Thoughts on "air fryers"

SisterSueGetsFit

I've been thinking about purchasing an air fryer. Does anyone have experience with using them in conjunction with a healthier eating lifestyle? To be clear, I'm not looking to eat ALL THE FRIED FOOD, I've just heard mixed reviews and am curious. Thanks!

cwolfman13

My thoughts are that it's just a mini convection oven that is way overpriced for what you get...it's basically a gimmick. Just use your regular convection oven...it's the same thing and you'll get the same results.

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Duck_Puddle

I have nearly every kitchen gadget known to man, including an air fryer. It is indeed just a tiny convection oven. However, the foods I cook in it have a noticeably different outcome than those cooked in my countertop or oven convection ovens. I think the smaller space makes a difference in the level of crisp. I find that it’s not exactly a deep fried taste/effect, but pretty close and as close as I think you can come without actually deep frying something. The parts of mine also go in the dishwasher so it’s easy to clean. I’ve only used mine for Foods that would typically be fried (fries, onion rings, mozzarella sticks, chicken nuggets, scotch eggs, donuts, “fried” chicken...I’m all about the diet food). Others on my FL have air fryers and enjoy them for the typically fried foods as well as things like meatloaf, chicken breasts, other roasting/baking, veggie “fries”, etc.

ghudson92

I personally cannot get enough of chips (fries) made in the airfryer. I had one when I lived with my parents, sadly no room for one in my current house but will definitely buy one again one day!

layladrew26

I have an actifry and I love it although it was expensive. I make homemade chunky chips in it and they are just like deep fried chips but without so much grease. I use olive oil, just a table spoon so its much healthier than deep fried chips (and safer, I never liked having to deep fry it is so dangerous). I also cook frozen oven chips in there, you dont need to use oil as they are coated but they taste delicious and cook evenly, just like kebab shop chips. Yum! Personally I think they are worth it.

jgnatca

I won an Actifry at a Christmas party. It uses a tablespoon of oil and I recommend you don’t skip that part. I use it to make potato wedge fries and it does a pretty decent stir fry too.

changeconsumeme

I have an air fryer. I like to use it vs my oven because it takes way less time to preheat and way less time to cook certain things I want crispy. It does "fry" things without having to use much, if any, oil...which is a bonus! I bought mine for $50 on Amazon.

SisterSueGetsFit

Thanks everyone! I think I'll try one. Can't hurt!

LivingtheLeanDream

Been there, done that......its just not the same as fried chips/fries and if I want chips I want the real thing so mine is currently gathering dust.

Tacklewasher

Had an Actifry for a couple of weeks now. I used to do fries in the oven and I do prefer them out of the actifry. I would use the same amount of oil either way so that's no different, but they dome out crispier from the air fryer. Not deep fried, but somewhere in between.

We tried chicken in it and it turned out pretty good. We overcooked it a bit but will try it again.

So far I like mine.

cheryldumais

Love mine. It is expensive for just making fries (although it makes lots of other things) but my hubby loves fries and these are better than oven baked. I have convection in my oven but prefer my air fryer fries.

RachelElser

I have a Big Boss and I love it. People say it's the same as an oven- well I also have a brand new oven and it's NOT the same. The BB def gets things crisper. It doesn't taste like deep fried, but it tastes far better than in the oven.

RachelElser

RunRutheeRun wrote: »

Been there, done that......its just not the same as fried chips/fries and if I want chips I want the real thing so mine is currently gathering dust.

Quick, sell it to the poster at a discount!

Mkneedtogetfit

I love my air fryer especially if you are cooking a small portion and don't want to wait for the oven to pre heat. I have been making fries, falafels, chicken, bean burgers etc
The only thing is that you need to eat the food straight away. If you leave it lying around for a bit longer, it loses its crispness as there is no fat/oil to keep it crisp.

jasummers76

They are decent and do cook things quicker than the oven. But if you are feeding a family be prepared to spend a few hundred dollars on a larger one. Otherwise you will be standing there forever cooking fries for the family in those smaller ones.

SisterSueGetsFit

Well, I bought one today. I have a sweet potato and a Nashville hot boneless skinless chicken breast cooking now.

AdamAthletic

Love mine, purchased second hand for £15/$20 when my fiance came to visit for 3 months (ldr) and we rented a temp apartment that had limited kitchen space.

