Have just got small Air Fryer. I you do not already have... get one!
They are amazing!
Only used twice, so far, but perfectly cooked sausages without frying pan and have just had runny yolked Soft Boiled Eggs without boiling water! (No mess to clean out of tray with those!).
Google for loads of utube demonstations/recipes/tips... and have Fun! :D
Steaks, Chips, Burgers, F'Fingers, Bacon... whole Chicken! Tray may need soapy water wash... griddle a brush... but paper tray under griddle saves tray getting clagged. Some cooks use sprayed high temp oil eg.Avocado... maybe on steak, but usually not needed for most oven stuff. :)
My Ma would have LOVED this thing!
I've been wondering about getting one of those for a bit.
Couldn't make my mind up if it would save me tons of time and effort or if it would end up unused and unloved, cluttering the place up like my daughter's coffee machine she insisted she Absolutely Needed!!! when she was 16.
Sounds as if it may get more use (not difficult as she refused to take it to Uni as it was too...I dunno - too something!).
You may have persuaded me.
had one BEFORE they became popular 8)
best thing since sliced bread
My wife swears by it and much less smelly than normal fryers, plus a damned site easier to clean.
I will hold this forum directly responsible for anything cooking related which happens after mine arrives on Wednesday!
Nurse Techno on standby?
I rather like the presentations from 'Recipe This'... straight forward and little faff, with temps in C. She does say to avoid cheaper supermarkets' own or 'fattier' sausage brands... our fave being one! Will try, sometime. The brand of sausage bought in Sainsburys did NOT smoke at all.
I NEVER thought that I would be looking up 'cookery' in the internet!!! ;) ;D
Lol. Once bought Ma a Breadmaker... never touched, and her big Fat Fryer only used once. Went to skip. :(
We've got one and it's excellent, so much easier and quicker for all kinds of stuff.
The handful of things I fry can go in the wok or the frying pan.
But I wouldn't be without my little halogen oven with it's clockwork timer.
We've have had a Ninja air fryer for a while. It does fantastic spicy chicked wings. Together with our slow cooker and bread maker it is the most used stand alone specialist appliance in our kitchen. The electric frying pan and electric wok we were given as wedding presents 40 years ago are the least used though we haven't got the heart to ditch them.
Breadmaker, coffee machine - my breakfast depends on both!
Quote from: Leon on 06 March 2023, 10:32:11 PMWe've got one and it's excellent, so much easier and quicker for all kinds of stuff.
They are said to use half the electricity of a normal oven ... and cook in half the time, delivering superbly cooked food. It is proving an excellent purchase.
From being a totaly non-cook... to microwave... due to 'life'...
WOW... def an 'oppenning'! Try it! :)
Mine is only small... just One to cater for... but bigger would be better1 ;)
Ask Wifey, if one about! LOL!
Quote from: Heedless Horseman on 07 March 2023, 01:19:39 AMMine is only small... but bigger would be better ;)
Ask Wifey, if one about! LOL!
It takes a brave man to admit it!
I got one about a month ago and have found it useful. Despite its name it doesn't fully replace frying but is an excellent efficient mini oven and I've rarely used my main oven since getting it. Between it and my instant pot pressure cooker (another purchase I'd highly recommend) the oven is pretty much obsolete for small family cooking. Both produce results much faster than the oven. The pot has the advantage of doing all manner of rice, grains, braises and stews too in generally much less time. They airfryer I find you do sometimes have to experiment a bit to find the right way to cook things as it's not quite the same as the oven or the fryer. But excellent when you get it right.
Quote from: FierceKitty on 07 March 2023, 12:38:49 AMBreadmaker, coffee machine - my breakfast depends on both!
I still use Italian stove-top coffee pots, one of which belonged to my parents so it is as old as I am. It is a morning ritual which includes grinding the beans by hand. I'm not sure a machine would be quite the same. It's tea after mid-day.
I used to use those Moka-express stove top pots; better than a drip filter, but they generate only about a third of the steam pressure of a real espresso machine, with correspondingly greater flavour (including acid bitterness - they aren't for everyone). There's no going back.
Lee also grinds the beans daily; much better that way.
ignore
Old Cooker 55cm was just the right size, but down to one working ring (The SMALL one, of course!). Main Oven NEVER used! But grill good for 3-4 slices cheese on toast, so loth to replace with 50cm.
M'wave ...or fryer will 'grill', but have not tried yet.
Would still want some sort of Ring... 'boiled' eggs, now not an issue! But have drooled over FB pic of 'Spicy Sausage and Red Pepper Casserole'. Think a ring and heavy pan would be needed. Will see... someday, maybe?
Think you can get 'counter-top' rings... will have to look. Kitchen needs a clear out and more storage space.
Air Fryer is a definite plus! There is just me, now Ma has gone...so bought small 4l... bigger, better if you have space. Heard 'Ninja' is prob best, but costs more than my little 'Tefal'.
When planning to replace my gas hob with an induction one I bought a stand alone induction "ring" to see if the change over would need changes in technique as well as a swap of a few pans - most of mine are stainless steel anyway. Cost about fifty quid but convinced me not much was going to change except my gas bill.
