Air fryer queries

[soupfiend]

Sorry if this has been done to death but I havent really been interested in airfryers because they're quite ugly and we dont have room for it (I dont want some great hulking thing) on the worktops

However, Im interested in what I read about them in terms of doing things like roast veg, tofu etc, things that I dont want to put the oven on for or might be better in an airfryer. I dont like frying things so havent experimented much with tofu and I would like to.
Also because I can only eat very small portions of things, Ive got things lingering in the freezer because I dont want to put the oven on for 1 or 2 fish fingers etc. Plus OH does a lot of beige food and turns the big oven on (will never use the top oven) and its a lot of electricity.

But, but, on some of the adverts, I see the inevitable chips (which OH would eat, I dont) and someone pouring a small amount of oil on them. But we would never put oil on frozen chips, they just go in the oven as is, same with anything breaded, including fish fingers. So how is it 'healthier' that I can reading about?

I would be interested for example in things like dried tomatoes, crisped apple or fruits, roasted veg like cauliflower, aubergine, beans etc. And I do add quite a bit of oil to those when I roast them.

Im wondering about reconfiguring the kitchen, to put a dresser in somewhere, which means other things can be moved off the worktops to make room for the thing.

Just think of them as a really small oven. They can cook anything a normal oven can cook, just quicker and more efficiently. If mine broke I'd replace it straight away

If I was cooking frozen oven chips in the air fryer I wouldn't add oil...just as i wouldn't add oil if i was cooking them in the oven.

I make my own chips in the air fryer and I do add a small amount of oil to them.

I use my air fryer every day because it's quick and easy...not for any particular health benefits. I use the same amount of oil for things in there as for oven cooked food. Some days I don't even turn my oven on. Like this morning I just needed to cook a couple of frozen hash browns, seems silly to turn the oven on for that.

We have both the Ninja Dual drawer (the most popular one) and this one ..

https://ninjakitchen.co.uk/product/ninja-foodi-max-health-grill-air-fryer-ag551uk-zidAG551UK

Based on what you have said this one might work really well for you. It airfryers for all your beige stuff for your DH (we never add any oil) but it also roasts & bakes like a mini oven but much cheaper to run for smaller items (although I have done full joints in it). It also has a dehydrate option which I have personally never used but have been people do dried fruit etc in it.

Everything cooks on average 30-50% quicker then the big oven and heats a much smaller space.

The only thing I turn my oven on for between the two machines is a large pizza as that wont fit either of the Ninjas.

Im looking at one that is like a mini oven (which is much larger than the average airfryer unfortunatley) because I cant get my head round this basket style, how would he for example do breaded fish and oven chips? All piled up in the basket?

Or my roasted veg, all piled up on top of itself in the basket?

I would prefer one where you put stuff on trays so its spread out.

Also he wont tolerate anything that doesnt go in the dishwasher, another bone of contention with so much stuff ruined by that dishwasher.

I have a Ninja 10 in 1, that does everything. It is great for frozen chips no oil needed, or fresh wedges/chips, I cut up potatoes thinly and only use a tiny amount of oil. I have grill on mine, so use it for fish, burgers, salmon etc, so much easier than using whole grill pan. My Son cooks pasta and rice in it, it takes time to get the recipe right. If I were you I would get a small, simple one if there’s only 2 of you. It’s really trial and error, but usually anything cooked doesn’t need a lot of oil, but maybe more water.

This really.

I'm a late adopter to air fryers, and only have a small single drawer one, but I'm totally sold. I can't get Tofu as nice and crisp all over in the oven or in the pan as I can in the air fryer. If I want a few roasted veg, in they go with a spray of oil (I don't use much either in the oven or air fryer, though I'd say I do use less in the air fryer). I've been poorly this week and the only thing I fancied to eat was some weird veggie nuggets I had in the freezer - 10 minutes in the air fryer and they're done, no waiting for an oven to heat up.

I don't add oil to any beige freezer food like chips or nuggets. I don't add oil to my tofu, just whatever I'm marinating it in. The only thing I can think of that I add oil to is roasted veggies, or sausages.

Yup, for small appetites or small number of people, just treat it like a very small oven that cooks things a bit faster than a regular oven and doesn't require endless pre-heating. Briliant for those fish fingers and crumbed chicken/fish things, oven chips (no added oil) etc. I regularly throw a small punnet of baby tomatoes, a couple of garlic cloves and a red onion chopped into 8ths, a bit of oil, and roast them in there for 20 minutes then serve on couscous with feta cheese as a lovely quick and easy lunch. I've also baked feta with the tomatoes. I have also used it to roast cauliflower and to make roasted aubergine with a miso paste/dressing.

I also find it useful for quickly cooking/heating bread/pastry products in small amounts - a mini par-cooked baguette, a couple of frozen croissants, a mini roll etc.

Lots of people say it's healthier and I think that might be true if you're replacing things that you might usually but we don't do a lot of that sort of food anyway so I don't feel there's any notable health benefits for me.

