Modern kitchen is rapidly becoming more and more sophisticated with gadgets designed to make life easier for housewives and foodies who dream of healthy eating. Among the many new products, a smart aerogrill occupies a special place, which has become a real hit in the smart home ecosystem. The question of what exactly this device is for and how it differs from a regular oven or pan worries many potential buyers.
Xiaomi, known for its smartphones and robot vacuum cleaners, has been successfully producing kitchen appliances under the Mijia and Xiaomi Smart Air Fryer sub-brands for several years. These devices are positioned as universal assistants that can replace several pieces of bulky equipment. In this article, we will analyze in detail the functionality, capabilities and real-world scenarios of this gadget.
The idea behind the device is that it's a hot air circulation technology that allows you to cook with little or no oil, which makes it an ideal choice for those who are looking after their figure but are not willing to give up their favorite crispy crusts. Let's dive into the details of how this works and what the benefits are.
Principle of operation and 360° technology
At the heart of any aerogrill, including Xiaomi models, is a powerful heating element and fan that creates an intense flow of hot air. Unlike a microwave oven, where the heat is due to waves, it uses convection. The air is heated to high temperatures and evenly blows the products from all sides, which ensures uniform roasting.
Xiaomi Smart Air Fryer models often feature a unique visual window that allows you to follow the cooking process without opening the bowl. This prevents heat loss and temperature disruption. Fan speed and temperature are adjusted to a degree, which is critical for complex recipes.
⚠️ Warning: Despite the name "fryer", the device does not use a lot of oil. Using a full liter of oil, as in a classic deep frying, can lead to damage to the heating element and smoke.
360-degree blowing technology can achieve the same effect as deep-fried but with 9 times less fat, and food keeps its juices inside without being overdried, because hot air seals the outer layer of the product instantly, and this is especially true for cooking meat and poultry.
The secret of the crisp crust
What to cook: from breakfast to dinner
Many people mistakenly believe that aerogrills are for fried potatoes only. In fact, Xiaomi’s device allows you to cook full meals of all categories. With precise temperature control, which is usually between 40 and 200 degrees, you can not only fry, but also torch, dry and warm up.
Breakfast is ideal for making toast, heated croissants, or even baked goods, and it quickly brings the stale bread back to its freshness by making it crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and it also allows you to bake eggs in moulds or cook omelets, which takes much less time than on a stove.
- 🍗 Meat and poultry: chicken wings, steaks, ribs are juicy inside with a mouth-watering crust.
- 🍟 Vegetables and side dishes: baked potatoes, broccoli, corn retain a maximum of vitamins.
- 🥐 Bakes: muffins, muffins and small pies rise evenly thanks to convection.
- 🐟 Fish: Salmon steaks or whole fish are cooked quickly and without the specific smell that is usually found in the kitchen.
And the yogurt function, which is present in some advanced models, is particularly noteworthy: at 40 degrees, you can ferment milk, and you can get natural homemade yogurt without additives, and this makes it a multifunctional device for a healthy lifestyle.
Smart management through the Mi Home app
One of the main arguments in favor of buying Xiaomi equipment is the integration into a single ecosystem of smart homes. Aerogril connects to the smartphone via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, which opens up access to advanced functionality. You can control the device remotely, starting cooking while still on the way home.
The Mi Home app (or Xiaomi Home) has hundreds of ready-made recipes with automatically displayed options. You don't have to guess how many minutes to fry chicken, the smart program will pick the time and temperature. Once you select a recipe on your smartphone screen, you just click "Start," and the device does the rest.
Way to the menu: Mi Home → Devices → Air Fryer → Recipes → Selection of dishes → StartThe app also allows you to create scenarios, such as an aerogrill that can be activated automatically when a smart lock tells you that you left the house in the morning to have breakfast ready for you when you return (although this is a theoretical scenario, in practice, more often use a delayed start timer), and you can also monitor the degree of roasting in real time through the phone, if the model is equipped with appropriate sensors.
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Be sure to update the firmware of the aerogrilla immediately after connecting to the application. New versions of the software often fix fan errors and add new cooking modes.
Comparison of models: Visual, Pro and Lite
Xiaomi’s aerogrill lineup is quite extensive, and it’s easy for a beginner to get confused in acronyms, with the main differences being bowl size, visual window availability, maximum temperature and high temperature support (up to 220 degrees in Pro versions), and understanding these differences will help you choose the device you want.
Visual models have heat-resistant glass that shows you the cooking process. It's not just a beauty thing: you can see the degree of brunt without opening the bowl, which keeps the temperature regime. Lite versions are usually smaller and have mechanical or simplified electronic control without deep integration into the application.
| Model | Bowl volume | Features | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xiaomi Smart Air Fryer | 3.5 litre | 200°C | Basic model, control from a smartphone |
| Xiaomi Smart Air Fryer Pro | 5.5 litre | 220°C | Visual window, high temperature |
| Xiaomi Air Fryer 360 | 5.5 litre | 200°C | Rotating grille for uniform roasting |
| Mijia Air Fryer Lite | 3.5 litre | 200°C | Compact size, simplified management |
When choosing a bowl, you should pay attention to the coating of the bowl: expensive models use ceramic or reinforced non-stick coatings that last longer and are easier to wash, cheap analogues can quickly lose their properties, and the food will start to burn, which will negate all the benefits of healthy cooking.
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For a family of 3-4 people, the best choice will be a model of 5.5 liters (Pro series), since it can cook a whole chicken or two servings of garnish at once.
Healthy eating and saving time
The main question, why Xiaomi aerogrill in the modern rhythm of life is saving time and health, the cooking process is faster than in the oven, because the volume of the chamber is heated is smaller and the air circulation is more intense. Warming takes literally a couple of minutes, which is a critical factor for morning cooking.
From the point of view of health, the rejection of liters of oil reduces the caloric content of dishes on the 80-90%. You get the taste of fried food, but without the heavy fats and carcinogens that come from burning butter in a frying pan, which is especially important for people with gastrointestinal diseases or those who follow a diet.
- 🕒 Speed: The chicken is preparing for 20-25 minutes, fries, for a minute. 15 minute.
- 🧼 Clean: The bowl is easy to wash, often enough to wipe with a sponge, as nothing burns.
- 🌡️ Safety: No open fire or red-hot oil splashes, which is important for families with children.
And the aerogrill is also great at heating up yesterday's pizza or pastries, and in the microwave, the dough becomes rubber, and in the aerogril, it becomes crispy again, as if it had just come from the oven, which gives the products their original taste.
⚠️ Warning: Do not use aerogril to heat food in plastic containers or regular foil without a substrate.A strong airflow can lift light foil and close the contacts of the heating element.
Operational nuances and care
Despite its simplicity, the device requires proper maintenance for long-term service. The main element that needs attention is the non-stick coating of the bowl. It cannot be cleaned with abrasive sponges or aggressive chemistry, otherwise it will quickly become unusable. It is recommended to use soft sponges and warm water.
The heating element also needs periodic cleaning of the grease splashes that can get there during intensive cooking. If the fat accumulates, the next time it is turned on, it will start burning, giving an unpleasant odor. To clean the TENS, it is better to use a soft brush after the device has completely cooled.
☑️ Daily care for the aerogrill
Do not put the aerogrill close to the wall or kitchen cabinets. To work effectively, it needs an influx of cold air and a discharge of hot air, otherwise the device can overheat and automatically shut down.