Help me understand the appeal of air fryers

[labracockapoodle]

I've never had one. I've never felt like I needed one as everything that can be cooked in an air fryer, I can already cook in the oven or in a pan. Are they really healthier or cheaper? What makes them so popular?

Saving a fortune on the oven. Noticed it within a month of getting one. It’s insane.

I think people who are counting calories find it useful as it reduces the use of oil. It's not something I care about, I was just sharing why it's considered healthier. Lots of low calorie or diet cookbooks for air fryers on this basis. There are foods you might have fried in oil or butter that come out well in the air fryer, e.g. sausages etc.

They are amazing - we were latecomers to them but probably only put oven on once a month now. Also food cooks better I think, crispier and less dried out

I have a small child who despite my ongoing efforts likes beige food. Putting my oven on for 2 fish fingers or 8 mins in the air fryer and job done.

Im not keen on using it for everything and the oven definitely still has its place

I have a mini one and it's so useful. I use it a few times a week.
When my teen wants a fishcake, or a couple of sausages to go with sausage and mash, or I need to whip up one portion of chips, or I fancy a steak and kidney pie heated up, or a proper jacket potato - I can pop it in the air fryer instead of heating up a whole oven.

I would be interested to find the answer to this too. As far as I can tell, it saves a bit of time, and therefore electricity costs, which I can see is an advantage if you are cooking for just one or two people. The only time I've tried food cooked in one was chips, which I found really soggy and unpleasant, so yes I can't see the appeal, except for maybe a teenager with no cookery skills or confidence.

We got one but never really got into using it so DD took it when she left home. Mind you we also got rid of the microwave as rarely used it and don't have a dishwasher or a tumble dryer so maybe we are just luddites. We manage fine without all of the above.

I find air fryer cooked salmon rather unpleasant because of the way it cooks it all over. Indeed all fish cooked in an air fryer tastes odd to me, but then my late husband was a professional chef and pan cooked most fish. Even now if I cook skin-on salmon fillets it’s a matter of a couple of minutes uncovered on a high heat on an induction hob or the hot plate of the Aga to crisp the skin, then lid on and low heat for another two minutes then heat off and another 5 minutes to let them cook though. Quicker and less energy than an air fryer, if that matters to you and, more importantly for me, a far better flavour and texture than something airfried. But, we all have different tastes so if an airfryer works for you that’s all good too :)

It's really safe for forgetful people because it turns off when the time is up.

My adult child cooks me a salmon steak, asparagus and various other roast veg in 15 minutes in our air fryer.

it's healthier, less fat is used, and quicker.

and it tastes fantastic. Unlike microwaved cooking, that seems to cook from the inside out, an air fryer, to me, cooks pretty much like a conventional oven, but quicker.

I felt the same as you but then got one as a gift from my work.

I love it. It’s only healthier as an alternative to frying. Because you can get the crispness of fried without the oiliness. the biggest advantages for me are the speed and lack of need for pre-heating vs my normal oven. For me since it was just me and DS I was cooking for it worked really well and as others have said you can genuinely cook anything in them (so long as you have liners). Now it’s even more convenient as DS is off to uni and I’m cooking just for me.

I have a big/fancy one which has two trays as well as a sync function so I can cook two meal components separately (which need different temps or times) and it sorts all the timing for you. I also use the dehydrate function to make jerky type snacks and dried fruit.

@labracockapoodle

why start the thread, waste people's time & not return to the thread?

What size is the tray that you roast veg in?

Could you roast veg in one layer for 4 people in an air fryer?

I think the thing re healthy is that so many people buy them and say “oh they’re great, we can cook chips/nuggets/pizza/toasted sandwiches and they’re much healthier that way.” As if chips and nuggets are healthy - they aren’t. It’s just that they’re slightly less unhealthy done in the air fryer because of less oil.

But you can cook other things in them which are healthy such as roasted vegetables for instance.

In truth they’re not any more healthy than an oven, if you cook the same foods on a rack then you get the same effect, but they are quicker, smaller, and so save you money.

If you’re deep frying instead of cooking in the air fryer however they are more healthy.

I had an instant pot duo crisp which I used for everything, then I had open heart surgery and had to replace it with a drawer air fryer because I couldn’t lift the lid and couldn’t move it out. I also couldn’t bend down to the oven. My chest wound has now healed to the extent I could bring back the instant pot but I actually like the ninja more now.

TBH I don’t rate the chips or the roast potatoes, but that’s fine, there’s plenty of other things I cook in it.

Quicker, so cheaper, also crispier. Rarely use the oven now.

It’s a hell of a lot easier to clean than an oven for a start.

I had a new oven put in a year ago when we replaced the kitchen. I’ve used it once for the Christmas turkey and that’s only because it wouldn’t fit in the air fryer. I do a full roast dinner in it every week.

Sorry, no idea. I'm virtually unable even to get into the kitchen (without some help), I just know how long it takes from being told what I'm getting for lunch, to it arriving.

looking at the airfryer, child use s the silicon pockets, but the air fryer is bigger, so id say you could do, maybe enough roast veg for at least three?

We use ours all the time - roast veg, pizza, (home made just to head off any 'beige food' sneering), vegetable burgers, anything I would cook in an oven including great cakes. It makes wonderful rarebit and an Indian spiced cheese on toast we often have. Plus it's good for refreshing bread that's a day old, shortbread and anything with pastry.

I can’t be bothered and I’d hate a big lump of machinery on the worktop, getting in the way.

Mine has shelves not a drawer so it is a mini oven and living alone it’s great for side bits
so a part baked roll or some garlic bread with soup, I use it for sausages and bacon, pizza reheats well in it, small things really is its main job for me
stuff that’s a waste to turn the oven on for

It’s just that they’re slightly less unhealthy done in the air fryer because of less oil.
Or… no oil at all! Which is why it's called “AIR fryer”

In truth they’re not any more healthy than an oven, if you cook the same foods on a rack then you get the same effect, but they are quicker, smaller, and so save you money.
You don't quite get the same effect as an oven - people report time and time again that it tastes better. It tastes like being friend without the unhealthiness of frying! Hence “air” frying.

It's not a stupid name for them because it TASTES fried, with the benefit of not actually being unhealthily ‘oil’ fried! Instead, it's healthily ‘air’ fried.
So what should we name it then? Oh wait…

My only experience is trying one in a holiday cottage and I wasn't overly impressed.

I can see that having something smaller and quicker to heat up is useful if you're cooking for 1 but generally our oven only gets used for bigger meals or baking cakes. The quick one person meals I go for tend to be done on the hob.

I wouldn’t get one as I don’t eat the meat and 2 veg types of food that many PP have listed.

Can someone explain how you cook a pizza in one? In my experience pizzas are a big round thing about a foot across, and air fryers seem to mostly have drawers that are about 6” across. Do you cut the pizza up before cooking? How would you cook more than 2 slices at a time in that case?

I wouldn’t get one as I don’t eat the meat and 2 veg types of food that many PP have listed.

Same here. I tend to use the hob more than anything else, and I can't justify the cost or kitchen space to do the odd baked potato.

When I do traybake style meals I use a large roasting tin so that I can put all the ingredients in one layer, and I would like to know how a large quantity of vegetables woul get roasted rather than steamed in a smaller sized air fryer. Also, how you would cook a 12" pizza without cutting it into slices (although we tend to make pizza from scratch rather than buy pre-made ones).

I'm sounding like quite the luddite here