Friday 24 February 2023

Air Fryers

With energy prices as expensive as they are at present, many people are looking at ways in which to cut down on their usage. Using an air fryer instead of an electric oven is one way to cut down on costs so it's no surprise that many people have turned to this way of cooking their meals since the energy price hikes in October. In fact, air fryers are so popular at the moment that some models sell out as soon as retailers replenish their stock.

Air fryers aren't a new thing, I bought my first one over eight years ago when I wanted some Crispy Chips. I didn't buy it to cut down on the cost of cooking a meal, more for the health aspect, which is what air fryers were being marketed as at that time, a way to cook food more healthily. Cooking this way was all very new to me at that time but I grew to love my air fryer so when it eventually broke, I didn't hesitate in buying another one. 

The two I've had up to this point have both been Tefal Actifry air fryers and I've been very happy with them. The only downside in my opinion is that they have a paddle to agitate the food being cooked so there is some limitation to what can be cooked in it, unless you buy an additional part. There's a cooking basket which can be popped over whatever you're cooking in the bottom of the pan but we've never bothered with that. 

Both Daniel and Eleanor had air fryers when they went off to university and they both found them really useful too, so much so that they both still use them now.

My second actifry is just starting to go now, we've already replaced one part and I can see that it won't be long until another part gives up the ghost so we've decided to invest in a new air fryer. 

We've gone with a different style of air fryer this time, a Ninja Dual Zone. Having used an air fryer for a long time now, we know what suits us best and I think the two separate drawers in this type of air fryer will be brilliant for cooking whole meals rather than just a part of it, meaning that we'll definitely use the oven less.

The Ninja Dual Zone has six cooking functions. Along with Air Fry there's also Max Crisp, Roast, Bake, Dehydrate and Reheat, and because there's two separate drawers which are able to be used independently of each other, it will be easier to cook complete meals

It's quite an expensive outlay but I think we'll recoup at least some of the costs back through not using the oven so much and of course, it's a healthier way to cook too. I'm looking forward to trying it out.

How about you, have you got an air fryer? Have you had one for a while or is it a new purchase? Have you bought it for health or cost reasons? I'd love to know.

18 comments:

  1. I'm new to air fryers, having read such positive reviews of them and wanting to cut down on using my oven, I bought a dual basket Lakeland one 2 weeks ago. I'm so impressed with it that I've now bought a 2nd one, a smaller 1 basket one for use in our static caravan. Not used my oven at all in the fortnight since I've had them.

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  2. We've just bought the same model as yours. Our children and grandchildren have been using air fryers for some time and swear by them.

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  3. We love ours. But it's small. I could use a larger model and am intrigued by the dehydrate mode on this one.

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  4. We don't have an air-fryer, but I have thought about getting one.

    I have a friend that has one and absolutely loves it.

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  5. It seems like I'm the only person who hasn't got one!

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  6. I haven't got an air fryer, I thought about it but when I looked they all looked really small, even the 2 compartment ones, I wasn't convinced. We have a double oven so use the smaller one sometimes depending on what I'm cooking I haven't noticed that using our oven or hob has increased our bills significantly, although it's not on every day and there is only me during the week.

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  7. I haven't got one Jo, although they are a very interesting concept. I bought a bread maker about a year ago and haven't really used that much. Also space for all these gadgets is a concern.

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  8. That looks like really posh air fryer Jo. I bought mine just three months ago because I used a halogen oven and thought an air fryer wasn't necessary but having bought one it's all I use, I think they are so convenient and wished I had bought one years ago. xx

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  9. I had one years ago but it didn't last very long. I've recently invested in an Instant Vortex dual drawer, a very similar style to yours. So far I've tried chips, roast potatoes (yum!), chicken portions and even steak!

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  10. We have an airfryer that is part of a toaster oven made by Breville. I think it is just a convection oven at a high temp but we really like it.

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  11. We had an air fryer many years ago and I just didn't like it so we got rid of it. We got it more for the healthy aspect but, to us, the chips, for example, just didn't compare with "real" chips and anything else we tried - I can't even remember now what we did try - didn't taste like we wanted it to taste. I'm sure they're better now but I still don't want one!

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  12. No air fryer in our house.
    They do seem very popular.
    Enjoy using your new one.

    Wishing you a happy weekend.

    All the best Jan

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  13. I've thought about it plenty of times, but am beginning to think about it more, after what you've been saying, especially with costs of electricity on the rise here too. Thanks, take care and hugs.

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  14. Your Ninja air fryer looks ideal and an improvement on the Tefal Actifry, I think we're on our third one now originally bought for the health benefits. As you rightly say the paddle is a downside and we only do chips in ours now.

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  15. Interesting read, an elderly friend of mine has one as she can't manage her oven now, bending etc. I've not got one but regularly use my pressure cooker and slow cooker. We got rid of the microwave and don't miss it as it was hardly used. I still have 3 electrical things to find home for in the kitchen: food processor, Kenwood mixer & a stick blender with attachments. We have a very annoying corner kitchen cupboard. Putting things in baskets has helped but still some re-jigging to do. Cathy x

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  16. Interesting. It's not something we would find useful as we don't use our oven that often but some people seem to love them.

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  17. I know nothing about air fryers. Intrigued as to how they cook and what you would cook in them.

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  18. I have that air fryer and love it. I couldn't do without it now. I love how quickly everything cooks and how it uses less energy.xxx

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