So, I currently have a large and small built in oven, a stand alone halogen oven, a built in four ring gas hob, an induction ring, an air fryer, a microwave, two kettles .... and a bread maker that doesn't work. Cooking for one. In a kitchen with next to no worktop space and far too few power sockets. Doh!
Ithoriel... sounds a bit like Me! 5 Fridges/freezers, 2 switched off. MOST of old pans/implements chucked! Then, you want one! Buy another!
To be honest... a BFF or fem relative 'MAY'! be good idea... but TERRIFIED of results if I let cousin's wife loose... KNOW what she can do! Tornado's, nothing in it! LOL!!! :o :( ;)
Quote from: Lord Speedy of Leighton on 07 March 2023, 12:44:36 PMNo, shan't
Nyah, nyah, nyah! My mommy could thump your daddy and his dog, so there!
I had a breadmaker many years ago but was never happy with the bread from it so ditched in in a move at one point. I would be tempted by a proper espresso machine but can be pricey to get a good quality one. I tend to stick with grinder and v60/aeropress for coffee brewing. Have lots of various pots and brewing vessels for different types of tea too and a temperature control kettle for them (which turns out to be very useful for making baby bottles too!) I'd use the instant pot and air fryer multiple times a week for cooking. I've just an electric hob, had an induction in the last place and miss it but can't justify swapping out the current electric one while it's still working. I have a decent amount of kitchen space at the moment, but if I was to downsize I think the instant pot and air fryer would probably be my main cooking devices alongside the hob. I do have a single plug in induction plate that I got many years ago for the same reason as ithoriel, but alas it's a bit too temperamental after many years and multiple moves.
QuoteOld Cooker 55cm was just the right size, but down to one working ring (The SMALL one, of course!). Main Oven NEVER used! But grill good for 3-4 slices cheese on toast, so loth to replace with 50cm.
M'wave ...or fryer will 'grill', but have not tried yet.
Would still want some sort of Ring... 'boiled' eggs, now not an issue! But have drooled over FB pic of 'Spicy Sausage and Red Pepper Casserole'. Think a ring and heavy pan would be needed. Will see... someday, maybe?
Think you can get 'counter-top' rings... will have to look. Kitchen needs a clear out and more storage space.
You can probably do decent cheese on toast in the air fryer and depending on how much temperature control it gives you you could make a casserole in it as it's just a mini oven at the end of the day. Failing that, a small instant pot would see you through any number of casseroles, stews, soups, braises and just about anything else "wet" that can be done in oven
The only thing I use my gas hob for these days is making big batches of soup as my induction ring can't take the big pot. I tend to make enough soup at a time for 5 or 6 bowlfuls. One into me, the rest into the fridge or freezer!
I used to really enjoy the bread from my breadmaker but it packed up just as I started a serious and ongoing diet so I haven't replaced it because eating a whole freshly baked loaf slathered with olive spread is not conducive to weight loss :-)
Dead breadmaker went to the recycling last night due to the reminder from this thread that I needed to dispose of it.
Dear God. Just remembered, small child... 4-5. Snow and Baked tatties in foil cooked on bonfire, started up somehow when still on farm. THAT is what a brain IS for! :( :)
Quote from: mollinary on 06 March 2023, 08:32:13 PMI will hold this forum directly responsible for anything cooking related which happens after mine arrives on Wednesday!
So how was it for you?
QuoteQuoteI will hold this forum directly responsible for anything cooking related which happens after mine arrives on Wednesday!
So how was it for you?
;D
Got one after hearing how great they are and from eldest's university anecdotes; never looked back since... 8)
It was amazing how much difference those two little drawers made to easing the pressure on cooking Christmas dinner this year #:-S
I have looked at air fryers, but rejected them. I do not use my oven a lot, and then only the small one. Most of my cooking is done on the hob, stir frys, Italian pastas and risottos, Mexican with tacos or tortillas. I don't tend to use recipes, but taste and season as I go along, which is difficult if you have shut the food up in a little box.
I have got a breadmaker and use it a lot. My expresso machine died a few years ago and I used an Aeropress for a couple of weeks, until replacing the machine. I love it and never bothered getting another electric coffee machine!
We've wondered about an air fryer but I am not sure where we'd put it. My wife is the cook of the family and remains to be convinced.
We've got a full oven with a warming drawer, 4 ring halogen, 2 ring gas hob, toaster, slow cooker (not always out), kettle, microwave.
We use a small or large french press for coffee depending if we're having the same thing.
Edward
With two built-in ovens, a microwave, a halogen oven, an induction hob and single induction hot plate what could go wrong at Christmas?
Oh yes! They tripped the fuses, plunging us into darkness and stopping cooking until we could re-arrange things to fit into fewer devices.
Quote from: Ithoriel on 02 February 2025, 10:38:15 AMWith two built-in ovens, a microwave, a halogen oven, an induction hob and single induction hot plate what could go wrong at Christmas?
Oh yes! They tripped the fuses, plunging us into darkness and stopping cooking until we could re-arrange things to fit into fewer devices.
😳
I admit when we had the halogen induction hobs fitted we had to sort out the electricity and fuses to support all the appliances. Touch wood we haven't had them trip the fuses (apart from the oven a couple of months ago as a sign it's wearing out).
Edward