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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To hate my air fryer

179 replies

Champagneforeveryone · 02/04/2023 04:14

Ugly great bastarding thing that it is, taking up counter space and taunting me with its wasted potential 🧐

We bought a Ninja because everyone said they were the best. A man even accosted DH in John Lewis while we were carrying it out like our first born child to tell him how amazing it was.

Except it's not...

We don't eat a lot of freezer food so that's not been a benefit. I've tried things like chicken breasts but they just came out pale with a tough outer skin. I'm too scared to try bacon in case it's a similar travesty. Sausages were ok, but truthfully not any different to cooking them in the oven. I'm a little disillusioned, but perhaps I'm doing something wrong? Why is the feckless contraption supposed to be so much better than, you know... an actual oven?

OP posts:
Whatisthisanyidea · 02/04/2023 04:17

Because it doesn’t need preheating and heats a smaller space, cooks quicker and saves you money.

Bacon works in the air fryer, chips take 10 mins to cook. You can steam vegetables and cook stew and curries. The pressure cooker can cook a dinner in less than 40 mins.

sounds like you brought the wrong one.

Casilero · 02/04/2023 04:24

I don't like mine either. I put it on the top of my cupboard along with the other appliances I bought on a whim (some good such as slow cooker, soup maker, and some bad such as water distiller, breadmaker, waffle thing) so at least it doesn't take up counter space. But I can't see the point of it. Every time my daughter uses it I end up having to wash it by hand as it won't go in the dishwasher. And the one time I put jacket potatoes in it they were no quicker than the oven anyway.

blebbleb · 02/04/2023 04:25

I don't have one but I've eaten food cooked in one and it was dry, hard and horrible. Perhaps it was used incorrectly but I wouldn't buy one for that reason. Silly fad. They will be all over Facebook marketplace in a couple of years.

Casilero · 02/04/2023 04:26

@Whatisthisanyidea

Sounds like I bought the wrong one too!

Chips don't take 10 minutes in mine

Original poster
Champagneforeveryone · 02/04/2023 04:51

whatisthisanyidea you see you're one of those who swayed me into this wretched relationship 😉

In reality I've been catfished ☹️

OP posts:
magicthree · 02/04/2023 04:55

Thank you OP, you have verified that I made the right choice in not buying one. I can't see the point in cluttering up my limited bench space with something which duplicates what the oven I already have does. Okay, it might be faster, but I don't find that necessary in my case.

Original poster
Champagneforeveryone · 02/04/2023 04:57

I could always sell you one to try magic, one careful owner, minimal use 😉

OP posts:
SquirrelsAreStinky · 02/04/2023 05:03

I need to spend more time experimenting with mine but chips in it are utterly amazing! And only take 10 minutes.

I can do roast potatoes in about 25 minutes, and they taste bloody lovely too.

My DM does whole chickens in hers and she says they come out really juicy, and it's much faster.

Yes, it does do the same as an oven - more or less. But it's much faster, it's more energy-efficient and some things taste better out of an air fryer (did I mention the chips?!)

I really and truly loathe cooking oven chips but it's so much easier in an air fryer. Same with things like fish fingers etc.

Sausages in my air fryer were fine, nothing special, but fine. But they were a fuck ton quicker!

We're shortly going to be moving house and temporarily we won't have an oven. So our air fryer is going to earn its keep for a couple of months 😅

Sunnysunbun · 02/04/2023 05:19

I use my ninja to roast vegetables. It's great with onions and peppers. Also broccoli and carrots. I made a really lovely chicken tikka in it recently. I've not had it long but so far it's saved me a lot of time and stress. I've done potato wedges - from potatoes not the freezer and roasted sweet potatoes. It cooks so quickly.

Mumma · 02/04/2023 05:29

Same here but it makes great chips so i use it for this.... meat is a no and we don't eat oven food. Bacon was decent in there though.

magicthree · 02/04/2023 05:30

Champagneforeveryone · 02/04/2023 04:57

I could always sell you one to try magic, one careful owner, minimal use 😉

You are too kind, but unfortunately I live on the other side of the world so the postage would be too much. Thank you so much, but I will pass 😉

My oven will have to do for this evening's battered prawn twisters.

GreenIsle · 02/04/2023 06:10

If I cook chicken fillets in mine I always wrap them in tin foil, problem solved and that come out well.

tabulahrasa · 02/04/2023 06:19

“Why is the feckless contraption supposed to be so much better than, you know... an actual oven?”

They are ovens, basically, hotter ovens, but ovens - things get a little bit crispier in them and cook a bit quicker are basically the practical difference.

They are however massively cheaper to run than ovens.

SlipSlidinAway · 02/04/2023 06:22

I really and truly loathe cooking oven chips but it's so much easier in an air fryer. Same with things like fish fingers etc.

