To think that an air fryer is only useful if you don't already cook much?

[MyOldCaravan]

Everyone seems to have one and raves about them. But I honestly can't see the benefit, other than cooking things a bit quicker

I already have a microwave/combi oven, gas hob, slow cooker.

For things that need heating and crisping, eg croissants there's a setting on the combi oven that does that. All veg cooked in a steamer on the hob.

Don't tend to eat chicken nuggets/oven chips etc much.

So why would I need one?

@daffodilandtulip I have the one that's basically an induction ring and a glass bowl, and yes, you can lift the lid off and add things to it.
Unless you're baking a sponge cake, obviously

DS2 badgered me for one and I held out until I he presented me with the arguments. I love it!

It's just the two of us. We've done loads of stuff but the hits have been:
Salmon - you get that crispy, pan fried finish w/o stinking out the house, splattering oil all over the place and using loads of oil.
Chicken - it keeps it really moist.
Sausages - easier and quicker than the oven
Home made skin on chips - obviously they're not your chip shop ones, but they crisp up nicely and use barely any fat.
Heating up mince pies. Took 3 mins and they didn't go soggy like they do in the microwave.

So easy to clean. Quick. I don't have a microwave.
I should have got a larger, better one so I might invest this year.

Yes of course
Mine has shelves so it's basically a mini oven

@Womencanlift I have a 2 drawer one and find it useful when cooking fish and chicken, or things that take different times at different temperatures. The model we own has a "sync" function so that you can put things in at the same time, but one side won't start immediately, meaning that everything will be ready at the same time. You can put a whole chicken in one side on air fry and roast potatoes in the other on the roast setting, both for different times and at different temps but will all be ready at the same time. Can't comment on the ones with shelves though.

I cook every single night. I love my air fryer it's great for crisping things up, like aubergine, chips, roasted veg etc.

Handy to do in there for 10 rather than wait 10 for the oven to heat up and then another 20 for it to get to the same state.

you can make the most perfect soft boiled eggs in an air fryer. Yolk comes out running, rest of the egg is cooked through. It’s something I’ve never been able to achieve by cooking on the hob before!

*runny, not running

And me. Rarely cook properly (and never from scratch) - our family loves the AF - best appliance we’ve got

I find the "oh, it's only useful if you're a shit cook" tone annoying.

I'm a great cook and cook 90% of our food from scratch. For me, the air fryer has been hugely helpful - most notably as a way to cook certain things more quickly or as a way to cook things with less management from me. eg on speed: DH and I had roasted veg for lunch today - took less than 20 minutes in the air fryer vs an hour in the oven. On easier: a packet of sausages take about the same amount of time as frying/grilling, but I don't have to do anything while they're cooking or watch them etc.

I also find them convenient at breakfast as I can do a croissant in 11 minutes or I often make a few quick banana breakfast muffins which we have for breakfast and/or DS takes to school. Not a chance I would have made muffins in the oven in the morning - takes too long to prepare and then bake.

They're also super helpful for me me when we're all eating at different times. eg fish cakes is a fairly popular pre-prepared food for us and handy if we're all coming in and out at different times so now we can cook them as we walk in, in the air fryer, and be eating less than 15 minutes later. Or if I make tacos, the shells can be cooked in just 2 minutes with no need to pre-heat oven so again, anyone arriving at different times can eat when ready.

I think one would really suit me. But I don't have the storage or counter space for one. 😨

Same here. I couldn’t see the attraction as I thought they were just for “stuff in breadcrumbs” which we don’t eat a lot of but then DH bought one on a whim @ April/May last year and I love it.

I can probably count on one hand how many times we used the oven through summer 22, not because we don’t cook 🙄but because the air fryer cooks things like fish, roast veg, halloumi, homemade veggie burgers, cauliflower “steaks” and so on really quickly. No waiting for it to come up to temperature and it doesn’t blast heat through the kitchen. It’s one gadget I’d replace immediately if it stopped working.

I love cooking and I love my air fryer.

I don't own a microwave though.

So you don't know anything about them, but you have a strong opinion anyway and feel cool to judge those that do?

I cook a huge amount and love my AF and use it every day. Maybe you should actually learn what they are used for before you embarass yourself further....

Blimey, if my DH wanted double deep fried chips he’d be getting them from the chippy! Think if the smell, energy cost, waste of oil and massive calories!

This 👆 god forbid people eat chicken nuggets!!!

Snap!

We have the ninja duel xl and honestly, it’s fabulous! No waiting for the oven to heat up and everything cooks faster too. We are a family of 4 but due to our working hours I’m often cooking at different times of the day. The AF just really speeds things up without wasting energy waiting for it to heat.

I’ve had mine for a year.
In that time I haven’t had to spend time on my knees, cursing while trying to get it clean.
No harmful chemicals needed just pop the basket in the sink with wash up liquid.

Oh and it’s cheap to run.

Yes, my one is pretty basic so next time I’ll definitely get a bigger, fancier one. It’s indispensable in our house (along with my beloved rice cooker).

(along with my beloved rice cooker)

[ponders rice cookers......]

I don't have a microwave/combi oven or slow cooker. Until I got an airfryer I had a gas hob and electric oven. So I chose different things to you.

What temp and how long for please - these sound good.

Same. Mine has been sitting on the kitchen table since November...just until I make space for it. It gets moved about all the time. I do have the counter space, it's just that the space is used for crap important household admin.

Well it seems as though they're not just for novice cooks then.

I have 3 friends who have one.

Friend 1 hated it and gave it away.
Friend 2 dislikes cooking, so now has two, in which she cooks mainly convenience food.
Friend 3 loves hers because it can cook stuff very quickly.

So these have been my points of reference so far.

Seems like there are a few people with (air-fried) chips on their shoulders on here 😂

Thanks for the constructive comments - think it's probably not worth my while after all, due to having the combi oven already.

Keen cooks here,we love the skin on fish which have been air fried.

Mostly use it for fish and for roast vegetables. Really delicious.

It really scores for DH whose limited mobility means he struggles to get down to the oven. There is no space for an eye level oven / grill