- What were your initial thoughts on the product (design, size, quality, documental guidance)?
My first thoughts were that the product looked very contemporary in design, sleek and looked great sitting in the kitchen. The size was as expected really, large, but as I knew this was intended to cook several meals at once go it was no bigger than it needed to be. The quality was very good, with easy to dismantle pieces that could be washed or put in the dishwasher. Everything on the product felt solid and durable, with no flimsy or fiddly bits. The control pad is very easy to use and intuitive in design. I actually spent very little time looking at the instructions on how to use this, as the controls were really straightforward. It does make a noise because of the air flow to cook, but it is no louder than my hob's extractor fan, which I would be using anyway if I was cooking that way.
The product has been termed 'the cement mixer' by my children, which although rather unglamorous, is a testament to the fact that they have been helping to use it and no other kitchen device has a nickname in our house!
- Did you use the recipe book or app and if so which recipes were your favourite?
I used both. I started with the book and did The Real Chips to begin with, to gain a bit of confidence in the cooking style. These were a real revelation. I actually found it difficult to imagine how the chips would crisp whilst being stirred around in a pot, but they did and tasted really delicious; super-crisp but soft and fluffy in the middle and perfectly well formed. I also tried the fried rice with prawns from the book, which was really good, well flavoured and not as oily as a pan fried version. I did this first with just prawns but then added left over chicken next time, and added egg at the end like special fried rice. You can take many of the recipes and adapt them this way.
I found the app was a huge benefit to have alongside the product, with an 'inspiration' section to suggest new things and also to look up recipes for foods you already had in the fridge. The guidance through each step and the timer on the app was also very useful, as even with the timer on the actual Actifry, I could wander off and do other things with my phone and the app would let me know when the next step was due.
Favourites included the Spiced Thai Chicken Curry which was absolutely delicious. I think I cut the chicken in slightly too large pieces, which meant that I cooked it for slightly longer than the timer allowed, but even then the vegetables were crisp, the chicken browned and succulent and flavours vibrant. I had wondered if it would come out stewed, but the way the device browns first and then stirs later, seems to make sure everything is cooked perfectly and doesn't mush together.
Another favourite on the app was the Oriental Chicken, which again was well flavoured and cooked perfectly. I did this one a couple of times and slightly varied the ingredients as I got more confident with the cooking style.
I want to try to paella next. Also risotto.
- Did you face any issues using the product or do you think anything could be improved?
I didn't find any issues with the product itself that I thought would need improvement. I did notice some condensation on the kitchen counter surface underneath it on a couple of occasions, which you would need to mindful of if it was resting on a porous wooden surface.
The only observation I would make is the some of the recipes on the app require what I believe might be quite 'niche' ingredients. Not sure where I'd get a spoon full of 'Thyme Blossom' from! (Beef with Beans recipe). Of course you could just not use it, or swap it for just thyme, but it might be off putting for someone not confident in free-styling with ingredients.
- What type of meals did you cook in your Actifry?
I cooked whole recipes (as above) from the book and from the app, but then I also moved on to cooking accompaniments too, such as mini roast rosemary potatoes, wedges and roast root veg as well as using the basic curry and stir fry recipes and changing up the ingredients. It really is incredibly versatile and does much more than I anticipated it would.
One thing I really did like was the 'one pot' way it cooks a whole meal, with no need for separate browning of meat and veg etc. This really did save time on washing up and made preparing and cooking a family meal easy without having to use 3 pans and faffing with several utensils. We have been cooking more adventurous food with it than we would normally do too, so it's been fun ringing the changes with some different meals.
- Where did you store the product when you weren’t using it?
It stayed out in the kitchen for most of the time. I did put it away twice on a shelf in the pantry.
- Would you recommend the product to your family and/or friends?
Yes and I have family who are already looking to get one! One member of my family wants one to take in their caravan with them, as they think it would be great for cooking without the need for messy frying on the hob. Another family member is also looking to get one for an elderly relative so they can make (and then freeze) meals easily all in one go. It has been brilliant fun experimenting with this and now I have actually see what it can do I will certainly recommend it to friends too. Thank you for letting me test this out.