To not understand the fuss about air fryers?

[whatthen]

People keep raving about them and I got one as a present and I used it a couple of times and gave up on it. It doesn’t cook food any quicker than a normal cooker.

I’ve tried again today and I’ve now been waiting an hour for a baked potato to cook. Would’ve been done by now in the oven. What is the point? What am I missing?

I much prefer jacket potatoes cooked in the air fryer. The skins seem so much tastier than the oven particularly with some oil and sea salt rubbed in. I think the time it takes to cook a jacket potato in the oven dries them out too much

OP, I'm sorry your AF isn't a good one, but all aren't crap.

I got this Gourmia about four years ago when it cost £50 and I use it almost daily. I even bought a pyrex dish that fits perfectly inside, so I can bake casseroles in it. Very few foods, including large homemade chicken skewers, take more than 20 mins to cook.

I don't eat bake spuds tho.😆

https://www.costco.co.uk/Appliances/Small-Kitchen-Appliances/Cooking-Specialty/Gourmia-67L-Digital-Air-Fryer/p/6487

I know, it is like nobody has ever used a fan oven before. Mine definitely does not take 30 mins to heat up - 5-10mins max (Neff).

Exactly.

People are more irritated by your tone, OP, than the fact you don’t like air fryers

About 6m ago I got a Ninja single drawer and I am a complete convert after years of saying “it’s just a smaller fan oven”.

I find it’s great for:
Fish - will cook it beautifully and the kitchen doesn’t smell at all.
Oven cooking anything on a hot day when you don’t want the oven on. It doesn’t heat the kitchen up at all.
Cooking stuff for one where you don’t want to turn the oven on.
Roasted veg - I’ve always found these turn to a charred mess in the oven unless you use a lot of oil, but in the air fryer a spritz of oil from a spray bottle is fine and they seem to keep their shape better.

It also does oven chips way better than a standard size fan oven (I was very sceptical about this before buying it).

I have found it is quicker for most things - so one person Charlie Bigham lasagne in 20 mins instead of 30 mins, and it heats up in a couple of minutes. I did find pre-heating it a game changer that speeded it up a lot.

Oooo I was an air fryer hater.
My DH finally convinced me to try it. Honestly. Game changer. I don't use it instead of my oven allll the time. But my lord it has helped so much!
Chips are 100% better. Chicken is better as it looks quicker and stays juicy. Quick meals for my little one, single portions of garlic bread etc. Plus for roast dinners. Instead of juggling 4 roasting dishes, I can bang roast parsnips/Carrots etc in there. Oh. And corn on the cob, little spray of oil and some salt and pepper. Done in less than 10 mins and juicy. I could go on but you get the point, it's not for everyone maybe, but I am a fan!

My husband bought ours a couple of years ago and I have never used it once 😬. Got a decent double oven and big hob, plus other gadgets so what's the point.

It sounds super- charged!

Perhaps that explains why its not slower than the air fryer!

Its about choosing the best appliance for the job.

A jacket potato won't be quicker but you can go out and it will switch itself off but if you are in anyway you might aswell see the oven.

Roast chicken is quicker

Thai curry tastes better pan cooked adding ingredients gradually but if you are knackered and want dinner made while you hve a shower you can chuck everything in and it does a decent enough dinner.

I can't get pasta or rice right in it at all so use a pan or the microwave.

We have a ninja - it does all sorts including air fry, slow cook, roast, I can't remember what all else. We love it, it's used several times a day as it's easy for the teens to use too. Its far easier to clean than the oven too - I hate cleaning the oven! The pot can go in the dishwasher.

It was pricey but worth it for us - I can understand though that not everyone would think the cost / worktop space is worth it.

I love anything that saves me time or energy as I work FT in a very stressful job - eg I also adore my robot vac 😅

It's totally understandable that not everyone would agree though

I’ve been having FOMO about air fryers and think I should get one. Went as far as looking at the stacked Ninja because I don’t have lots of counter space.
But I don’t know if I’d get use out of it? Two adults and a 15 year old who eats more than me. I tend to cook casseroles (slow cooker) lasagne, chicken/fish and various veg and quite a lot of Asian dishes on the hob.

We’d eat chips maybe twice a month, and I don’t buy goujons/fish gingers etc.
Would a Ninja be a waste of money?

I make the most amazing cakes in my air fryer so moist and tasty 😋

45 minutes for fish fingers is way off. I’ve got Ninja double basket and they take around 8-10 minutes!

It might just not be a very good one. I've never heard of that brand in my life. Don't get me wrong I think they're a bit overrated, but they most definitely do cook things much more quickly.

You don’t eat roasted vegetables, jacket potatoes or things like salmon fillets. Also great for cooking scones.

I looked at getting an air fryer but I don't tend to eat the things it is best at cooking: I eat a fair amount of pasta, I like home made cheese sauce or tomato sauce to go with it; I like boiled potatoes, steamed veg; home made soups; I do cook chicken but maybe once every 6weeks.... people kept telling me what they cooked in theirs but I kept thinking 'I don't eat that'; fried chicken, burgers, very meat-heavy dishes, lots of roast vegetables;
I tried a baked potato cooked in one at a friend's house, it wasn't much faster and wasn't especially tasty.
If they were available on a 60-day trial for example, I may be tempted, but even a cheap one from Asda would not be worth it if I didn't use it.
So I will keep my hob and small oven which heats up quickly.
Horses for courses!

I thought that too as I dont eat nugget and chips type meals but I got the ninja speedi and actually use it a lot.
Mainly roasting veg for and roasting chicken for lunches and do a lot of curries and stews (they are better on the hob but sometimes you just dont have the bandwidth)
The only issue is, it is quite big (but light enough to put away when you dont need it) and can't really do 2 things at once (eg cook the stew and side veg)

My oven is on it's way out and I couldn't afford to replace it but could afford an airfryer so that's what I did. Initial thinking was that it was worth having while I saved up... I now am not bothering because there's nothing I've cooked in it which I've thought was any worse than in the oven so what's the point.

@Tigerbalmshark my oven is Neff too! Perhaps we have found the issue.

Sounds like you have a faulty one.

https://field-fare.com/product-category/pastries/

How big is your potato! I can do baked potato in mine for 15 minutes, much nicer than the microwave.

I use mine pretty much daily. It's great.

Always the way - people are incredibly rude then entirely affronted by the tone of an OP who points this out.

I don’t get them either, but my friend at work loves hers. She lives in a studio flat. She has no cooker. She has a two individual hob rings, and her favourite meal is a pukka pie from farmfoods, a load of mixed vegetables from Sainsbury, and gravy. The pie apparently fits perfectly in the air fryer, the veg in a saucepan on a ring and gravy made from the water from the veg thickened with granules. She also says she wraps a chicken breast in tin foil, but she prefers a pie.

ive never had one, but I prefer my food cooked slowly, I do love my slow cooker

What kind of oven have you got?

My electric oven takes around 5 minutes.