I have recently got a Ninja Max Grill to replace our previous airfryer and it is brilliant - it is on the large side but the shape is much more useful that the old one even though techically the same capacity.

It is perfect for cooking things that you have mentioned, that it doesn't seem worth putting the oven on for - I think I only use the oven for pizza that I can think of. It is also quicker, so say oven chips that take 18-20 mins in the oven take about 10 mins in the airfryer and the pre-heat time is much quicker too.
Its got other functions but I've only used the airfry and roast function (that is perfect for DDs macaroni cheese).

There is no need to add oil to anything you wouldn't already if you were putting it in the oven - I probably use it for for efficency though rather than health benefits.

Honestly I could bore you to death about it - bit pricey but best buy in ages!

They are quite pricey those ninjas, I was looking at this

https://shop.tefal.co.uk/easy-fry-9in1-fw501827-air-fryer-oven-1-2kg-black?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwmaO4BhAhEiwA5p4YL1jK7aZnjJmilpBkkG1kOMFUhLpRLQEZ0o5Hb9d4mPz_Vi8OPWZx0BoCsOkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

You'd either use two drawers for fish and chips, or put them in together, depending on cooking times. Prob fish on top, and it would prob be a bit of faffing to open the draw, take the fish off, jiggle the chips, replace the fish...

Your veg would be absolutely fine piled up in a drawer, you just pull it out and give it a jiggle every so often as it's cooking.

Yes he wouldnt do any jiggling in at all, he wont even put things on in the oven in a staggered manner as he cant be bothered. So he wouldnt use it and it would be a waste of money

So the health grill from Ninja, there seem to be two, or maybe more, a health grill and a health grill max or pro, or perhaps the pro is another one altogether?

and because Im easily swayed by things that look nice and they so ugly, I really am going to hate it, I saw this, but it says base only, what does that mean, that I woujld have to buy the accessories separately?

https://ninjakitchen.co.uk/product/ninja-ag551uk-base-copper-zidXBAG551UKDBCP?utm_source=awin&utm_medium=323889&utm_campaign=Shoparize+CSS&sv1=affiliate&sv_campaign_id=323889&awc=8059_1728639574_e4c9568302f0eb6fb662503a55e28e34

Thats an a replacement base, you need a whole model now a base.

I dont get it, so its the machine without the trays and things?

What does whole new model now a base mean?

It’s a typo, should say ‘Not’ a base. But yes, it’s literally just the machine, none of the accessories you need to use it.

These three are effectively the same, just different sizes and numbers of functions. I have the middle one. AG551

Oh sorry, being dim there

So, say I got that and got all the accessories cheap or second hand on ebay, I would have a full machine?

Anyway I have about a million tabs open at the moment with various ebay/amazon links with toaster airfryer ovens, different models, different brands. Its doing my head in

I quite like this tefal 9 in 1 oven, its like a small oven. I have a disability in my hands which means I dont like the idea of the basket style airfryers and if Im honest, they arent going to be practical for OH

And they're so ugly, all of them. I do like pretty things

I was tempted by something pretty called the Wonder Oven but the reviews are crap

I mean, I suppose you could but it won’t work at all without the main base tray.

The ones like mini ovens I have seen are a lot harder to clean than these. You can take all the bits out of these and put them in the dishwasher. The base is like an oven tray itself. The oven style ones, you have to clean inside just like a normal oven.

I haven’t used these but some other options.

https://ninjakitchen.co.uk/product/ninja-combi-12-in-1-multi-cooker-oven-air-fryer-sfp700uk-zidSFP700UK

https://ninjakitchen.co.uk/product/ninja-foodi-10-in-1-multifunction-oven-dt200uk-zidDT200UK

I honestly think I would stick to Ninja, they just tend to get it right.

If you’re looking to save money, they have an eBay certified refurb store. Everything is pretty much new just might have box damage etc.

I bought a ninja refurbished one from eBay, refurbished by ninja themselves and still comes with a guarantee- can't remember if it's a year or 3 months.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/126669082085?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=fO_qLg1bQc6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=LZwPQ3qxQzW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=EMAIL

For me, one drawer is enough for a single person oven meal, i.e. a frozen fish fillet and frozen chips. The same as an oven, I would put in the fish for a few minutes (as it normally takes longer) and the chips for the final 14. A drawer would be big enough for that.

I also put the drawers in the dishwasher. A little silver has come off the handle, and every now and again they need a proper scrub, but after over two years, it's doing fine.

I wouldn't buy the one you're looking at, as it looks like it's wasting space. With 2 drawers, he can have his fish and chips in one side, and you can be airfrying some veg or whatever in the other.

And I think you should take note that pretty much every review here has recommended ninja- they really are generally better.

Surely I could buy a main base tray, its like an oven tray yes?

its a specific ninja one that fits the space. It has a safety feature that won’t switch on without the fitted tray in. I mean can probably buy those as parts as well but seems a lot of effort.

https://ninjakitchen.co.uk/product/ninja-foodi-max-health-grill-cooking-pot-zid4231HY551EUUK

That’s the tray but out of stock