to think that air-fryers are just a passing fad?

[EeesandWhizz]

I know that they are everywhere do everything right now, but I'm sure that they'll soon join the steamers, breadmakers and George Foreman grills living in the back of the kitchen cupboard. The slow-cookers can stay on the worktop.

I bought a second hand Ninja Foodie, and to be honest I don't really get it. Do many people that cook from scratch really use them instead of the oven and hob? Or is it more like Pampered Chef that produced a lot of things for people that are not confident cooks that they didn't really need?

I am going to try cooking a 40 minute meringue in it later today though, so that might make me change my mind - I usually leave mine overnight in the oven for maximum crispy gooeyness, but an almost instant pavlova sounds fab!

We've had an airfryer for 4 years (bought a double basket one last year when we moved somewhere bigger) and use it almost daily. There's just two of us and it's amazing for getting dinner on quickly after we finish work. Yesterday I cooked tofu in it and tonight I'll use it for salmon. The food is cooked in the time it'd take just for my oven to heat up (and this way I don't have to go to the hassle of taking all the trays out of the oven lol). We would replace it immediately if it broke.

@BrieAndChilli We have a large 2-drawer one. So I'd put veggie nuggets and chips in one side, and normal nuggets and chips in the other.

I think making a cake you might struggle though, depending on the diameter of the cake. You can get stands to effectively make 2 layers in each drawer but could probably only with a 6" wide cake tin in. I'll be keeping the oven for cakes and some things, but for a lot of cooking the airfryer is enough.

Would all those things for a roast fit into your oven? It certainly wouldn't fit in ours. But because it's much cheaper and quicker, things like the pie/crumble would go in after everything else has come out.

I would be lost without mine.
Mine is the Foodi and has multiple functions.
In the last week I've used it for:
Slow cooked beef stew
Baked potatoes
Reheated pizza
Boiled eggs
Usual breaded food, chips, sausages etc
Pressure cooked a large batch of potatoes for mash
Slow cooked pasta sauce
Baked frozen croissants
Roast chicken
Quesadillas

I've sold on my slow cooker, rice cooker and bread machine and rarely use my oven or grill anymore.
Just do some research, you'd be amazed at how much use you could get out of it. Especially the multi function ones.

Lol 😂 I’ve had them for over 12 years,
it’s wonderful that they are now so much cheaper. Roasters done in an actifry are lush and quick. Could not be without one, in fact I purchased a tower one as well.

We've had one for years and use daily. Not a fad. Just eating my lunchtime sausage roll heated up in it. You don't have to wait long for it to pre heat.

6 minutes for boiled eggs (runny to eat with soldiers). Just put them in and press go.

Like boiling on the stove..,

@qotsa

I have two as well. The actifry to make chips and then a drawer one for other stuff. I actually just bought the ninja 9.5l 2 drawer after using the cheap single one way more than expected.

I think YABU - in Japan lots of people use them and they’re great for small homes/flats. They’re much cheaper than turning on your big oven just for a few fish fingers or whatever and I think they are great for couples or people on their own.
I think it’s easier if you watch a few YouTube channels to make the most of people who have already researched great things to make in them - much quicker than working it out yourself.

We definitely use ours more than the our oven.

The main issue with air fryers is the counter space they take up. But pretty much everyone I know who has one, loves it.

So I think it will be interesting to see how they are incorporated into future kitchen design.

For example, I have a relatively small kitchen that, because of the lay out, has a lot of doors/windows/spaces making design a bit tricksy. When I redid it nearly 10 years ago, 2 ovens was really important to me so I went with a double oven as I didn't have space for two separate ovens and accepted the frustration of one much smaller and one slightly smaller than normal oven. If I was doing it now however, I'd go for one "proper" size oven and would then look at how I best use the space to put a decent sized air fryer somewhere too.

I've been given a two draw ninja and I really don't like it. There are seven of us and maybe our portions are too big.

I haven't found anything it does better than the oven does. My chips take longer and come out soggy despite near constant shaking. Toasted wraps take way longer than my sandwich press.

I don't get the hype. Perhaps it's for single people or families who live off freezer food. 🤷‍♀️

The name air fryer is really just a marketing gambit. If they'd tried to sell us "mini-ovens" I doubt they'd have taken off so well.

But essentially this is what they are (with some more expensive options offering other functions such as slow cooking, rice cooking and pressure cooking for example).

As to their value in the home I think it really depends on the type of cooking you do (and if you go for a basic or multi-function option).

If you use your oven a lot (and potentially a pressure/slow cooker re: the multi function options) then you'll get a lot of use from an air fryer. If you mainly use the hob to cook then its value to you is more limited.

Essentially they are less flexible (in their basic form) than a regular oven due to their size - but what you get in return is speed and efficiency.

Arguably the size constraints have also reduced as larger models have come on the market.

If you already have an oven do you need one. No.

But I can understand the appeal for households where the reduced cooking time and cost saving is worth a lot. Equally for people who invest in a multi function option and clear the worktop of multiple other gadgets such as slow/pressure/rice cookers etc or who make the judgement that buying one of these saves buying other kit.

