[philcaegrug]

Have any of you purchased an air fryer and what are your findings.  Our oven isn't the best and 30 minute meals take nearly an hour to bake. thanks. phil

[Fleecewife]

You're welcome to have mine 

[PipKelpy]

Yes and love it for certain things!

Instant Vortex Plus 6 in 1, 5litre.

I held off buying one for ages, sister got hers the minute it came out but she also has another type with rotisserie and instant pot pressure cooker. Loves them all, gadget mad and childminder  so varied meals a must etc.

She bought her Vortex bargain price £90. Sent me a link Black Friday last year, £60. Stuff I use it for whole chickens 1.5kg, about an hr cooking, pull it out, get the knife split bird in 2, turn temp up to 220 and crisp up both sides! This is our dinner tomorrow, NOTHING else, crispy chicken and sweet chilli sauce

Chops, chicken legs etc basically stuff that would go under the grill. I have done a pork joint though not whole as I forgot to put in slow cooker so got knife and sliced it and cooked as chops.

Hit and miss are sausages BUT have cooked them in foil dishes with other stuff. Pastry, haven't mastered it yet, I tried mince pies last year but not quite there.

They are usually advertised showing full of processed type food but apart from aunt bessies roast potatoes which cook up quite well with pork chops, no idea! I did buy a pack of birds eye potato waffles as I haven't had them for years but haven't got round to trying them yet. But I bought mine mainly for chicken as crispy chicken skin is devine!

I'm also On my second Tefal actifry, the original type, which was got 2016 to replace the first one, recipe book lists 'interesting' recipes, but it's used for chips only, either oven chips or homemade, mainly oven chips as they are less faff! Its probably used once a month if that!

Depends what you want to use it for. Slow cooker, gas hob, microwave is enough for me but when I want bellypork or lamb chops etc, air fryer is faster than oven or grill.

[doganjo]

I wasn't sure if I'd like them, and there's just me -  so I bought a cheap and cheerful Tower for £45

I used it almost every day in winter, and occasionally since then over summer - it's wonderful, but for a family I'd advise splashing the cash and getting a decent one and big enough for compete meals

It certainly saves electricity, and cooks about 20% quicker than a normal, properly working oven

There are a good few good cookbooks for them now with some super recipes online too.  I bought one but it's American so not meals we'd eat here, but as I say, plenty online recipes

[Kiran]

I wanted one and my wife thought it would just be a kitchen gadget that sat on the surface taking up space. Having young kids it's great being able to cook meals quickly, definitely faster, definitely lower use on energy and certain things taste way better. It was one of those extremely rare occasions that I was proved right 

[Backinwellies]

I bought a 2 drawer one last Christmas, which can also roast and dehydrate.. .....  my OH who usually cooks dinner ..... loves it and has used it almost every day since ....  Oven has rarely gone on in 6 months.   Cooked sausages, chops, roast and saute potatoes,  chicken portions .....  and for those of you who lower yourselves to oven chips (we do!) .... they are amazing done in air frier.
Oh and for those who struggle with the bending to an oven ... its all at the counter level 

What is not to like??

[Rosemary]

We have a Ninja one that does pressure and slow cooking too. I've neverused it - it's Dan's toy, but it get a lot of use and he loves it.

[doganjo]

There's a programme on now about them Channel four Sunday 6.30 onwards

[Fleecewife]

Interesting how you all seem to like them!  I don't like mine especially as it doesn't suit the kind of cooking I do and it really does take up a whole lot of space.  I learned to cook on an AGA as a child and adapted from that to Gas and later Electricity so perhaps I just don't want to adapt again.  I really only use it for snacks.

[doganjo]

Can I ask what you mean by not suiting the kind of cooking you do? How do you cook casseroles, fish and chips, steaks, stews, baked potatoes etc? I use various methods, but the air fryer can do all of that

I mainly use my freezer to store food, and cook direct from there with the air fryer. I use the fridge for fresh stuff that doesn't normally need cooking - salads etc for instance  So I use the air fryer more in winter than summer, although that may now change

I can cook meat, veg, and chips or potatoes all in the air fryer together - time is about 20 to 30 per cent shorter so obviously cheaper power wise, as well as no pre heating time needed. And according to that programme a lot less calories in it - probably due to not absorbing oil

I haven't tried cakes or omelettes yet but having watched that programme I will do soon 

If I had a big family, I can see that the oven might be more convenient but it is without doubt more expensive.  An AGA is probably on all the time I suppose so it's difficult to gauge cost

Admittedly though the slow cooker and microwave (cheapest of the three by a long way) are also cheaper to run than electric ovens, so maybe a combination system is best?

[Fleecewife]

I never cook fish and chips although I do sometimes cook wedges in the oven.  I cook casseroles and stews in the oven, slowly, so the fast cooking in the air fryer doesn't appeal. Can't afford steaks, baked potatoes I could cook in the air fryer.  Mostly I steam my vegetables and potatoes together on the hob, and cook meat slowly.  I'm experimenting with odds and ends and I do have a cook book but every picture seems to be of fried type food whereas we are eaters of greenery and soups 

[chrismahon]

Watched a UK TV programme last night with Denise van Outen exploring air fryers. They are very expensive here and can't fully replace the conventional oven that I'd like to get rid of because of the electricity it uses. To get most benefit you buy a small one, but in terms of energy economy the microwave still rules. I suppose it all depends on the food you eat. Friends of ours have one and cooked chips in it- not impressed because they were very dry and not crispy.


This time of year all the cooking is done outside anyway, to avoid putting heat into the building. So BBQ meat and the rest on a gas hob. So the converse applies in Winter where the oven adds heat to the room saving on oil, so it's not energy wasted at all because it's actually used twice.

[doganjo]

I never cook fish and chips although I do sometimes cook wedges in the oven.  I cook casseroles and stews in the oven, slowly, so the fast cooking in the air fryer doesn't appeal. Can't afford steaks, baked potatoes I could cook in the air fryer.  Mostly I steam my vegetables and potatoes together on the hob, and cook meat slowly.  I'm experimenting with odds and ends and I do have a cook book but every picture seems to be of fried type food whereas we are eaters of greenery and soups 

Anything on it's own in the oven is going to be extremely costly if electric, perhaps not if you are using an Aga to also heat your home; even if only half full

I do soups, casseroles, and stews in a slow cooker - they are delicious, and potatoes to go with them in the microwave, either baked or in water so steamed/boiled, You can cook veg in a microwave extremely well, and certainly much cheaper than the hob, again unless it's an Aga

As I said before a combination of Microwave, Slow cooker and Air fryer is almost certainly the cheapest and in my view tastiest, method of cooking

I AM an accountant so very money conscious but also eco conscious  , and I love fresh food too