Air Fryer - worth the hype?

I have an air fryer/toaster oven. I don't have space in my microscopic kitchen for too many appliances. I love the air fryer function for fries, and meat. I haven't tried it for veggies yet. I enjoy the toaster oven function for baking and reheating. For me and 2 in 1 was a great call.

I'm on my second since we wore the first one out. We use it several times a week. I've found it to be excellent on pork chops, boneless/skinless chicken breasts and thighs, potatoes (make my own "fried" potatoes with just a spritz of oil), etc. etc. From what I've seen, they all work about the same, so don't feel you have to buy an expensive one.

It's essentially a small, very well insulated convection oven where the fan is considerably more aggressive than in a normal convection oven. I like it because it doesn't heat up the house in summer and is more energy efficient than my oven. I get the impression it does a better job of melting subcutaneous fat from skin on chicken, fish, and duck. Skin comes out super crispy.

You can't do things such as toasted cheese sandwiches like in a convection oven because the fan blows everything apart unless you weight the bread down with a piece of silicon mess that has been cut to fit tightly in the air fryer basket. I do the same to hold down open face cheese sandwiches and for toasting nuts and coconut flakes which would otherwise fly everywhere with the aggressive fanning.

I hardly use the oven anymore unless I need to fit a Christmas goose or a whole bone in leg of lamb to feed a crowd. My compact Phillips Viva model can make a roast beef dinner with roast potatoes and roast vegetables for four people. I put the meat joint in first, surround and top with parboiled potatoes that have been tossed in fat and add oil tossed carrots, parsnips or courgettes to the space under the air fryer basket.

If I had to choose again, I would choose a larger model. The Phillips Viva is fine for cooking for two, but if I am making wings for a crowd I need to cook in batches.

Wings are different than deep fried, but just as good, with a very thin crispy skin. The dishes I do to mimic deep fried food are Chinese Di San Xian, Chinese salt and pepper pork, Spanish croquettas. For the vegetable dish first wok with some oil, and then finish in the air fryer instead of deep frying cubes of potato and aubergine. For salt and pepper pork I coat in salted beaten egg white before air frying. For croquettas I bread in oily breadcrumbs, where I stir in a teaspoon of oil into a half cup of breadcrumbs.

Unpopular opinion: Not worth it. I got one for Christmas a few years ago and ended up getting rid of it within 6 months. I didn't feel as if you could put that much food in it and it took just as long as the oven, with less satisfying results.

Yesss! I felt the same way then i finally bought one a couple months ago and it was a total game changer. It really helped me with my cheats meals. Instead of going out, i would recreate a lot of fast food meals. Just today i cooked a piece of fish today for one of my prepped meals...it was delicious. I've used it to make wings, fish, fries, tortilla chips, meatballs and even to toast my sandwiches lol. I got mine on Amazon for $30-$40 dollars. I usually saw them being sold for about $70 and up.

Honestly, i dont use it for making all my meals cause that would take too much time but i do use it about every other day for snacks and mostly every weekend for cheat meals. Helping me save money as well.

I have a family of 7, so they seem awfully small to me! My oven is often full to the brim with dinner. I do want a convection oven the next time around. Maybe when the toaster oven dies I will try a countertop convection oven. Sorry I couldn’t help, but family size may weigh into your decision!

We've been doing more frozen veggies rather than fresh as part of our effort to make fewer shopping trips. I just figured out that my air fryer is great for roasting frozen vegetables. No mushy/soggy veggies. Honestly, I feel like the purchase was worth it for that benefit alone.

I put frozen broccoli in there (seasoned and drizzled with olive oil). After about 20 minutes, it comes out perfectly, with crisp, slightly charred edges. Our air fryer is 10-quart capacity, so a relatively large one.

My sister has one and I recently stayed with her for a few days and saw it in action. I enjoyed the food cooked in it, but I can't see getting one.

1. The capacity is really small (but maybe they make big ones for families?). She had a dinner with two different items that were in the fryer and they had to be done individually, which took longer. If you wanted both items hot and fresh, it would have been impossible.
2. It takes a long time! We made breakfast potatoes and I think it took close to 30-45 minutes. Probably the same amount of time as the oven and once you figured in how many times she had to open the fryer to stir the potatoes, it might as well have been in the oven.

My sister got it as a gift and she uses it, but she says she wouldn't replace it if it broke.

I love mine💗 it has 3 racks so it's ok for roominess and when I'm done I put it in a pantry closet, I'll always have one in my house,, instapot is the fad appliance that I wish I'd never got🤷🏻‍♀️