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

RavingMad

Slightly off topic but what are the differences between air fry / roast/ bake with these things?

outtatune

Saying that an air fryer is just a conventional fan oven is a bit like saying that a hair dryer is just a regular fan heater.

The underlying principles are the same, but the implementation is very different.

onomatopoeia99

For doing my emergency "forgot to defrost the meat to make supper" meal which will involve oven chips and something else frozen, my air fryer cuts the cooking time down from 35 minutes including over warm-up time to 15 minutes and significantly reduces electricity use (this is MSE after all).  So for me it's a win.

Still use the oven for pizzas, Sunday roast, baking cakes etc. 

GibbsRule_No3.

RavingMad said:

Slightly off topic but what are the differences between air fry / roast/ bake with these things?

I'd like to know the answer to this question. My Ninja has options but I normally use Air Fry, have on occasion tried bake but not sure what the difference was.

Gobsh

You're a bit wrong
"Air fryers" originally used to FRY food, in the AIR, now they use the term to describe small fan ovens, and the only reason they are faster and cheaper is BECAUSE they are small, which by definition can't be upscaled. If I'm wrong, maybe you can tell us about these  "implimentations" you elude to. I am genuinely interested in replacing my full size microwave/fan/grill oven with an "air fryer"

outtatune said:

Saying that an air fryer is just a conventional fan oven is a bit like saying that a hair dryer is just a regular fan heater.

The underlying principles are the same, but the implementation is very different.

Gobsh

I found it really strange that Pukka Pies are now including air fryer cooking times, and cite EXACTLY the same time as the conventional fan oven times. 

onomatopoeia99 said:

For doing my emergency "forgot to defrost the meat to make supper" meal which will involve oven chips and something else frozen, my air fryer cuts the cooking time down from 35 minutes including over warm-up time to 15 minutes and significantly reduces electricity use (this is MSE after all).  So for me it's a win.

Still use the oven for pizzas, Sunday roast, baking cakes etc. 

Ergates

outtatune said:

Saying that an air fryer is just a conventional fan oven is a bit like saying that a hair dryer is just a regular fan heater.

The underlying principles are the same, but the implementation is very different.

The "normal" counter-top ones, yes.  Nobody is questioning that.

The question is actually about the built in oven sized ones that are labelled as "air fryer".

i.e. are these actually air fryers, or are they just conventional fan ovens with a marketing label.

Reading the manufacturer descriptions, some of them *claim* additional benefits over a conventional oven (quicker cook times, less energy, better crispness). e.g.: 

https://www.hotpoint.co.uk/hotpoint-class-4-activemultiflow-hoi4s8pm0buk-electric-single-fan-oven-with-air-fry-and-dualclean-black-859991682560

Miele - H 2766-1 BP 125 Edition Obsidian black – Oven

Air Fryer Oven Function | NEFF Home UK

But, obviously, without some independent review it's hard to say if that's true or or just marketing guff.

wongataa

Gobsh said:

You're a bit wrong
"Air fryers" originally used to FRY food, in the AIR, now they use the term to describe small fan ovens, and the only reason they are faster and cheaper is BECAUSE they are small, which by definition can't be upscaled. If I'm wrong, maybe you can tell us about these  "implimentations" you elude to. I am genuinely interested in replacing my full size microwave/fan/grill oven with an "air fryer"

Yes a big reason air fryers are faster etc is because they are smaller than a regular oven and so can heat up more quickly.  But a big part of how they cook much faster is due to the air circulation.  In a regular fan oven their is a fan in the rear wall to blow the air around making the temperature in the oven more even throughout the volume.

In an air fryer their is a high speed fan and a specially shaped base to purposefully make the air swirl in a manner that improves the cooking.  The first prototype didn't have air swirling features and didn't cook the food very well despite being smaller etc.

Watch the BBC episode of 'The Secret Genius of Modern Life' on air fryers.  It is on iPlayer.

onomatopoeia99

Gobsh said:

I found it really strange that Pukka Pies are now including air fryer cooking times, and cite EXACTLY the same time as the conventional fan oven times. 

onomatopoeia99 said:

For doing my emergency "forgot to defrost the meat to make supper" meal which will involve oven chips and something else frozen, my air fryer cuts the cooking time down from 35 minutes including over warm-up time to 15 minutes and significantly reduces electricity use (this is MSE after all).  So for me it's a win.

Still use the oven for pizzas, Sunday roast, baking cakes etc. 

My experience of using one suggests if you keep to the fan oven times it will be fine, provided you like your pies moderately cremated.

droopsnoot

Gobsh said:

I found it really strange that Pukka Pies are now including air fryer cooking times, and cite EXACTLY the same time as the conventional fan oven times. 

onomatopoeia99 said:

For doing my emergency "forgot to defrost the meat to make supper" meal which will involve oven chips and something else frozen, my air fryer cuts the cooking time down from 35 minutes including over warm-up time to 15 minutes and significantly reduces electricity use (this is MSE after all).  So for me it's a win.

Still use the oven for pizzas, Sunday roast, baking cakes etc. 

That's strange, most of the air fryer instructions that I notice are shorter times and lower temperatures. That said, I don't really pay much attention to them as they tend to be based on more food than I'm cooking - half a bag of chips, for example, rather than a single portion. So a lot of my times are experimentation.

I've just checked the only Pukka Pie I have and you're correct, that says 25-30 minutes from chilled, though it suggests 180C rather than the 190C it suggests for oven cooking. But that sounds like a long time to me - I'd normally do an Iceland pie (which admittedly is a little smaller, but not much) for 18 minutes. Maybe the size makes that much difference.