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.

@BigBagOfPasta
Seems like they are good for beige food.

You obviously haven’t read the numerous examples on this thread of non beige food being cooked in them.

Only if you only ever eat beige food.

Anything you cook in an oven you can cook in an airfryer.

Much like the oven then.

They probably are. We don't eat beige food, however, so I'll have to take other people's word for that.

They're brilliant for the non beige stuff we eat, though.

I love mine, but then again I live on my own and my oven is shit. So I use it as a small oven. It's only a cheap one but it does ok for what I need it for. I bought it to replace my Actifry when it broke, it was good for different types of cooking - the paddle meant you could stir "wet" food but I can't really cook that type of food in the one I have now. Horses for courses and all that.

Air fryer is the only extra appliance that I’ve genuinely used practically every day, and I’ve had it for years. So much quicker than the oven and I like the crispier food. It doesn’t replace a hob but when you want to cook your naan or samosas, spring rolls, roasted veg, tacos etc to go with your main dish it’s so much better than using the oven. I didn’t want one either..!

We've had ours a week and used it loads already. For us, it's replaced the oven for those times when we were only switching it on for one or two things (e.g. weekend breakfast sausages, roasting squash for soup, fish fingers, salmon fillets, tortillas). We only have a single oven, so it will also be useful addition capacity for big roasts.

My oven costs 30p to cook a meal, the same meal in an airfryer costs 12p.

Jot only does it heat up quickly, things judt turn out much more crisper. Especially chips! Bog standard oven chips ever got properly crispy in the oven but do in an airfryer.

Meat also comes out more juicy.

DH and I both work from home so I particularly love mine for wee lunch bits. I used to have the whole oven on for half an hour to cook six falafels, for example. Baked potatoes are brilliant, roast veggies, giving day-old rolls a quick blast to crisp them up, a few goujons or whatever. I probably use it 4 days out of 7 for lunch.

Dinners I'm getting better. Roasted a whole chicken in it over the weekend and it was delicious. DS loves the pizza. Need to build up a few more recipes but even so, I feel like it's saving a lot of energy on lunches alone.

How do you do eggs?

I've had my double drawer Ninja for a couple of months and since then my oven has only been used twice, for pizzas that wouldn't fit in the air fryer. I wouldn't be without it now, and it's so easy to clean.

I’ve got the double drawer Ninja. Blooming love it, hardly use my oven.

Was very sceptical cooking a chicken in it. Fully expected it to be dry and anaemic-looking! Ended up the best chicken I’ve cooked, the meat was really succulent. Added bonus - instructions for fan oven said 1 hour and 43 minutes. Time in the air fryer was 50 minutes and no pre-heating like I’d have to with the oven.

They're also really easy to clean with hot soapy water.

I wasn't convinced but dh wanted one and now I use it all the time. It's just a small quick oven.

If you like your chips fattier just use more oil. I toss potatoes in oil in a bowl, leave bowl next to air fryer whilst I cook. Then tip partially cooked fries back into bowl. I do this to circulate them properly so they get evenly browned. You can add a bit more oil at this point and they end up less dry. I'm a fan of freezer chips in the air fryer. Or anything that's meant to be crunchy.

I've just got a Ninja 400 dual zone one, I've used every day since I got it buy am not all that impressed, would rather use my halogen oven & slow cooker.

That looks great, how big is the air fryer? I'd love one but a smaller one so it doesn't take up too much space. I also think an air fryer is good for a quick snack or a component of a meal but if I wanted to do a bigger meal I'd probably use the oven.

Sorry ignore my post, you did say the size.. a double drawer ninja

Anything you cook on a oven you can cook on a air fryer

The ones that people are cooking meals in are the large expensive ones, not the ones like mine which is the Ninja AF100UK which I paid about £100 for, don't get one of these smaller ones and expect to cook the family dinner, they look quite big from the outside but don't fit that much in, we got it as there are only two of us and we didn't intend to cook lots of different things in it and it didn't take up as much space. I recommend my smaller one if you are not cooking large amounts of different things, they are most suitable for things like pack of sausages, some chicken pieces or a basket of chips and other single food cooking. I am very pleased with it and it easily goes in the dishwasher.

@Turquoisa80 I can recommend the Ninja AF100UK if you are only cooking one component of a meal, I just posted about it above, it is not very suitable for two different items of food at the same time though. It doesn't take up a huge amount of space.

I’m in two minds about mine. It does do nice chips and roasties. I’m a bit scared to do anything too greasy in it (it specifically says not to do chicken thighs or sausages in for example) and I have done various beige things in it which come out really nice and crispy. If you cook a whole chicken, where does the fat go?
I also still find a chemically Tefal-y smell and taste on food, especially leftovers. i do want to use it though and will persevere. Some good ideas on this thread.

There is a separate basket for airfrying so the fat drips down in to the bottom pot. Alternatively you can use the rack. If I cook steak I do it on the rack with chips in the bottom. The fat drips on to the chips then I shake a couple of times which is delicious

Ah OK the one we had had holes in the basket so you couldn't do wet things, they would just drain through and make a mess.

No one is going to answer if you get all sniffy about their cooking. That’s not what im after , really curious , Ive seen a Shepard pie recipe and it starts like you normally would in a normal range oven , boil potatoes and brown meat and veg then pop it in the air fryer , so how is it possible to prepare things like stews and curries , recipes that are essentially cooked on the hob from start to finish.

I don't wash anything up by hand normally 😬how often do you do this? Every time you use it? I was kind of hoping you can get away with just washing it every few times or years like an oven/microwave/other appliance.

The same way you'd make a casserole/whatever in the oven or slow cooker.

As an example, I would usually make fajitas on the hob but if they are done in the air fryer, you get crispy bits of chicken and chargrilled pepper which improve them no end. The same for the meat part of a stir fry.