Air Fryers

I bought the Tefal double draw one a few weeks ago and very pleased with it. I haven’t done cakes or scones yet but meat, fish, chips and vegetables are all good. I am still experimenting and not very adventurous as yet. I would go for the largest one you can find space for in the kitchen! Personally I would still want a cooker, grill and microwave. I don’t think an airfryer can replace these just a useful addition. I went in to John Lewis and they were really helpful and knowledgeable about choosing one.

I bought the smallest size, thinking it would be easier to move out of the way when not being used. However, I am finding I use it so much that it hardly ever gets moved. Now I am thinking maybe I should have gone for a larger one. HTH.

I have a Tefal one too but mine has 3 shelve options on top of each other. There are the two of us also. I’m really happy with it and use it most days. I haven’t baked in it yet but intend trying that option out at some point.

The choice is really between the shelf ones and the basket/drawer ones. I have ended up with one of each, as I have a shelf one in the caravan and a bucket (Ninja) one at home. They are different beasts.

The shelf one is like a mini oven. Tonight I have cooked a leek and potato pie and a Countess pudding in it (for an inadvertently 1940s style meal ) and they cooked exactly as they would in the big oven, but in less time using less power. I assembled the pie first on a pie plate, and cooked the pudding in the fryer from the raw batter stage in a pudding basin. They are great for Yorkshire puddings too.

The bucket ones would struggle with that sort of thing, as you can't easily put dishes in them. If you find one that fits you struggle to get them in and out without spilling the food and burning yourself. Where the bucket ones come into their own, however, is for things like chips, or anything that you might want to deep fry. They have a larger capacity (or the large ones do) and you can shake the food easily to get a more even cook. The shelf ones have to have the shelves turned and rotated otherwise the top one cooks faster than the lower ones.

Both cook chickens better than in the oven. I would say that if you want to make scones etc the shelf one would be a better buy. Mine is a Tower one, too, and I'm happy with it. I don't know that either of them would replace an oven, but I use mine much less often now.

I have a Tower drawer it was quite cheap
I ve not used my oven in a year and 3 months
Mind you I m not much of a cook so don’t do anything complex

I use the oven for pizzas which are too big to fit in the Tower (I wouldn't cook them in the Ninja). When they are cooked and I'm reheating a slice I use the AF - the Tower is better for ease of access, but the results are the same.

Otherwise, the oven is for when we have guests, really. I've done a whole Sunday dinner (for two) in the Tower, but needed to use the microwave to get everything hot at the end. The Ninja would be a faff for that.

I forgot to say that the bucket ones often come with other features, such as doubling as slow cooker/pressure cooker/rice cooker and so on. If you already have these gadgets I wouldn't bother paying for a massive machine that duplicates their facilities, but if not, it's worth getting them all in one.

LilyoftheValley there was quite a long thread about air fryers not that long ago, which you might find helpful if you search. From a personal point of view I use ours for economical reasons, but they are very versatile.

Patsy70 Oops! Shall do as you suggest. Thank you to everyone.

I have a Tower dual drawer one, but there is not much room for muffins, scones or family sized baking dishes. If I could choose again I would go for the Ninja with one large drawer which can be divided into two if wanted, or the oven type. Of course the Ninjas are the most expensive!

I have two, my original one is a Philips with one basket but I found it wasn't really practical for cooking a meal as you can only do one or two things in a smallish space at a time. Kept it as a back up for chips etc if I need more space in the new one. So a couple months ago I bought a Tower 10 in 1. It has three shelves and I use it much more. It has a rotisserie too, not tried that yet but it will cook a small chicken suitable for a salad meal etc.

I have a Ninja 400. It is a dual drawer. You can cook two different things in two different ways. By pressing synchronise the two will finish at the same time or both drawers can be set to match each other. It can air fry, bake, roast,dehydrate. Also maximum crisp.The only restriction it has is what you can fit into the drawers. However my dd told me that they now do one where the drawers can be undivided. So double the size. I have made cakes , scones , pies successfully in my dual but used smaller tins so 1 lb instead of 2. Scones were just dropped into both drawers. Pies in dishes. So if there is another Ninja which can be converted to one drawer I would be able to bake the normal size. Otherwise think normal oven cooking just lower the temperature and shorten the cooking time. Bear in mind that you can pull out drawers to peep and judge what is going on. There ate so many things that do better than an oven - sausages, bacon.toasted soft rolls, buns etc

I have a tower, I'm still experimenting, I cook chips and roast potatoes, chicken fillets turn out well as do burgers and sausage, but I haven't tried cakes or scones.

Try not to think of it as a frying device, pably. I think they are misnamed, as they (particularly the shelf ones) are really mini ovens. You can cook anything in them that would cook in an oven, but people often only use them for things they would have fried. Next time you go to put the oven on, ask yourself if the food would fit in the AF? As a rule of thumb, reduce the temperature and timing by 20%.

I have a Ninja Dual - bucket type - with 2 separate buckets.
I really don’t like it and have rarely used it.
For a family of 4 you couldn’t cook a full meal in it.
In hindsight I should have gone for the shelf type of air fryer.
I use my built in oven 3/4 times per week - even if it’s just for my husband and I.
I’m contemplating buying another shelf type air fryer - but I don’t think I can justify spending the money.
Make sure you shop around and get the right type for you 😊

I am confused about the various 'wattage' of the air fryers. 800watt to 1500watt on various makes.

what to go for.. I just want a 3litre for two people

lemsip from experience I doubt if 3 litre size is sufficient for 2 adults. I have a fairly basic 4 litres. I live alone and it’s fine for one but I don’t think it would do 2 if you want to cook items of food at the same time rather than in batches.

Mine would hold eg 2 small chicken breasts side by side but that would be it full. I cook a single chicken breast and once cooking is well underway fill the remaining space with sliced peppers, onions and tomatoes and it’s all ready at the same time.

I’ve had it about a year and use it daily. When it needs replaced I’ll go for a bigger one. My advice is buy the biggest that your worktop space and budget will allow.

Doodledog that was the most useful explanation of air fryers I have seen, thanks. I have recently bought the basket/drawer type and am struggling to use it as much as I would like, from your description I should have bought a shelf one 🤦‍♀️

Ninja dual I’m rather impressed so far it’s easy to use easy to clean. I still use my oven for roasties though I have tried making them in the air fryer not the best for me they were too dry.

I have bought lots of air fryer recipe books but sent them back not suitable mostly just heating frozen food up. This week I purchased Poppy Cooks for half price it’s actually proper recipes not just for heating food up.

it was the wattage of various airfryers I wanted to know about about..

My son and daughter both have a dual drawer ninja and find it versatile for 2 adults and 2 children. A full chicken can fit in one drawer and cook to perfection while the vegetables cook simultaneously in the other drawer.

It’s a pity fryer is used in the name as it’s not fried food. I often see posters say they wouldn’t want one as they don’t ever fry food. It’s oven roasted/baked/grilled . Really it’s a small fan oven which cooks more rapidly than a conventional oven. I lightly spray vegetables with olive oil but other than that I don’t use any oil.

My 4 litre Tower model is 1400w

Mine is 2470W