Air Fryers….honest opinions!

We were given one for Christmas and it sat in the garage for a year as I didn’t know what it could do. I had a go at roasting spuds and went on from there. It is particularly good for cooking small amounts quickly. I don’t use a liner and the drawer goes in the dishwasher so it’s much easier to clean than the oven.

I find most of my air fryer recipes on Pinterest.

I really don't think an air fryer is for me.

I'll wait a bit longer.

MissInterpreted

glammagran

Can anyone recommend a good cookbook that isn’t American?

Join some of the Ninja groups on Facebook - there are plenty of UK-based ones with great recipes on there. Pinch of Nom have just brought out a new air fryer cookbook too.

Thanks for that. I didn’t think of looking on FB.

I’ve had one for about 3 months, never used the oven since I bought it. I have a Tefal 2-in-one. It’s quite small, but fine for me. Single drawer with a tray inside, easy to clean. I’m not a great cook, so have mainly used it for chips, wedges, heating up quiche and pizza. I do plan to experiment a bit more. I tried cooking fish in it, but the result was a bit dry, I prefer to pan fry.

Use mine every day but find if you double stack the bottom tray doesn’t cook very well. Also pastry items are raw on the bottom.

I have a basic one and use it most days. Only use the oven for baking or if I’m doing whole pizzas. But I would like to replace it with a bigger one with 2 drawers.

I've had an actifryer for years, the original type, only bought for chips (home made and frozen oven chips!)

However, I do have an Instant Vortex + 5l (or something like that, drawer type) as due to electric costs, I refuse to use the oven. Perfect for sausages, burgers, chops, stuff usually shoved under grill. Not brave enough to put meat joints in it, they go in the slow cooker.

Ninja dual drawer and I use it everyday. Meat, chicken, fish, veg. I've made puddings, cakes, scones, fruit loafs in it. Have even made chicken stews albeit nit massive amounts. Haven't used my main iven for months and months.

Polly7

Ps. I bought mine for £70 from Kettle & Toaster man website. when were £130 other places because he gets them with battered boxes or tiny scratch

Yes, I always look for deals too. My first airfryer was an Amazon Warehouse deal which said it had a damaged box. In fact I couldn't find any damage but it was a real bargain.
My last one came from EBay, again with a damaged box. I honestly don't think that you need to pay full price for things like this now.
My glass=sided Magimix toaster was half price because the "Magimix" sign written on the glass was back to front, nobody has ever noticed. Even my air-conditioner was ex-display!

Ps. I bought mine for £70 from Kettle & Toaster man website. when were £130 other places because he gets them with battered boxes or tiny scratch

Yes I cut pizza in half when GC come. Half on each shelf chips on another.

Love it. Got the Tower one with 3 trays so keeps potato veg and fish or meat separate
Cooks a bit quicker as doesn't need to heat, cheaper to run and tastes tastier quite often
Baked a sponge it was fine, love it wouldn't want to be without it. Saves energy

My Tower oven style air fryer takes a pizza, though I do have to trim about 1cm of the edge.

Casdon
The only thing the air fryer is not good for is pizza, which my son enjoys - it has to be cut up to cook because a pizza is bigger than the oven.

I have one of the Ninja's that is also a pressure cooker and is round, so I can get a pizza in there, though not a big one. My Foodi Grill is rectangular and quite large. If I cut the pizza in half I can put both parts in together, staggered a bit to push the curves into the corners. Then when it's done I slide it back together on the plate.
I've started to make my own pizzas again to avoid this problem, I just make them a rectangular shape to exactly fit the Ninja baking pan and cook them on a piece of baking parchement (with ends up to help me to remove it).

junie1

I am getting one with a concealed element, as I read the exposed elements ( which most air fryers have)
Are difficult to keep clean.

My Ninja has a metal filter which clips in front of the exposed element. It collects the grease and I can take it out to clean it in the dishwasher. The element is still very clean after three years.

Vintagegirl
How do worktops need to be protected? I imagine I would position one on the hob so fumes can be taken away with extractor.

Yes, I use mine on my glass hob which I protect with a chopping board to avoid scratches. If you position it to one side you can still use the hotplates whilst using the extractor. I also use it outside in the summer.

My daughter bought one first and when I saw how much she used it I was persuaded to buy one too. I've had it for three years and love it, I use it more than my main over.
Personally I think it's worth getting a slightly better one which has a grill plate so you can do chops or steak. I can roast with a temperature probe which is handy for spatchcock chicken or joints.
I've now also bought one which is a pressure cooker too, though I think it does slightly more than I really need. I used a pressure cooker years ago but the new electric ones are great. You can steam at the same time as baking (cakes), or steam and airfry/roast (potatoes). I'd forgotten how easy it was to boil or parboil potatoes under pressure without filling my kitchen with steam.

Still sitting on the fence here! I need gluten free so that means two type of pizza, different fish options etc. So I use main oven often and dont begrudge the extra electricity as kichen warms up and we eat in kitchen. Usually have two levels in use in oven and then like plates warmed.

How do worktops need to be protected? I imagine I would position one on the hob so fumes can be taken away with extractor.

I love mine, the ninja 15-1 mine was secondhand 2 yrs ago, its just broken so I've bought exactly the same model again, I used it to bake bread, cakes, pressure cooking, dehydrating and sooo much more. fantastic piece of kit and cheaper than the oven

I’m just about to replace my first one, which is a Tower 10 in 1, I think. I’m having my daughter’s nearly-new side-by-side Ninja as she’s having a Ninja tower one that someone bought and found too complicated.
I know of 2 people, which includes the person above, that have bought one and given up on it. Everyone else I know, like me, wouldn’t be without one!

I was very dubious until I read a Which report which recommended the Gino Decaprio (spelling?) as being excellent value for two people, so we got one from Asda for £50. It’s small enough to fit in a cupboard, just as well as it’s an unfortunate shade of green, but it’s extremely handy for something that you don’t want to put the oven on for. Makes a mean chip as you can shake the basket. It’s certainly not an oven replacement though.

I’ve had a Cosori single basket one for about 4 years. Was scared of it for the first year, but like others rarely use the oven now. I’m saving up for one with two baskets now. Liners are a help, also tinfoil dishes that things like quiche come in from the supermarket. We rarely have things like chips, I like fresh food, eg salmon 7 minutes, warmed up quiche 12 mins, soft and hard boiled eggs there’s no other way to cook sausages and bacon, brilliant - you learn as you go along. Good luck!

I love my air fryer, I bake cakes into roast chickens and even dehydrate strawberries to add to cakes etc. it’s a lot more economical than using my main oven

I am very happy with mine, which is an Instant Vortex Plus Dual Drawer, it has a synch feature, and clear windows. I use it most days, and it is amazing how much less electricity is being used, in fact my solar panels cancel out what I'm using, so my meter has hardly moved since April!