Another benefit is they are a lot easier to clean than an oven.

I don't have one because I have an expensive pressure cooker I use a lot and a small 30cm oven (with a 90cm one as part of my range cooker) that heats up quickly and is perfect for day to day cooking. I don't like slow cookers so a multi function one just wouldn't offer me anything new or better (and I don't want one sitting on my kitchen counter).

That said you'd have to prise my mother's multi function air fryer from her cold dead hands. It's perfect for her and my father in terms of size and gets used daily to cook a wide variety of food. Much easier than bending down to take things out of the oven, to keep clean and cook things quickly.

So I absolutely think they are here to stay as a gadget even if it's not for me (at the moment) and can even foresee as the technology develops people choosing to forgo a traditional oven in their kitchen in its entirety, instead having a couple of air fryers in some built in configuration instead.

The air friar is the product of very clever marketing.

Mini ovens have been around for years and people haven’t been rushing to buy them.

And then someone brought out a new mini oven and the marketers said “I know, let’s call it an air frier, that way we’re creating the illusion that people can still eat fried food but it’s so much healthier.” And thus the air frier was born, and people bought them in their droves because it was a new gadget, when in fact it wasn’t a new gadget at all, it was just a rebranded mini oven. But the marketers knew that if they suddenly released a new range of mini ovens then they wouldn’t take off in the same way.

They’re perfectly nice to have products, but if you have an oven then it’s not a need-to-have product. And by the time you’ve shelled out for a decent one you won’t have saved any money because the money you’ve saved on energy will have been ploughed into buying a £££ air frier, because you do need a decent one if you’re cooking for a family.

I use mine most days, and have done since I got it in 2020. It’s much easier than heating the oven up.

Brought mine in the summer and literally (and I mean literally) have not used my oven since, cheaper to run and everything comes out perfectly cooked too.
we are a small family just me and 2 children but saying that if there were more of us I’d just buy one with a larger capacity

Yeah, I don't think any air fryer is going to do the job for 7 people. The main benefit for me is that it cooks things much more quickly. This is particularly useful when I'm cooking at different times - eg tonight we're having frozen crumbed fish fillets but everyone will be eating at different times. I'm going to make a bit stir fry with noodles, which will be left on the stove, and then as people come in, they'll stick a piece of fish in the air fryer for 12 minutes and bang, dinner.

I also use it for side dishes sometimes or when entertaining for specific purposes.

I wouldn't attempt to cook chicken for 7 in one!

Well of course it's not going to be suitable for seven people (but I suspect you know that). I love ours and we don't eat any 'freezer food'. Also, constant shaking will just mean it never has the chance to cook properly.

But it’s nothing like an oven

There’s no need to pre-heat, and we can cook in 12 minutes what used to take 24 minutes in the oven

I think they're a good idea for single/2 person households or homes where people eat separately. For me I'm cooking for a family and will often double up so we can have another meal for another day.
We also have a gas hob which doesn't seem to cost much to use. Fan electric oven but I make the most of it when it's on, banana bread, rice pudding etc while dinner is in. Or stick a casserole in for tomorrow while tonight's dinner cooks.

Mines here to stay. I think its more likely to be like a microwave & part of most people's kitchen. I wouldn't be without mine. I pretty much only use my oven for pizza these days.

My Mum was in the 'don't need one' camp until I bought her one last year. She loves it & uses it for everything

Theyre definitely not a fad. They're here to stay

I will use them forever now. I have had one for 2 years now and it's the most convenient thing I own. I rarely use the microwave or my full sized oven.
Far more convenient and faster than the conventional oven.

Definitely not just for people who live off freezer food, but also probably not really for families of 7 (even small portions) They don't cook well if you over fill as the air can't circulate.

It’s great for huge teenagers heating up fish cakes (the Tesco finest are great) and chicken etc. also cut potatoes up and sprinkle Lidl batts all purpose seasoning 8 mins on air fryer and five on crisp.

The name air fryer is really just a marketing gambit. If they'd tried to sell us "mini-ovens" I doubt they'd have taken off so well

that’s what they were always called. They have been about for decades. They were targeted at people in Bedsits and students. Folks who couldn’t afford an oven or didn’t have one. They didn’t sell otherwise as no one wanted one if they had a normal oven and it took up counter space. They were literally for folks who couldn’t have or afford a normal oven.

then someone renamed it an air fryer, which is the oddest thing as it fries nothing, someone even wrote up thread that it crisps up with the hot air, which is exactly what a convection oven does.

as it’s a little mini convection oven it does heat up faster and cost less to run, but you need to habe it a long time to offset the initial cost of actually buying it in the first place.

I use my air fryer all the time but not the slow cooker. I thought I'd use the slow cooker more if it's faster so I got myself an instant pot. Don't use that one either.

I think it depends on what you cook. I use the slow cooker to shallow fry my chicken before stir frying. I also use it to reheat samosas and cook oven chips. It's used multiple times a week.