Is there an actual advantage to air frying or are we just being sold a pup?

Gobsh

Is there an actual advantage to air frying or are we just being sold a pup?

They suggest that it heats up faster than a conventional oven, but that is only because it's a smaller than a conventional oven, but now they are selling built-in air fryers to replace conventional ovens which leaves the same question?????

Flugelhorn

I think the small air fryers are great as they are definitely more convenient for single portions compared with a conventional oven. Not sure there would be such an advantage having a huge built in one

Brookside88

so the example i usually give is that pre airfryer, id put the oven on, wait 10 mins, put nuggets and chips in and they'd take 20-25 mins. in the airfryer, i put the nuggets and chips in (no preheating) and they're done in 10-12 mins. I use mine several times a day, oven only gets used for a roast dinner or pizza now

FlorayG

They are just the latest fad. You can get one of the previous 'fad' cookers for a tenner unused on FB or other selling sites. It's called a halogen oven and it does every single thing that a £150 air-fryer can do. I'm on my third £10 halogen oven, I've been using them for years. You can even buy a new one for £50

New_in_the_fens

I use this one - https://ninjakitchen.co.uk/product/ninja-foodi-10-in-1-multifunction-oven-dt200uk-zidDT200UK?utm_source=awin&utm_medium=176013&utm_campaign=Redbrain+Ltd&sv1=affiliate&sv_campaign_id=176013&awc=8059_1749210253_746db865dff1013d7e456bf52d4f595

I don’t have an oven, just a microwave, slow cooker, this and a two ring hob (kitchen will get redone eventually 😂). Ninja cooks everything so much faster and manages all meals including a Sunday roast. Christmas dinner was a bit more of a juggle, but all done and served hot 😀

Gobsh

You both seem to describe the advantage of using a SMALLER oven, which without not transfer to a large oven, so it looks like In-built "Air Frying" is just a pup being sold to us

EssexExile

Living on my own I use an air fryer almost every day, proper oven once a week maybe. I too wouldn't see the point of a big air fryer for me. Someone will no doubt do a proper comparison one day to tell us whether we are being sold a pup.

Public health warning: Don't put a pup in an air fryer.

QrizB

Considering that an air fryer is just a small fan oven, isn't a "big air fryer" simply a fan oven?

Gobsh

Precisely my point unless I'm missing something 🤔 
I was seriously thinking about a builtin "Air fryer", but I was wondering whether there is an actual advantage. The original Air Fryers actually used to Fry stuff, in the air, with actual oil. But now they send to have run with the phrase "Air fryer" to describe virtually anything that cooks

QrizB said:

Considering that an air fryer is just a small fan oven, isn't a "big air fryer" simply a fan oven?

Andy_L

QrizB said:

Considering that an air fryer is just a small fan oven, isn't a "big air fryer" simply a fan oven?

An airfryer's fan is moving hot air more quickly than a fan oven and, AIUI, the air blast is hotter than in a fan oven

sk2402005

I have been using then for about 20 years, and we barely use oven at all.

Currently we have two 6l units side by side on the worktop.

They are twice as fast as an oven, use less than half the electricity and crisp things up brilliantly.

they are also a bit healthier as the fat runs into the bottom of the basket.

We chuck the whole basket into the dishwasher so no faffing about cleaning.

If it was not for the odd occasion that we use the oven, i would gladly get rid of it.

They are certainly not a fad, they are more of an evolution then the microwave oven when that was inveted, we use the airfryer much more often