I don't understand why so many people are raving about air fryers!

[BorisJohnsonsHair]

So many people I know have them, and keep trying to tell me how marvellous they are.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I can't actually see what I would cook in one. We eat a lot of curries, stir-fries and then things like sausage and mash, lasagne etc.

I have a combination microwave/grill/oven, plus a normal oven and gas hob. Also use a slow cooker. Why would I need to add another gadget? I honestly can't see when I'd use it.

And please don't say chips are as good as proper chips! We only have chips maybe once every couple of months, so like them deep-fried.

Some aren’t just air fryers, they’re pressure cookers and steam cookers or something.
I was looking at getting one as I’m by myself half the time so it should be much cheaper than using the normal oven, and quicker.
My DB has been no a fan fur years and cooks everything in there. It’s not about frying. Eg fajitas, tagines, chicken …

I love mine. Barely used the oven since getting it. But then it's only my daughter and I in the house so much more cost effective to use it rather than turning the oven on. I also use the slow cooker a lot.

@Georgyporky Thank you!

I am going to change your life 😂😂😂😂
Go onto Amazon and look at disposable air fryer liners .. now mine only gets washed once a week ... best £6 I ever spent ! 👍🏼

They are dishwasher safe

@Chasingsquirrels
I'm a serial namechanger these days, but for a time we talked a lot. Sorry to be so mysterious, but I have reasons to name change, it's annoying because I miss being one 'person'

Yes, it was a real 'Oops' moment as it wasn't even mine!! I was looking after a friends children. I offered to get her a new one, but she said not to worry as her youngest was almost past bottles, the next time I had them for her there was a new steriliser with a wee note 'Please don't hurt me! 🥰.

she'd had her share of mistakes with the bloody thing too,

hope you & yours are doing well 😘

I bought one a month ago and haven't used my oven, I use the hob still, but air fryer for everything else. Excellent chicken!

We cook most things in ours. Dd loves to make her own pizzas from bagels, pitta breads etc. i do things like salmon and potatoes (will do veg separately), steak, chips and onion rings. It completely replaces my oven and grill and some hob things although I do sometimes use my hob and microwave. It's far more hands off too. Things like boiled eggs and bacon are so much easier. Mine also has a pressure cooker function which could completely replace hob but I'm too scared to try it 😆

Hash browns have no place on a fry-up!! Fried bread all the way.

Sorry but it's all about the tattie scones - which I discovered this weekend are also excellent in the air fryer. Oh and it's so easy to clean which is another bonus

I have a multicooker, I occasionally use the airfryer setting, it's good for chips, sausage, easy food. It's been a godsend though, saves a lot in electric, as has a function for bake, steam, pressure cook, slow cook and more. I'd not buy a stand alone airfryer though. I'd wanted an electric steamer, but when I saw this it seemed ideal, condenses my appliances, no need for the slow cooker, fat fryer or hob top pressure cooker anymore. I rarely use the oven anymore, because it's cheaper to run the multi cooker.

Nonsense

I have the Tefal Actifry with the stirring paddle so I can make curries, stir-fry etc. in it as well as chicken & chips type fare.

Yep that’s why I use mine almost every day! 🙄😂

It's basically the same concept as a microwave... a convenient way to cook certain foods quickly and easily. It's just different foods to a microwave.

For me it's been great. In the last week I have roasted tomatoes for lunch with couscous and feta (15 minutes), cooked croissants for dc breakfast (9 minutes), prepared nuggets and chips for dd and reheated a mcdonalds without it going soggy. I also cooked a packet of sausages (12 minutes).

But it would be pointless for me if I wanted to prepare whole meal for all of us.

Other things I do or have done - heat taco shells in 2 minutes, cooked whole aubergines, baked individual spanakopita from fresh and frozen, made peanut butter cookies in small.amounts dor dc.

I gave mine away. We bought it when we had an Aga but now we have a modern range it's got a convection oven and it does the same thing. I don't like unnecessary clutter on the counter tops!

This ^

Our kitchen is a decent size but the microwave is in our larder cupboard as it looked a bit unsightly on the worktop and on the rare occasion we cook them we prefer real, deep fried chips!

I appreciate that it's not always economical to have the main oven (we've a 90cm range cooker) on for a small quantity as there's only two of us at home, so I try to load the oven as much as possible but I imagine for us an air fryer would be another small appliance that was rarely used. So it would be a complete waste of money for us in a similar way that a deep fat fryer (that we were gifted) was years ago or the yoghurt maker my parents once received as an anniversary present.

Now I will have to try aubergine in it. My usual for whole aubergine is microwave (watching like a hawk as the stalk has been known to burst into flames) then finish under the grill.

I love mine, but I’m often cooking small portions of freezer food for DC, and it’s a waste to turn on the oven for a couple of fish fingers. We don’t have a deep fryer, we’re trying to keep our energy bills down, and when you need to get kids dinner on the table in ten minutes flat, it’s pretty handy.

@SnowyMouse

Soft boiled eggs?!

I've been considering one for a while - just myself and DS at home and it often feels wasteful to heat a massive oven for one or two portions of food (we don't always eat the same thing at the same time).

My main concern is that the actual cooking space seems really small yet they take up alot of worktop space.

That's what I don't understand. The cooking area doesn't look very big, yet from the outside the appliance looks huge!

People focus far too much on the 'fryer' part of air-fryer 🙈 Also people seem to think they're one thing. You can get small ones which seem fine for a few fishfingers or nuggets but seem a waste of money and space for what I would want.

We have the two drawer Ninja. It has pretty much replaced our oven - other than pizza for the kids! Last weekend I did a 1.8kg chicken in one drawer and roast potatoes in the other. Whilst the chicken rested I did roasted carrots and reheated cauliflower cheese. It absolutely can cook most of a full meal for 4 adults! Why would I use it and not my oven? It's cheaper, quicker, nicer and makes far less mess.

I've seen people make all sorts from bread and cakes to curries and lasagnes in them. Personally I'd use my instant pot for stews etc but air-fryers definitely aren't just for cooking beige freezer food, if you get a decent one!

I use mine a lot more than I thought it would. I have a Ninja one, and it's definitely not just a small convection oven, it has a much faster air flow rate which means it crispens up the outsides of things in a way my oven just can't manage. If you spray with oil, I find you can get close to the taste of deep fat frying without the hassle.

I've done crispy battered chicken and pork for a Chinese style stir fry in it (rather than deep frying the meat), it makes excellent roast pumpkin, and crispens up home made doughnuts wonderfully. It also does sausages faster and more evenly than my oven grill, has a reheat mode which is better at reheating large quantities than my microwave, and is a lot faster for reheating bread to freshen it up than an oven. However, I'm cooking for 5, and the smaller capacity means it'll never replace my oven.

I feel the same OP. I keep asking people what they cook in theirs and they say 'everything' bit it's normally chips and beige stuff and we don't eat a lot of chips or beige food really.