Of recent kitchen appliance revolutions, no other is more lauded than the air fryer. All the crispy, delicious taste of fried food, yet cooked with a fraction of the oil? Yes please.
And it seems you, reader, are too, because sales of the unassuming-looking machines have been through the roof as more of us discover its convenient, low oil, high-crunch attractions.
How do air fryers work exactly?
The machines use convection heat, which operates with a high-powered fan to circulate piping hot air at dizzying speeds, creating a heat vortex. This ensures food that’s crisped from all angles, leaving you with a pleasingly crunchy outer and perfectly cooked inner with next to no oil or added fat.
We’re talking crisped chips and veg, juicy chicken and fish that is tender inside with a golden surface – even restaurant-level steak is possible (with the bonus that you can leave it to cook without constant supervision, unlike the pan-fried method).
Air fryer owners are so evangelical about the virtues of their air fryers that there are plenty of cooking ideas, blogs and social media accounts dedicated to showcasing recipes that can not only be cooked more healthily but faster and tastier too.
Are air fryers economical to run?
Thanks to the cost-of-living crisis, there’s been a lot of noise about this recently. The hype is real: air fryers are more economical to run than a conventional oven and use around half the energy per hour, so when it comes to running costs, you may find a drop in your bills too.
According to Uswitch, an air fryer costs around 56p a week to operate (based on an hour and a half usage), while a gas hob costs £2.76 to run for a week for 2.5 hours.
An oven costs 56p to run per week based on three hours usage, but you’ll need to account for pre-heating whereas the heat-up time for an air fryer tends to be significantly shorter, if not non-existent entirely. They also cook ingredients in half the time, so you’ll be using it for far shorter periods than you would an oven. Pick the right air fryer, and you can almost render the rest of your cooking appliances obsolete.
So, if you’re in a smaller household and choose an energy-efficient model that heats up fast, you may find your costs are much lower.
From multi-cooking appliances that include air frying in their function list, to basic models that won’t hog too much room on your kitchen countertops, we’ve rounded up the best on-sale air fryers to buy right now.
Cease the dithering and find the hottest deals on air fryers for the month below.
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