What on earth is there to loathe about putting frozen chips in the oven and taking them out again when they're cooked?! Confused

donttellmehesalive · 02/04/2023 06:22

I went into JL to buy one. There were loads of customers and a member of staff dedicated to air fryer sales. She did a great job at explaining the benefits and was very knowledgeable. But after listening to what she had to say, my friend and I both left without one. Now I'm glad I didn't get one and friends tell me they never use theirs.

JamNittyGritty · 02/04/2023 06:23

I bought one (a smaller ninja) a few weeks ago and am feeling similarly meh about it. I did do frozen French fries in there the other night and they were way better than in the oven, do chicken mini fillets, they’re ok, nothing special but not bad. Apart from that (& kids making cheese toasties) it just sits there. I feel underwhelmed and uninspired by it- maybe I should try a recipe book 🤷🏻‍♀️

Bloopsie · 02/04/2023 06:24

We use ours nearly every day, inprefer sausages made there as the fat drips off to the base i can leave it to cook make small portions,i eat sausages/meat twice a day on ketogenic diet so saves me putting large oven on for couple of sausages or fry them in oil,urgh.

Things that kids eat chicken nuggets,etc get ready fast too, my daughter likes dominos style garlic bread from aldi thats ready in like 6mins there,again saves putting a large double oven on. Definately used in our house thinking about getting a bigger one with separate compartments.

JMSA · 02/04/2023 06:24

I don't get it either, OP.

Tyrozet · 02/04/2023 06:25

I bought a small basic one in a sale for £30 - only two of us in the house. It's brilliant for things like chips, roast potatoes, toasties etc. And I've cooked fish and chicken in it wrapped in foil. I actually can't cook a full meal in it so wish I'd bought a bigger one. I definitely prefer it to the oven and if I had the counter space I'd upgrade it to a bigger one.

Idontgiveagriffindamn · 02/04/2023 06:26

We don’t eat much freezer food but I bloody love my ninja.
Jacket potatoes are amazing in it, we do whole chickens in no time and they are so juicy. Made goulash and stews. I’ve done bread a couple of times. And rice pudding.
chips are way better than the oven - both homemade and oven chips.
My friends says the toasties she does in it are great but I’ve not tried that yet.
I purposefully got a 9 in 1 ninja rather than just an air fryer and I think that was definitely the right choice for us.

ShiteInNiningArmour · 02/04/2023 06:27

SlipSlidinAway · 02/04/2023 06:22

I really and truly loathe cooking oven chips but it's so much easier in an air fryer. Same with things like fish fingers etc.

What on earth is there to loathe about putting frozen chips in the oven and taking them out again when they're cooked?! Confused

I get where the poster is coming from.

Oven chips in the oven just come out a bit ‘meh’. Air Fryer chips are a lot closer to the lovely crunchy, deep fried chips you get in pubs etc.

k1233 · 02/04/2023 06:28

I use mine a lot more than I thought I would - it was a present that I thought would collect dust. Does great hash browns and bacon, I poach eggs on the stove.

If meat is coming out tough and dry you're cooking at too high a heat and / or too long.

I do a super yummy mix of sweet potato, zucchini and mushroom with herbs that I stick in the airfryer - so yummy. It's great for eg stuffed capsicums. Look up recipes on line if you can't think of non freezer food things.

bozzabollix · 02/04/2023 06:30

I’ve got a 15 in 1, so has the pressure cooker, slow cooker, air fryer etc.

Also have a thermomix which is the best bit of kitchen kit you can buy imo. The far cheaper Ninja is used probably equally.

for example, bolognaise would be on the sauté setting for onions, mince etc, then add vegetables, herbs, seasoning, tomatoes etc. With lots of time stick on slow cook, if you want it immediately stick on pressure cook.

Yesterday was used for cheese toastiest on air fry, heating up a croissant on bake. It’s used for so many things.

I joined various FB groups who showed me the possibilities!

JackHackettsMac · 02/04/2023 06:31

I use mine every day. "Boiled" eggs take 7.5 mins with no need to boil a kettle. I also cook poached eggs on toast on mine, cooking the bread for 4 mins, turn it over and add the cracked egg and cook it for about 6 mins.
Fresh homemade chips take 20mins to cook and taste lovely.
A 2kg roast chicken takes just over an hour. No need to turn it over either.
I often cook frozen French pastries for Sunday breakfast. They take 15 mins from frozen and are perfect.

MaireadMcSweeney · 02/04/2023 06:36

A ninja is so much more than an air fryer (unless you bought a model that's just an air fryer? I don't know if they do that!)
I use mine all the time. Anything that goes in the oven apart from pizza is better in the ninja bake function. The air fryer does so many things so quickly. The slow cooker and pressure cooker functions are great and you can use it to fry your onions etc before you pressure or slow cook. It's so easy and quick and all in one place!