Food Airfryers

Alex Rychlewski

Alex Rychlewski

Location
Bordeaux
Hi,

It's that time of year again...
What in the world can you give to loved ones for Christmas?

I very much like the idea of an airfryer, but would be grateful to hear from anyone who has/uses one.

I have done a half-hearted web search and the chief shortcoming of these devices seems to be their capacity.
If I could buy one that could make enough chips for, let's say, four adults with a good appetite, and one that works well, I would purchase.

Thanks in advance for your input,

Yours sincerely,
AR
 
Capacity is key. I have a small capacity air fryer (I was originally going to put ‘I have a small one’), but thought it might lead to unwanted comments! It is great for my partner and me for cooking a few sausages, bacon or a few items, but hopeless for cooking enough chips for us both.

Buy as big as you can.

Having said that, and I know it is unhealthy, but because of the above reasons we ended up buying a deep fat fryer for the occasional chips we cook, and they are unbeatable.
 
I have one.

Jay Rayner was pretty much spot on with his review, it isn't a fryer and doesn't fry things nicely at all. It is a mini oven, so chips etc come out like oven chips.

However, being a mini oven, it is really useful for the following:

1. reheating foods - they go crispy rather than soggy, without the faff/energy use of heating up your full oven
2. roasting small amounts of things e.g. I did some cubes of butternut squash in it last night, again quicker and more energy efficient than a large oven
3. cooking small pastry things e.g. samosas, sausage roll etc.
 
A couple of esteemed wimps suggested that I must buy a Ninja 15 in 1 multi cooker.
After a week of wondering what I really would cook in it day to day I have to admit it’s brilliant.

This is an air fryer and pressure cooker so really is useful. I see it as a mini oven that can be very quick with a nice option to crisp. Pork shoulder, ribs and other low slow types are done very well and much quicker. reducing sauces also worked well. I’m planning on doing some duck confit and a chocolate dessert this weekend,

Quick to warm up, uses less energy, a nice extension to the oven. Uses up less energy as well.

Its just a excellent convenient addition to the kitchen.
 
We purchased the largest dual ninja with the probe a month or so ago. Airfryer not multi cooker
By the time it arrived I had joined several online airfryer groups and was already concerned it was a fad.
I think we have confirmed that for us it is and I am shortly going to list it on Ebay, as it seems a few times used one of the always out of stock 400 series will still get its money back.
Richard sums up its uses/limitations very well.
I would only add that for whole chickens it is a complete disaster, and the Dual facility that syncs end times is complete BS
Anything in the second side is overcooked on one side of the compartment.
I would suggest if the positves of the “Airfrying” concept appeal I would go for a single device on the smaller side and use it for smaller portions of say smaller sausages or salmon or chicken portions, or re heating. (the big capacity one really does not justify the footprint as results for the larger joints or chicken are not good enough).
On the other side the multi cooker thing might have been the way to go.
 
If capacity is a concern, have a look at Sage’s smart oven airfryer (no affliation other than being an owner)
Like Richard said, this, as with others, it’s a mini oven rather than a fryer but it does seem to produce a crispier finish in a quicker amount of time than my new Neff ovens
I opted for one of these earlier this year to match my side to microwave after numerous friends had all sang the praises of owning an air fryer
I’ll admit that I’m yet to use it for its full capabilities but I do find it useful for smaller and quicker cooks
The downside with this unit being its size, that of a microwave so you need the counter top space to accommodate it whereas with some of the smaller units You may have the option to store it away when not being used.
While I’m yet to roast anything in mine, some of my friends have shared their successes - particularly with crispy pork:
1669360658234.png
1669360739112.png
 
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In the UK, they are apparently much in demand. Part of the attraction seems to be that they use less electricity than a full size oven - but that may be entirely negated by the limited capacity. And indeed the cost of buying one in the first place.
 
Paul Benny said:
In the UK, they are apparently much in demand. Part of the attraction seems to be that they use less electricity than a full size oven - but that may be entirely negated by the limited capacity. And indeed the cost of buying one in the first place.
Click to expand...
Many people even now think nothing of turning on a full-sized oven just to heat a small, possibly ready-prepared, food item and even a single portion of 'oven chips'. To be able to heat a much smaller space seems to me to make very good sense.
 
