[Food] Air Frying, Do you?

[Normal Rob]

Bought a bargain bucket 6l asda one for £59 last year. Use it every day. Don't see the need for a more expensive one personally as I've managed to make this one work, with adaptions or adding things at different times, for multiple meals. I would recommend silicone inserts to minimise the need for cleaning.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

I was late to the party as well........got an Instant Vortex Plus (Amazon, got a third off on another 'deal day') dual basket thingy after a bit of research a few months ago. Have hardly used the cooker since, it's fantastic. Quick, easy to use, and cooks tons of stuff brilliantly. Re cleaning, even that's OK - the 'grill trays' are removable and can go in the dishwasher and the non-stick pans wash easily, but best extra investment was a couple of silicon baskets. Doesn't affect how things cook, and I can lob them straight in the dishwasher after use.

Just bought a ninja, £50 off via their site, 10% off first purchase and 7.5% cash back via Quidco so took the plunge now.

Funny you say about the silicone liners, I’ve just bought a pair

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

We have a Ninja Dual 9.5L. I can't comment on whether it's suitabe for a family of 4. There are 2 in our household and it's more than adequate. Depends a lot on what you're cooking. If you're just reheating stuff or cooking sausages and bacon, or burgers etc, there's no problem at all. We can easily also accommodate chips for 2 at the same time. Four of you? Probably OK but will take longer. Could easily do chips for 4 if using both drawers. Baked potatoes no problem for 4, Roast chicken, Sunday roasts should be fine. We roast meat in one drawer and roast potatoes in the other. Yjere's usually plenty left over. We very rarely don't use the hob for veg so don't assume you'll be cooking everything in the AF. We only really do potatoes/chip/roast onions, celeriac etc in the AF. Despite what the receipe books may say we prefer not to roast all veg in the AF. Some people (apparently) use the AF for everything inc Bolognese and curries etc but I think that's a bad idea.We still use the hob a lot but it's great to be able to outsource half the cooking to the AF when we can. I very rarely use the old oven now except when we occasionally have a lot of family guests for a big Sunday or Christmas-type dinner. Oh yes, and pizza. If you like to make pizza you'll need your oven! Overall I'd definitely recommend an AF but have only used the Ninja Dual. No doubt there are worse ones about and probably better ones too but this is the only one we've used so can't comment on others. You might find Mumsnet a good source of info. They can be pretty good for discussing this sort of thing.

Thanks for the feedback - have literally just ordered that model (AF400) which is 9.5 litres

 

[WATFORD zero]

I've got a Tower double one. Good for certain things (those baked oven chips from raw potatoes - lovely), Really good for warming up/crisping pre cooked stuff and anything that needs quick high temperatures, but for me a bit like a microwave, good at certain things. Baked potatoes, few mins in microwave followed by few minutes high in air fryer saves hours in oven.

If I'm doing a proper roast, still use proper oven and still use oven or slow cooker for slow cooked stuff

So, with my kitchen now having various hobs, two ovens, two slow cookers (big and small) a grill, a deep fat fryer, a microwave, a toaster, a kettle and an air fryer I'm quite happy I'm prepared for most situations

(And I'm pretty sure there's a fondue set, George Foreman Grill and a Breville sandwich maker in the cupboards somewhere, just in case)

 

[Acker79]

 

[The Clamp]

I've got a Tower double one. Good for certain things (those baked oven chips from raw potatoes - lovely), Really good for warming up/crisping pre cooked stuff and anything that needs quick high temperatures, but for me a bit like a microwave, good at certain things. Baked potatoes, few mins in microwave followed by few minutes high in air fryer saves hours in oven.

If I'm doing a proper roast, still use proper oven and still use oven or slow cooker for slow cooked stuff

So, with my kitchen now having various hobs, two ovens, two slow cookers (big and small) a grill, a deep fat fryer, a microwave, a toaster, a kettle and an air fryer I'm quite happy I'm prepared for most situations

(And I'm pretty sure there's a fondue set, George Foreman Grill and a Breville sandwich maker in the cupboards somewhere, just in case)

Except a power cut

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Silicone liners aren’t essential but a lot of people use them. If not too mucky we save tin foil trays from takeaways and freezer meals etc and reuse these for some things in the AF. Not exactly necessary but saves a bit of washing up.

One important accessory (vital IMO) is a meat thermometer. You can pick one up on Amazon for £5 or £6. It’s very useful for checking the internal temperature of meat so that you know when it’s done and safe to eat.

 

[Wrong-Direction]

We have a Ninja Dual 9.5L. I can't comment on whether it's suitabe for a family of 4. There are 2 in our household and it's more than adequate. Depends a lot on what you're cooking. If you're just reheating stuff or cooking sausages and bacon, or burgers etc, there's no problem at all. We can easily also accommodate chips for 2 at the same time. Four of you? Probably OK but will take longer. Could easily do chips for 4 if using both drawers. Baked potatoes no problem for 4, Roast chicken, Sunday roasts should be fine. We roast meat in one drawer and roast potatoes in the other. Yjere's usually plenty left over. We very rarely don't use the hob for veg so don't assume you'll be cooking everything in the AF. We only really do potatoes/chip/roast onions, celeriac etc in the AF. Despite what the receipe books may say we prefer not to roast all veg in the AF. Some people (apparently) use the AF for everything inc Bolognese and curries etc but I think that's a bad idea.We still use the hob a lot but it's great to be able to outsource half the cooking to the AF when we can. I very rarely use the old oven now except when we occasionally have a lot of family guests for a big Sunday or Christmas-type dinner. Oh yes, and pizza. If you like to make pizza you'll need your oven! Overall I'd definitely recommend an AF but have only used the Ninja Dual. No doubt there are worse ones about and probably better ones too but this is the only one we've used so can't comment on others. You might find Mumsnet a good source of info. They can be pretty good for discussing this sort of thing.

Wait a minute, I thought I was on mumsnet..

 

[Arthritic Toe]

Bought a bargain bucket 6l asda one for £59 last year. Use it every day. Don't see the need for a more expensive one personally as I've managed to make this one work, with adaptions or adding things at different times, for multiple meals. I would recommend silicone inserts to minimise the need for cleaning.

Have one of these too and its fabulous.

 

[Acker79]

If you use those grease-proof paper liners, make sure to weigh down all the corners. Never put them in the air fryer during the empty warm up cycle. As others have noted, air fryers are essentialy convection ovens, meaning there is an air flow, and the paper can get lifted toward the heat source and cause a fire hazard.

They're fine if you only use them when there is food in there, and you make sure the food is spread across it to keep it all weighted down.