wired air hood with filter
Photo: Retailer
In the kitchen of my small tenement house in Philadelphia, very High-sensitivity smoke alarms – Chihuahuas are said to be the natural enemy of high-sensitivity smoke alarms. Even though my stove has a range hood, even the slightest bit of smoke causes the alarm to go off. Rather than actually venting the smoke outside, the hood just traps the oil(s) and recirculates the air, so if you're left with oil stains on a white cabinet, such as after frying falafel for a long time, It often remains. Not to mention, when you fry fish or smoke meat, the smell lingers on your curtains and rugs for days.
So when I heard about the AirHood, a portable exhaust hood that you can move around your kitchen, whether it's next to the stove or next to your fragrant garlic cutting board, I was intrigued. It's billed as “the world's first portable kitchen air purifier,” and it works by using replaceable charcoal filters to clean the air you breathe in and flow back. At $159.99, it seemed like a surprisingly inexpensive solution that would simultaneously trap smoke, protect cupboards from oil slicks, and save my Chihuahua from misery. I wondered: Could this be the solution to my conundrum? So I tested AirHood.
When it arrived, I was fascinated by its cadmium orange color and its surprising small size. It looked like a little Martian on the counter. Weighing just over 5 pounds, the diameter of the fan section is 8 inches, and the overall height of the unit is 14 inches. The 70-inch cord was long enough to plug into a kitchen cart or counter. I decided to put it there for my first test run: frying potato croquettes and sauteing tomatoes.
When I turned on the AirHood, it was no louder than a range hood. Up until now, when I was frying croquettes, the smoke alarm would go off and there would be a greasy odor in the apartment, but the air hood's suction power works in conjunction with the stove hood to detect the presence of smoke coming from the kitchen. I noticed that it was removed. It also blows off the steam produced when frying the tomatoes. After the meal, there was no scent left in the kitchen or the apartment, and cleaning was easy. All I had to do was clean the air hood's metal filter with a sponge and dish soap (although you can also use the dishwasher).
Well, it passed the test for a dinner for two, but I wanted to see what it would be like for a larger group. One weekend, I hosted 45 people for a big dinner of croquettes, seared salmon, and baked pasta with funky cheese. I then pointed the AirHood at the four-burner stove. Carefully place it about 18 inches away from your gas stove (the company's website cautions against getting too close to the flame), turn on each burner, and set the AirHood to its highest (and largest) setting. I set it to . cooking.
Even after 2 hours of intermittent frying, baking, and broiling, the air hood was still going off and the fire alarm remained silent. There were no oil stains on my white cabinets, and the kitchen and house smelled like delicious cooked food, not oil. There was no lingering fishy or funky cheese smell. The guest didn't even notice that I had an AirHood on my countertop, nor did he point out the extra noise it made.
So what's the verdict? I think I love air hoods. It's now a part of my kitchen, and when I fry fish or do anything that produces above-average smoke, I turn on both the kitchen and the range hood. I can even see myself packing my next private chef job along with a knife set to keep others from setting off the fire alarms. Yes, my Chihuahua loves it too.
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