Michael Sheridan said:
If capacity is a concern, have a look at Sage’s smart oven airfryer (no affliation other than being an owner)
Like Richard said, this, as with others, it’s a mini oven rather than a fryer but it does seem to produce a crispier finish in a quicker amount of time than my new Neff ovens
I opted for one of these earlier this year to match my side to microwave after numerous friends had all sang the praises of owning an air fryer
I’ll admit that I’m yet to use it for its full capabilities but I do find it useful for smaller and quicker cooks
The downside with this unit being its size, that of a microwave so you need the counter top space to accommodate it whereas with some of the smaller units You may have the option to store it away when not being used.
While I’m yet to roast anything in mind some of my friends have shared their successes particularly with crispy pork:
View attachment 28536
View attachment 28537
Click to expand...

The famous „Pizza Czar“ Anthony Falco uses this Sage oven for making Pizza.

The porkbelly looks awesome in the second photo.
 
Is the oven equivalent of induction the microwave?
I find myself often thinking nowadays that we should be heating the food rather than the air and materials around it, just as it would be excellent were it possible to heat the person rather than the surrounding atmosphere in the winter.
 
Thom Blach said:
Is the oven equivalent of induction the microwave?
I find myself often thinking nowadays that we should be heating the food rather than the air and materials around it, just as it would be excellent were it possible to heat the person rather than the surrounding atmosphere in the winter.
Click to expand...
959581.jpg This could be the thing for you Tom, or possibly not....
 
My wife bought a cheap Ambiano one from Aldi for about 40€. She's hooked on it. We've had great chips (from spuds), patatas bravas, crumbed haddock, and Southern-fried chicken legs. It's both a frier and an oven. Even if just used as an oven it saves loads of time and energy if you just want to roast/grill one or two things. I've cooked bacon in it in 3 minutes. Roasted some almonds and chickpeas.
I want to experiment with onion bajis and somasas and try some more vegetables, like Thai Aubergines and maybe even some tempura.
 
I think I would never have bought one of these myself but having been presented with one I must say I am delighted, it's ideal for those who often cook for only one or two. I have just fulfilled a request for a single impromptu cheese soufflé with very little time or effort, a small cauliflower mornay for two goes like a breeze, it is perhaps the best indoor method of cooking a sausage, a meatball or a small kofte kebab, roasts perfect chicken wings and a small piece of Cantonese belly pork or char siu, not to mention superb pork scratchings. It won't make a loaf of bread but makes brilliantly risen small rolls from dough made weekly and stored in the refrigerator. I use it in some way on most occasions that I cook though it is certainly an oven and in no way a fryer, I hate to think what would happen were one to fill it with oil and you can't fry with air.
To my surprise even the dehydrate function is pretty useful.
 
At over £1189, no discounts? it certainly has its admirers. I remember an early adopter in the home counties whose hobby was advanced continental cake baking. She was so very productive that she needed constantly to hold tea parties to get rid of the cakes even though she wasn't at all keen on company. The cakes were astounding, at the very highest professional level.
 
Thom Blach said:
At over £1189, no discounts? it certainly has its admirers. I remember an early adopter in the home counties whose hobby was advanced continental cake baking. She was so very productive that she needed constantly to hold tea parties to get rid of the cakes even though she wasn't at all keen on company. The cakes were astounding, at the very highest professional level.
Click to expand...
Best ever from me
 
Thom Blach said:
I think I would never have bought one of these myself but having been presented with one I must say I am delighted, it's ideal for those who often cook for only one or two. I have just fulfilled a request for a single impromptu cheese soufflé with very little time or effort, a small cauliflower mornay for two goes like a breeze, it is perhaps the best indoor method of cooking a sausage, a meatball or a small kofte kebab, roasts perfect chicken wings and a small piece of Cantonese belly pork or char siu, not to mention superb pork scratchings. It won't make a loaf of bread but makes brilliantly risen small rolls from dough made weekly and stored in the refrigerator. I use it in some way on most occasions that I cook though it is certainly an oven and in no way a fryer, I hate to think what would happen were one to fill it with oil and you can't fry with air.
To my surprise even the dehydrate function is pretty useful.
Click to expand...
May i ask what brand and model of airfryer were you given ?
 
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