Could you cook Christmas dinner in an AIR FRYER?
Graphic shows they deliver juicy results on a roast chicken…and they are up to three times cheaper than an oven to run.
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WHICH APPLIANCE IS BEST FOR COOKING CHICKEN? |
|||||
|
Appliance |
Electric oven |
Pressure cooker |
Air fryer |
Slow cooker |
Halogen oven |
|
Cooking time |
76mins |
32mins |
53mins |
180mins |
54mins |
|
Energy used to cook |
1. 157 kWh |
0. 336 kWh |
0. 54 kWh |
0. 9 kWh |
1. 166 kWh |
|
Cost to cook |
39p |
11p |
18p |
31p |
40p |
|
Quality |
Meat was a little dry but the skin was crispy and browned |
Cooked rather than roasted, skin not crispy |
Juicy, flavorsome meat with a crispy brown skin |
Well cooked but skin only slightly crispy |
Full of flavor with a crispy skin |
The Which? testers initially cooked a three-pound (1.4 kg) chicken in all these appliances, including both a halogen and conventional oven. This bird would be big enough to feed four people, with enough meat left for some Boxing Day sandwiches. They found the pressure cooker was both the cheapest and quickest way of roasting it, taking 32 minutes and costing a tiny 11p – 28p cheaper than the electric oven. But unlike the oven, it fell short on getting achieving one of the highlights of the Christmas roast – the brown, crispy skin.
The air fryer also cooked the chicken's skin nicely but gave perfect, tender meat, all for just 18p and in under an hour. Additionally, if you ditched the oven and used an air fryer for every Sunday roast for the rest of the year, using the gadget would equate to an annual saving of £11.
The testers did note that the chicken cooked in the electric oven was also a little dry, meaning the air fryer came out on top over all other appliances.
The cost savings will soon be lost if you have to cook more than one batch though, so it's still better to use your oven if you're cooking large quantities.
However, the slow cooker received a bonus point for requiring less hands-on attention, and was therefore the most convenient.
Veteran Oksana Chusovitina ended her legendary career on Sunday night after competing at a record eighth Olympic Games. After failing to secure a spot in Sunday's vault final, the 46-year-old, representing Uzbekistan, waved to the small crowd inside Tokyo's Ariake Gymnastics Center, made a heart shape with her hands and briefly cried.
Born in Uzbek capital Tashkent in 1976, Chusovitina took up gymnastics at age 7, following her older brother into the sport. "My mother did not want me to do gymnastics, she was worried about me all the time. I wanted to prove to her that I was not doing it in vain, and I think I eventually succeeded in that," Chusovitina once said of her childhood.
She made her Olympic debut (首次亮相) at the 1992 Barcelona Games as part of the gold medal-winning Unified team, comprised of (由……组成) athletes from former Soviet states.
She then represented Uzbekistan, before being granted German citizenship in 2006. She took home a vault silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Games for Germany, but switched back to competing for Uzbekistan in 2013. Chusovitina is one of just two female gymnasts to represent three different nations at the Olympic Games.
When Chusovitina's 3-year-old son was diagnosed with leukemia in 2002, she sold her possessions and used any prize money she earned to pay for his medical treatment. Her switch to German citizenship was motivated by the promise of a higher income and better medical care.
After her son's recovery, Chusovitina continued to compete, but this time it was her love of gymnastics that kept her going. "There is no secret. I just love gymnastics and no one ever forced me to compete. I do so with pleasure," she said.
With COVID-19 rules keeping fans out of the venue, Chusovitina admitted the atmosphere wasn't what she had hoped. "I would have loved to have spectators, she said. "Of course in terms of performance, it's better when it's just you and the apparatus (器具). But every athlete needs this attention and applause. "
"Maybe Fil skip Paris (2024 Games), and go to Los Angeles (2028 Games) for the applause," she joked. At last, she told reporters, "My son is 22 years old and I want to spend time with him. I want to be a mom."
One day, Lisa Holman told her family she would be out that night visiting her friend, only about half an hour drive from her house. So it was not alarming as the night grew on and she did not arrive home. As 11 pm passed, her family began to worry. They called her but did not get any answer. They then reached out to Lisa's friend, who said Lisa had left to drive home at 9 that night.
The family thought about calling the police that evening but the police typically don't define a person missing unless there is no contact for 24 hours. The next morning there was still no sign of Lisa. All the family could do was sit home and wait. Lisa's son decided to drive along Lisa's route and carefully look for her. He found Lisa's car had crashed into a tree. What's worse，there was no sign of Lisa at all.
The family called the police. The police began their search. But due to the heavy rain the search team was called back. The family was very disappointed but still hopeful and continued the search 700 feet from Lisa's car, they finally found Lisa under a rock.
After a few days in hospital, Lisa recovered. She explained that she passed out after her car slid off the road in the rain. After she came to herself, Lisa managed to climb out of the car. While walking to find help, Lisa was exhausted and unable to figure out the direction. So she couldn't walk on and climbed under a rock as it started raining again. Scared as she was, she turned to her faith in hopes of living to see her son again.
Kwanzaa may be a festival celebrated by millions of African Americans and pan-Africans, but it has only been around for a few decades (十年). Introduced to the United States in 1966 as a ceremony to welcome the first harvest to the home, the festival, which takes place from December 26 to January 1, is a celebration of life, unity, family, and culture.
Featuring feasts, music and dance, and a devotion and recommitment to different principles (信条), the festival was created in the middle of the Black Freedom Movement, at a time when it was felt that cultural grounding was needed.
Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and chairman of Black Studies at California State University in Long Beach, is responsible for bringing the festival to life. After the Watts violence in L.A., Dr. Karenga searched for ways to strengthen the African-American community. He paired the practices with traditions of several different harvest celebrations on the African continent, and although it is celebrated around the Christmas period, it perhaps has more similarities to Thanksgiving or the Yam Festival in Ghana and Nigeria.
There are five common sets of values that are central to the week-long activities: ingathering, reverence, commemoration, recommitment, and celebration. There are seven principles of Kwanzaa, meaning first fruits in Kiswahili, a language spoken in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. The first fruit celebrations appear in ancient and modern times in classical African civilizations.
These seven principles are known as Umoja, meaning unity; kujichagulia, self-determination; ujima, collective work, and responsibility; ujamaa, cooperative economics; nia, purpose; kuumba, creativity; and Imani, faith. There are seven candles used during the festival, and like, the Jewish Hanukkah, these candles are used to represent the principles.
On December 31, participants celebrate with a plentiful meal, often featuring good meals from various African countries.
The number of Americans who celebrate Kwanzaa has changed greatly over the years, and with as many as six million getting involved in the 1980s, Kwanzaa became a mainstream holiday. Now, however, numbers have paled, but it still remains an important cultural touchstone (试金石) for many African American communities.
How to boost your immune system
On the whole, your immune system does a remarkable job of defending you against disease-causing microorganisms. Is it possible to fight the disease off? What if you improve your diet? Take certain vitamins or herbal preparations? Or make other lifestyle changes?
Now, researchers are exploring several factors, hoping to help you strengthen your immune system.
●Lifestyle
Following general good-health guidelines is the single best step you can take toward naturally keeping your immune system working properly. Every part of your body, including your immune system, functions better when protected from environmental assaults and boosted by healthy-living strategies.
●Diet
Like any fighting force, the immune system army marches on its stomach. Scientists have long recognized that people who live in poverty and are malnourished are more vulnerable to infectious diseases.
●Stress
Modern medicine has come to appreciate the closely linked relationship of mind and body. A wide variety of sicknesses, including stomach upset, and even heart disease, are linked to the effects of emotional stress.
●Exercise
Regular exercise is one of the pillars of healthy living. But does it help to boost your immune system naturally and keep it healthy? Just like a healthy diet, exercise can contribute to general good health and therefore to a healthy immune system.
A. Your first line of defense is to choose a healthy lifestyle.
B. But sometimes it fails: A virus then invades and makes you sick.
C. Healthy immune system warriors need good, regular nourishment.
D. Scientists are actively studying the relationship between stress and immune function.
E. That doesn't mean the effects of lifestyle on the immune system shouldn't be studied.
F. It lowers blood pressure, helps control body weight, and protects against a variety of diseases.
G. Despite the difficulties in measuring the relationship of vitamins to immunity, scientists are making progress.
I was 40, with two adorable children and a caring husband. And I'm enjoying a challenging but 1 career. Although this is "success", sometimes I feel my heart asking if this is who I truly am.
The chaos of the family kitchen was 2: the noise of the kettle, pots and dishes, and the conversation 3 while I'm making breakfast. I escaped 4 to my bedroom. Only in silence do I bear the self that is 5 from the children and wonder who that person might be.
So, I journeyed, for the first time in a decade, without my husband or kids. I went with a friend to 6 in Iceland. I hoped the consideration of walking would help me better 7 who I wanted to be. For 6 days, I was absorbed in wild scenery and real weather. The mountains in Iceland rise black and tall into the heavens against the white snow. Looking outside at wild wind and rain and knowing there's no decision to make 8 the soul. Climbing a mountain against sheets of rain and returning to a tent for a simple meal 9 me how little I actually needed and how strong I felt 10 uncomfortable.
I found 11 in Iceland, and time to consider "the me" outside career and kids as I shared stories with strangers with no 12 past and no expected future. When I stopped talking and just listened, I was surprised at how my 13 changed—I became more generous. I learned generosity can 14 more space and more warmth 15 when there may not seem enough to go around at first glance.
I came home to 16, chaos and love. I know the answer isn't waiting out there on the top of a mountain or inside my head, however 17 I try to hear; and it isn't in conversations with other seeking souls. The answer is in front of me with every step on my own life's 18.
I'm not finding myself, but I'm creating myself. I need the storm as much as I need the quietness. 19 is built under a heavy load. I'm expecting to pick up all of my loads and travel 20.
Our government has raised the child limit for couples from two to three as the country experiences lower birth rates. For many years, China applied a one-child policy as a way (control) the population. But that policy (replace) in 2016 by a two-child limit. That change was aimed at raising the number of births (gradual). But birth rates have further decreased in recent years as the cost of raising children in Chinese cities remains high.
The latest measure to permit three children per family is meant "to actively deal the aging population," the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The policy includes what the government calls "supportive measures", makes it easier for families to have more children of (they) own. The measures include plans to lower educational costs for families and increase tax and housing support. The government also said it would seek to educate young people "on (marry) and love."
Economists say that China faces concerns that it could grow old before it gets (wealth). The Chinese population of 1. 4 billion was expected to reach a high later this decade before starting to drop. , recent government data suggested that is happening (fast) than expected.
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Today, carnival in Venice is celebrating for five days in February. People arrive from all over Europe enjoy its fun. Hotels are full booked and the narrow streets are crowded with wonderful costumes. German, French and English seem to be the main language. But the spirit of Venice carnival is not quite the same like the great American carnivals. If the key to Rio are music and movement, then in the Venice it is the mystery of masks. As you wander through the streets, you saw thousands of masks, but you have no idea that the faces behind them look like. Nobody takes it off. If the masks come off, the magic is lost.
