in the ActiFry promo suggests) to fry up two pounds of fries. (Compare this to the two-liter bottle of oil you'd need for conventional deep-frying.) The machine spins the potatoes, dispersing the oil lightly and evenly, while using hot air as a heating element. And the ActiFry isn't just for potatoes -- the gadget comes with recipes for an array of deep-fried goodness. Surely this will revolutionize our relationship with deep-fried food! Less oil equals less fat! All hail! ...Right?

The kitchen of the future is here and Popular Science wants to show it to us. They've put together a slideshow of 25 kitchen products that are innovative, industrial and will totally change the way you cook (although you need some seriously deep pockets in order to obtain a few of these gadgets).

Want to give your poached pears intense wine flavor without losing color or texture? Try the Gastrovac. Want to make French Fries but don't want to use all the oil that a conventional fryer demands? Check out the ActiFry, which can cook several pounds of potatoes using only a tablespoon of oil. For those folks who have an serious coffee addiction, check out the the Whirlpool fridge with the professional grade espresso maker built right into the door.

Via An Obsession with Food

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