Is An Air Fryer Worth Buying?

People who live in a one-person or small home who like to freeze pre-cooked foods:

College students who live away from home

Those who live in a caravan, campervan or home without an oven

Those who prefer to reheat food rather than cook it

Trustworthy teenagers who have such equipment and want an afternoon snack

Home cooks who like to experiment with crunchy foods, such as vegetable chips (sweet potatoes or kale)

People who struggle with overheating their kitchens in the summer because air fryers don't heat up the room like an oven does.

You probably don't need an air fryer if: 

You have a large family and already have an oven, grill and stovetop

You want to cook battered foods (an air fryer is not a substitute for a deep fryer).

Is a double basket or double air fryer worth it? It depends on how many people you are cooking for.

Dual air fryers have two separate cooking baskets side by side. They allow you to cook two different food types at the same time using different cooking functions and temperature settings. You can even set each basket to finish cooking at the same time. The idea is that you can cook a complete meal at once, but this may only apply if you are cooking for two people.

If you are cooking for a family, you may find that you only need two baskets to cook one type of food. In this case, you may be better off with a single basket air fryer that has greater cooking capacity.

What should you look for in an air fryer?

Space

First, make sure you know how much available bench space you have. If you make chips on a regular basis, you may want to exclude them permanently. The two basic shapes are tall and fat (Philips Vivo AirFryer, Bellini Digital AirFryer and Kambrook AirChef) and short and slightly fat (Tefal Actifry and DeLonghi Multifry). Please note that models that open at the top may not operate if there is limited space above the worktop, as the lid needs to be opened upwards. If you intend to put your air fryer away after use, look for a compact size and uniform shape that will fit easily into a cupboard.

Claimed capacity or volume

Take manufacturer's claimed measurements with a grain of salt, as claimed capacity or volume can be misleading. Some manufacturers measure the entire space inside the air fryer rather than the actual usable capacity. A "10-liter" model may only be able to cook about 500 grams of fries, while a "2,500-gram" model can't actually hold that weight of food.

Cleaning

Air fryer parts are fairly easy to clean and can be placed in a household sink. Most parts are dishwasher safe, but if they have a non-stick coating, they can be easily cleaned by hand.

Controls

There are two types of controls: dial controls or numeric controls. Dial controls are more basic and less accurate, consisting only of a temperature dial and a timer dial that dings when the timer ends. Look for a timer that can be set for more than 30 minutes. Digital controls have a touchscreen display with accurate timers, temperature readouts, and some may have pre-programmed settings. Look for models with easy-to-understand icons and an alarm that sounds when cooking is complete.