Firstly, 'value' is in the eye of the beholder - I picked mine up second hand and I can honestly say that it ranked amongst the top 5 purchases of 2017 for me!

Though - In honesty, I never used it with oil so, I guess that essentially I use mine as a convection oven - it makes great crispy sweet potato fries!! Oh, carrot fries, etc! It was well used for those 3 months!

SisterSueGetsFit

Oh, and I'm only cooking for me.

SisterSueGetsFit

AdamAthletic wrote: »

Love mine, purchased second hand for £15/$20 when my fiance came to visit for 3 months (ldr) and we rented a temp apartment that had limited kitchen space.

Firstly, 'value' is in the eye of the beholder - I picked mine up second hand and I can honestly say that it ranked amongst the top 5 purchases of 2017 for me!

Though - In honesty, I never used it with oil so, I guess that essentially I use mine as a convection oven - it makes great crispy sweet potato fries!! Oh, carrot fries, etc! It was well used for those 3 months!

I love that "value is in the eye of the beholder" statement. I think this will be a top purchase for me too.

AdamAthletic

SisterSueGetsFit wrote: »

AdamAthletic wrote: »

Love mine, purchased second hand for £15/$20 when my fiance came to visit for 3 months (ldr) and we rented a temp apartment that had limited kitchen space.

Firstly, 'value' is in the eye of the beholder - I picked mine up second hand and I can honestly say that it ranked amongst the top 5 purchases of 2017 for me!

Though - In honesty, I never used it with oil so, I guess that essentially I use mine as a convection oven - it makes great crispy sweet potato fries!! Oh, carrot fries, etc! It was well used for those 3 months!

I love that "value is in the eye of the beholder" statement. I think this will be a top purchase for me too.

They really are a great piece of kit!!

In my eyes, anything that makes cooking food that is conducive to your goals more convenient can only be a good thing - I've never been into fried food, so for me, I wasn't looking for a specific "fried" effect. That may influence other people's thoughts on it!

Although I picked mine up cheap, I would have totally paid full up for Andrew the Airfryer (as my o/h has fondly named it! lol).

Sp1tfire

Get a convection oven they are the BEST. I love mine so much and I don't even add oil to stuff like fries and meats I make in it.

Lillymoo01

I have an air fryer and love it. I use it most days of the week to either bake, grill, roast or 'fry'. It makes the best fries that are much healthier than most. Simply cut a potato (or sweet potato) into fries. Toss through a teaspoon or 2 of olive oil with some garlic powder and mixed herbs, put them into the air fryer for 25 minutes and you have super crispy fries that don't swim in fat. Grilling homemade hamburger patties, and chicken breasts is a dream. Roasts are simple and mini quiches a dream.

JaxxieKat

I broke two of those things. They're cheaply made. I now have a toaster oven with a convection setting that I use to bake things like low/no oil fries and whatnot.

Strawblackcat

I think that they're large, rather ugly egg-shaped devices that can do everything that someone's oven can already do. My kitchen counter just does't have room for something that big that only does one thing.

I guess that they're a good way to burn $100.00 if you have it lying around.

rickiimarieee

I want one whether they are just tiny ovens I feel like it's much quicker but i don't know since I never had one.

rickiimarieee

Strawblackcat wrote: »

I think that they're large, rather ugly egg-shaped devices that can do everything that someone's oven can already do. My kitchen counter just does't have room for something that big that only does one thing.

I guess that they're a good way to burn $100.00 if you have it lying around.

Where I'm from they have them on sale for like 20$-30$

rainbowbow

I have an oven in my kitchen that has both standard and convection settings. the fan setting is just as good (imo) as the tefal air fryers.

If you don't have an oven like this, however, it might be worth it to invest in one. Fries and other breaded foods just come out WAY better and are totally worth it IMO.

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melodysf10

I absolutely love my air fryer. Made "fried" okra in it just yesterday. One of my favorite things to cook in there is turkey tenderloin. Cornish hens are yummy too. Oh, squash! Sweet potato fries! I could go on and on.

acpgee

I use mine like a small, well insulated, energy efficient, aggressively fan assisted oven. Great or roasting vegetables or potatoes when you don't want to heat up the kitchen in summer. Perfect for energy inefficient uses such as roast chick peas. Also great for blackening red peppers prior to peeling, which don't need to be turned as in a conventional oven. It heats up much faster than an oven. Will experiment with chicken wings and drumsticks next.