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When people talk about cooking things in air fryers, the first food that comes to mind is the ever popular chip. We decided to take advantage of the Ninja Foodi Dual Drawer’s separate baskets and run a homemade chip experiment.
Do air fryers cook crispier and fluffier homemade chips if the potato is raw or parboiled?
Experiment controls
I peeled and chopped a handful of potatoes for each test. For both tests, once prepared, the chips were tossed in oil and placed in their respective baskets for 20 minutes using the Air Fry setting.
Ninja advises giving food a shake halfway through to get an even cook, so for both sets of chips, I did just that.
Chips cooked from raw
Once peeled and cut into shape, I placed them in the basket, drizzled over oil then tossed to coat.
I selected the Foodi Dual Drawer’s Air Fry mode and set the time to 20 minutes. As Ninja instructs, at the halfway mark I gave the basket a good and thorough shake.
Once the time had finished, the chips were still raw in the middle, so I put them back on for another 10 minutes. At five minutes, I checked their progress (still raw in the centre), shook them, and put them back on for the remaining five.
Cooked from raw: What did we think?
After the full 30 minutes, the finished chips were crispy at the ends and some of the larger chips were still slightly raw in the centre. These ones could have done with another five to 10 minutes. Another way to solve this issue would be to make sure all the chips were cut to be the same size, but who’s got time for that?
Chips cooked from parboiled
Once peeled and chopped into chip shapes, I boiled them for 15 minutes. In order for the chips to keep their shape in the air fryer, I made sure the potatoes were still slightly raw in the centre – I did this by pricking a few with a knife.
Following the same process as above, I lightly tossed the chips in some oil while in the basket, selected Air Fry, and set the timer to 20 minutes. Again, at the halfway mark, I gave the basket a good shake.
When the timer had finished, the chips were completely cooked through with a crispy surface.
Cooked from parboiled: What did we think?
These chips were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside just how all good chips should be. Next time we make homemade pizza, we’ll choose the parboiled option when making our side of chips.
Raw vs parboiled homemade chips: Verdict
With both plates of chips served up, it was time for my blind test. Without knowing which was which, my husband and youngest son both chose the parboiled chips as the tastiest. Winner winner, parboiled homemade chips for dinner.
Making chips from scratch is a longer process than cooking supermarket frozen chips, however the result was far nicer and free from the preservatives found in preprepared food. It works out cheaper, too: a 2kg bag of potatoes costs around half the amount of a 1kg bag of frozen chips.
Compared to using an oven
When cooking homemade chips in the oven, I follow a similar preparation process: parboil the potatoes for 15 minutes before in the oven at 200C.
The differences?
For oven cooked chips, the oil coating is heavier than the light drizzle for the air fryer ones. I also preheat the oven, whereas, with the air fryer, the timer on the clock is the total time.
The cooking time is also longer in the oven: I wait 20-30 minutes, depending on colour, before turning the chips, add another brush of oil, then put them back in the oven for another 20 minutes.
You get light and fluffy chips that taste amazing.
Would I make homemade chips using the Foodi Dual Drawer again?
Yes, I would use the Ninja Foodi Dual Drawer air fryer again to make homemade chips, but I wouldn’t cook them from raw. Parboilling before air frying definietly produced a crispier and tastier chip.
