Air Fryers

[Pepper Pig]

Well aero, I didn’t thinkI needed one but I am a complete convert. Hardly ever use the oven these days but then I’m not a baker these days either.

My daughters both have Costco ones.

[Suelle]

OH has started talking about getting an air fryer. I'm not convinced. We have a microwave and a small fan oven.

Should I say OK?

I like it for the small things for which I would often put the oven on - crisping a jacket potato, cooking potato wedges, oven chips, fishcakes from frozen.

Of course, only cooking for one, there's room in even a one-basket fryer for two main parts of a meal - sausages and chips, chicken thighs and potato wedges etc. - then just do a vegetable on the hob or in the m/wave.

You probably couldn't do that for 2 people, so you'd have to think about the meals you cook most regularly.

I find I don't use the oven very often these days - it's either the air fryer, hob or m/wave.

[Earthmaiden]

I'm a convert. If you regularly cook for more than two I'd question the value but otherwise, once you're used to it, it seems so much less faff. The verdict still seems to be open re whether or not they save money. There are several factors you would need to consider there.

I love mine. Reading Suelle's reply, I would not have difficulty cooking for two in the way she describes. Mine has two drawers which may be used at the same time or separately.

[Kacey]

I have no problem cooking for two in my Ninja. I have some wire racks and silicone 'dishes' for keeping thing separate. Timing & temperature comes with practice, but err on the side of caution, you can always add a few mins.

[Ameew]

I love them . Cooking time is greatly reduced and especially with this weather , keeps the kitchen temperature much cooler . I don’t think I’ve cooked anything that’s been disappointing at all . The chips are glorious

[aero280]

Thanks for all the info.

At the moment we have decided to use the small oven more than we do, and see how we get on. It's been avoided mainly because the grill pan is in there and our small kitchen means that the pan gets in the way when it's not in the oven. It should be able to go round the corner into the utility room, but I seem to have turned that into a workshop

OH's brother lives on his own and has an airfryer and was extolling the virtues...

[mistakened]

I have just "fried" aubergine for Meleziana Parmigiana then will heat it up in the AF later on

[Stokey Sue]

Thanks for all the info.

At the moment we have decided to use the small oven more than we do, and see how we get on. It's been avoided mainly because the grill pan is in there and our small kitchen means that the pan gets in the way when it's not in the oven. It should be able to go round the corner into the utility room, but I seem to have turned that into a workshop

OH's brother lives on his own and has an airfryer and was extolling the virtues...

Won't the grill pan go into the main oven?

My favourite food scientist says when wfh alone the treat he looks forward to is an air fryer chicken leg for lunch - he says perfect, juicy inside with crisp skin

[aero280]

The grill pan will just go into the big oven, but we have the optional roller fittings on the middle shelf and it's at a fixed level. So it can only go above and it is a bit of a fiddle to slide it in.

Options are still open

[Pepper Pig]

Tonight (Friday). Air Fryers: Are They Worth It?
8pm, Channel 4

"Crispy pork! Perfect pancakes! Superb steaks! “It’s the biggest kitchen revolution since the microwave” declares Denise van Outen, who – in the name of crucial research – trials an air-fryer diet for 30 days while investigating the consumer phenomenon. She attempts to recreate a takeaway curry and questions just how much healthier air frying is than other methods. Beware: it’s hard to resist browsing for them afterwards".

[aero280]

We tried watching the Air Fryer programme, but it seemed to be more of an extended commercial break!

The conclusion is that we aren’t getting one. The reasons are that energy savings would need to be quite a lot to recover the capital outlay. And, the health benefits only seem to be available to regular eaters of chips and doughnuts.

We gave up deep frying anything a long time ago, so no foreseeable benefit in that direction.

[Suelle]

We tried watching the Air Fryer programme, but it seemed to be more of an extended commercial break!

The conclusion is that we aren’t getting one. The reasons are that energy savings would need to be quite a lot to recover the capital outlay. And, the health benefits only seem to be available to regular eaters of chips and doughnuts.

We gave up deep frying anything a long time ago, so no foreseeable benefit in that direction.

I'm not trying to change your mind, but if you embrace air fryers wholeheartedly they really are very similar to a small oven - there's not much you can't cook in them. They aren't limited to things you would usually fry.

I didn't buy mine for any potential health benefits, but because I no longer have a small second oven, after a kitchen refit just before energy prices tripled. At the time, I thought a built-in microwave was more beneficial than two ovens as it freed up much needed worktop space. Now, energy saving seems more important.

[Ameew]

Roast potatoes peeled and put in a bowl of cold water for half an hour . Dried them off and put in the airfryer for 20 minutes at 200 degrees with olive oil and a crushed oxo cube

[PatsyMFagan]

Just about to do lunch in my AF of cheese and tomato on AF bread (can it be called toast ? )

[Earthmaiden]

Lovely looking potatoes, Ameew. I'm surprised they cooked through as fast as that.

I haven't got on with making air fryer toast. The only way I can make cheese on toast work is to toast the bread in the toaster first.

[Stokey Sue]

The potatoes do look good, I like the way they seem to have browned all over

[scullion]

The conclusion is that we aren’t getting one. The reasons are that energy savings would need to be quite a lot to recover the capital outlay.

snap.
the halogen oven we have cost a fiver on 'marketplace'. pretty sure it works on the same principal as an air fryer - and has a massive bowl that can be used for other things if you need one!

[oat]

The conclusion is that we aren’t getting one. The reasons are that energy savings would need to be quite a lot to recover the capital outlay.

snap.
the halogen oven we have cost a fiver on 'marketplace'. pretty sure it works on the same principal as an air fryer - and has a massive bowl that can be used for other things if you need one!

A friend gave me the bowl from her old halogen oven, I was going to make a mini cactus garden in it. But now we're living in a doll's house I dont think I have room for it

[Pepper Pig]

I just cooked two corn cobs in mine. 10-12 minutes at 180, spritzed first. Very good.

[Rainbow]

I keep meaning to try that, PP. I think maybe I should!