Air Fryers- can someone explain

[speakout]

This is a whole new type of widardy- can someone explain the pros and cons.
Is an air fryer a healthier option? How much food and what does it actually do? Will it save me power?
I am a complete novice- so any comments or views appreciated.

Recently acquired one. It saves loads of power but it’s pretty small. We are a family of 3 adults and find we can’t cook a whole meal in it. eg we’d have to choose to either do the meat or the pots in it. You can get larger ones though. They do cook things quicker. We don’t add oil to anything to cook so I guess it’s healthier. Lovely crispy skin jacket potatoes, oven chips etc all done really quickly.
DSis has just bought a second one so she can use them side by side. She never puts her oven on. I have see videos on YouTube of people cooking cakes in them & all sorts but we haven’t been really experimental with it yet so probably not using it to it’s fullest-life’s too busy!
I hope someone pops along with advice so I can get some extra ideas.

I recently got a titchy one which is enough for 2 people. Things that have come out better than the oven so far are:
KFC-style chicken (am gluten free so handy to be able to do 'breaded' things easily)
Roast courgettes (best courgettes ever)
Roast carrots, parsnips and potatoes (all in one)
Oven chips (but not the really posh ones with dripping as there's too much fat and you can't shake the chips properly)

I was disappointed with home made chips/wedges which are better done in the oven.

Thanks everyone. I cook for 4/5 adults with big appetites, so maybe that is a limitation.

Oooh how did you roast your courgettes in it @Anomalocaris? Any if you have swear by kfc timings/temps I won’t say no either ;)

I actually think the name is misleading. It’s not really a fryer, it’s a mini oven. Apart from bigger things like large pizzas, everything you can do in your oven you can do in the fryer (but faster and more economically). I bought one to cut down on electric use and it’s really delivered on that. I went for one with shelves rather than a basket as cooking the Sunday roast was the single biggest use of my electric oven that I was hoping to eliminate.

@SantaHat

Oooh how did you roast your courgettes in it *@Anomalocaris*? Any if you have swear by kfc timings/temps I won’t say no either ;)

I've used a Becky Excell recipe for the chicken.

For courgettes I just chop into big chunks, lightly oil, salt and lots of fresh pepper and then air fry until done (I'm a bit haphazard with temp and timing, sorry, but you can't really go wrong).

Before and after pics from my first attempt. They're amazing, worth getting an air fryer just for courgettes tbh!

Any recommendations as there are so many to choose from. What size would anyone suggest for 3 adults.

I'm thinking of getting one, trying to cut down on electric as our DD is now horrific.

Thanks in advance.

Mine is an Instant Pot Vortex Mini, 2L, just about big enough for 2 people.

Oh following this thread, yes recommendations for brands would be fab.

An air fryer is basically a mini oven, so they save money if you have small amounts to cook because you have less space to heat BUT won't save money if you need to run it 2 or 3 times because it's small! For those who live alone they are a good buy with decreasing value the larger the family basically. Ok this is simplistic because a family may eat at different times but you get the general idea

They do wonderful corn on the cob too, with a tiny amount of butter.

Chicken wings are lovely, cooked, crispy and juicy

Home made chips work I find if you soak the chips in water for a bit, then part cook in water, then drain then air fry in a tiny bit of oil, not quite the same as chips but still very good.

Air fried kale, broccoli, green beans are all lovely.

Bread and croissants reheat very well and taste fresh.

I cooked belly pork the other day all afternoon in the slow cooker, on a bed of onion with some garlic and ginger then put it in the air fryer on max for 5 minutes and it was melt in the mouth tender with a crispy skin. As a bonus it was from asdas reduced bit.

I was sceptical about my air fryer but I use it every day and have saved a lot of power not putting on the oven.

I love mine. It's ideal for one person and I've used it nearly every day in the two weeks I've had it.

I love mine. It will save you power. I’ve got a Corsair I think it’s called.

Cosori even.

I love mine too, I was sceptical but got the tower 10 in 1 for a very very good price. I think they are healthier if you usually use oil to fry stuff- if you use an oven for chips and stuff normally rather than deep fry not sure if it's better for you; I think stuff tastes better though. It also saves time, I can do a whole chicken on the rotisserie bit with a tray underneath for potatoes etc in 40 mins. There are only 3 of us though, ours is a big one but still wouldn't be big enough probably for bigger families.

Would an airfryer replace my George Foreman grill? I was worried about having space for one but if I don't need the grill............

@ancientgran

Would an airfryer replace my George Foreman grill? I was worried about having space for one but if I don't need the grill............

I do burgers in the air fryer and they're nice, that's all I really did in my grill and so don't miss it. Personally I'd say an air fryer was much better overall and worth getting.

We had one delivered today, not got it out of the box yet, but looking forward to trying it.

I’ve had mine about a month and love it but I wish it was bigger - it’s a Tefal Easy Fry Classic.

Can anybody recommend a larger one?

I have the Philips XXL and honestly even that is quite small. Just enough for a batch of chicken wings for 2 adults 2 small kids, we certainly would need to run any smaller ones several times.

we looked at them but in the end decided against.
we are 2 adults + 3 teenagers and even the bigger ones seem too small for our needs.
we use the microwave a lot though and for smaller quantities the convection part of the m/w is great.

It basically browns things in about half the time it would take in the oven. I dont prefer it to the oven, but for the time and cost savings I use it whenever I can. Youll find the things you like to cook in it over time.

I’d also appreciate recommendations for a large one as I have three teenagers.

@Patchbatch Thank you for that, I just need to work out which one to buy now.

The best thing about the Airfryer is that is low energy, high heat and no oil.

We use it for BBQ skewered anything, homemade oat biscuits, Pita bread from scratch, pizzas from scratch, tear and share bread from scratch, dough balls from scratch, panko breaded anything, chips (& cheese,) sausages, goujons, burgers, quesadillas (flat bread cooks up well) etc. etc. etc.

When feeding 4, I tend to cook the protein first (then let it sit covered up to retain heat) and then cook up carbohydrates or bread etc.

We’re using a Philips Airfryer with the grill pan. I tend to use a sheet of baking parchment to save on cleaning afterwards. Loads (& loads) of tutorials on YouTube.

Enjoy!