To not have an air fryer?

[wildfellhall]

I'm not convinced I need one but everyone seems to be so passionate about how great they are.

Are people just using them like a little oven do they don't have to heat the whole oven every time they want to cook something?

I can't work out what I am missing.

You answered yourself … yes a mini oven. Cooks quicker and cheaper to run.

We borrowed one while having the kitchen done.

My thoughts are if you mostly cook for 1 or 2 they are great. However if you have a load of hungry teenagers to feed they are not a lot of use. You need to get the use of it to warrant the worktop space - I have not bought one for the new kitchen for that reason.

Yeah essentially what you have said it is a mini oven that you don't need to pre heat. However mine is a ninja max so had 2 draws and is pretty big. Easily cook dinner for a family of 5 in it. It's fast and convenient.

I will say I love mine mainly because my actual oven is shit. We got our very cheep crap oven just after buying our house when we were absolutely flat broke. So we don't use our oven and rely on the air fryer and hobs mostly.

Thanks that's useful. The people I've spoken to are so ardent it's hard to work out exactly what it is about them that they're so excited about.

They are so easy to use, chips/fries in 10 minutes. Chicken and fish in a little bit longer, no heating up time.

I haven’t got one, either. I don’t have acres of worktop space and don’t want it cluttered up more than it already is.

They cook things at microwave speeds but with oven quality.

We don’t have one and I felt no need for extra appliances. But I recently used one at work for cooking up breaded chicken pieces, fish fingers, and breaded mushrooms. They cooked them so well, nice and crispy! I’m tempted to buy a cheap one now for that, but we rarely have that sort of food so unsure. I’d definitely say it’s worth it if just cooking for yourself regularly, but for a whole family it just depends on what sort of stuff you cook.

We love ours. Now only use the main oven for roast dinners and pizza (which is too big to fit in the air fryer).
We actually have a ninja speedi which is a multi cooker, so it has a steam mode... Means I can boil pasta in it etc. amazing!!! Can just put it on and walk away until it's done - don't have to worry about pasta boiling over etc !

I think it’s only worth it if you get a large one if you’ve got a big family or if you have a small one and only use it for lunch stuff etc. I finally got one recently after wondering about it for ages but I find it doesn’t really cook any faster than my oven and everything comes out a bit dry and limp. Maybe I’ve got a dodgy one - it’s a Russell Hobbs 4l one. I keep experimenting with it thinking I’m doing something wrong but very underwhelmed at the moment. I still find it easier to just heat my large oven and chuck different things in at different times.

I have one but it’s tiny so I don’t get the full benefits of it. However I have a friend who has the large Ninja one and has not used her oven once since moving into her property a few months ago. She’s an excellent cook too - no “beige food” in her household! She cooks whole, fresh meals using only her hobs and airfryer.

I recently got one and I'm now a total convert. I cook chicken, fish, home made wedges etc in there and it all turn out great. Its so much faster to use than an oven too. My DD says fries taste way better from the air fryer and mine has a specific setting for it. Luckily I have enough counter space for it but I know someone whi just keeps it in her oven when not in use

Are people just using them like a little oven do they don't have to heat the whole oven every time they want to cook something

That's the main advantage if you regularly cook for one or two people - larger ones might also be able to cook more food too. The power rating is about half a standard oven and they heat up and cook faster, so probably use under half the amount of electricity, so a good saving of money and time.

They also automatically turn off at the end of the set time, so you don't need to attend to the food straight away to stop it burning.

Also good for cooking anything that is grilled like sausages or bacon and excellent at slices of pizza or crisping up bread rolls or pastries etc.

DM also likes that hers is worktop height so doesn't have to bend down to use the oven in her freestanding cooker, which she struggles with.

YANBU to not see the benefit if you always cook large amounts of food or have very limited space to keep one, but for small households they could replace an oven and be much cheaper to buy and run - Costco has one for about £80 that is microwave oven shape and size so can easily fit in two trays of food.

Mine is stored in the (now redundant) oven. It's fantastic.! The oven is a big empty space so it makes perfect sense.

There are some recipes are technically possible on the hob but are so easy to overcook and ruin. I can only do them in the air fryer.

Fresh pasta cooks in 3 mins ... You don't need to pre-heat fan ovens, well I never have, and we don't eat fried foods. So no, I can't imagine why I would need one. I don't have a microwave either though, so probably not the target market!

Yes a mini oven we have a 14 in 1 thing which is also a pressure cooker, grill and air fryer.
We use it alot and it has cut out bills down but it also gives us a lot of time back as it's also quicker to cook with.

I was dubious as to whether they were worth it too. I got one (2 drawer ninja) when I got fed up with the DSs heating the whole oven for a tray of breaded chicken. I've barely used the big oven since. It's great for all sorts of things (including fajitas and the meat part of a stir fry) but is, as you say, just a little oven.

We don’t have one and no microwave either. Victorian cottage kitchen with too many doors to older parts of the house. It would need to be stowed away somewhere between uses if we had one and I can see myself just not bothering to get it out as we have a double oven and I cook most meals on the hob.

I ha e the Speedi. I did t think I would use it much but thought I'd gi e it a go.
It's brilliant. It grills, airfries, bakes, steam bakes, roasts, slow cooks steams and dehydrates. You van use it as a hob and simmer or sauté on it.

I thought I wouldn't use it much because we don't eat chips!
I bake cakes in it, I did a roast cauliflower and chick pea meal for tea last night. Cheese and Mac can be done in 15 mins on speedy setting.
It's turned out to be a bargain!

I am not sure if this makes me unusually bad at budgeting but I could not tell you what proportion of our energy bill relates to cooking. We have a gas hob and electric oven. Obviously both bills are “a lot” these days but has anyone who switched to an air fryer noticed much of a reduction in their electricity bill? How much are we talking about a quarter?

Our oven already has a smaller top oven so we just use that if we’re cooking fishfingers for dc or something.

I was sceptical but gave in to pressure from dd1 and actually it has been a game changer particularly for dd2 who isn’t keen on cooking, struggles with lunches and is gluten intolerant - I keep gluten free spring rolls, samosas etc in the freezer and she can heat them up in minutes without needing to heat the oven. Also great for reheating leftovers so we waste a lot less.

Also on the fence here too op.

I always thought I didn't need one till I got one. Now I think it's an essential. Things like chicken nuggets and fish fingers take less than half the time to cook, so you're saving time, energy and money. And now I always soft " boil" my eggs in there to perfection without having a pan of water boiling for ages. Think come out much crispier and tastier in the air fryer. And with things like sausage and bacon, it drains the fat off so it's probably a bit healthier too.

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