For any such utensil you need to consider this question: is it worth the counter space it occupies?

The only such utensil on my counter is my Breville Smart Grill. My full-size oven has convection capability. Self cleaning too.

They are mini convection ovens. Its basically an electric heating element with a fan that flows the hot air around.

They are amazing for making fries, wings, reheating food, etc. I use mine almost daily. Its one of the most useful kitchen gadgets besides the InstantPot, toaster, and coffee machine.

Not looking for specific models, maybe just good/not so good brands.

My country had had so many self imposed trade restrictions and overtaxing plus fantasy whatnots that prices keep no relation with the real world.

What you can find is all there is and will be, for as long as it lasts, as in say 4, 3, 2, …

Wife has seen her menu shrink to almost nill. She works, so she won’t have to cook she says. When i see her in the kitchen i ask her if she got lost again…

Her diet and my MILs have rendered most appliances useless. Wife gave up bread but MIL likes toast so the Toaster can stay. We went from daily coffee lovers to decaf to no coffee. I picked up drinking Nespresso on a daily basis. Coffee pot no longer used. No use for the Juicer. The microwave and the water boiler are safe for now. Wife doesn’t suspect what’s the use of the oven and furnaces. Clueless.

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We have 2 of these handy-dandy devices. One is a Ninja Foodi XL and the second one is a smaller Ninja Foodi. We use one or both of these way more than our oven. I would replace in a heartbeat if/when one fails.

I have seen a few people say hard to clean, the model I have is diamond coat drawer and the basket that goes within it. All I do is separate them and wipe them out done. Any grease or bacon juice I just pour out of drawer into jar if I am going to save it. Easier to clean than oven in my opinion.

I got this one on sale, wish I had bought two, because price went back up.

quote:

So, we are curious about the air frier. Is the food considered “fried” or cooked in a way that looks or tastes similar but not “unhealthy” as frying is for most people.
Is oil involved at all?

First, there is nothing inherently unhealthy with "frying".
The unhealthy part is using seed oils aka vegetable, canola, peanut or other similar but not a problem with say avocado or olive oil.
Even frying in "fats" is healthy, contrary to the beliefs that fat is bad, it is NOT.
Additionally, it is the breading that is not good for you if it elevates your glucose. If you bread look for low carb breading solutions but I can tell you it doesn't taste bad but not as good as conventional breading.

As for air frying, it is fine and involves no oil.
Just don't bread what you are frying.

My wife loves the air fryer but I prefer a grill method if possible.
We don't oil fry all that much because of the mess but it might taste the best.

quote:

Originally posted by JackBlundell:
Think of it as a small, powerful convection oven.

This right here.

We have two Ninja woodfire has replaced All camping grills / griddles etc.. easy to store / great smoke on foods. The other is Ninja foodie. Used 2 to 3 times a day.

Nicky,

We upgraded the size of our air fryer to 5.8 Qt. It is used much more often than the microwave. We love ours. Take a look at YouTube videos and/or online recipe books from folks like Cosori. You'll understand the appliance's utility then.

I’m sort of getting the idea that air fryers are similar to a small powerful convection oven.

The wife has our lunch in one as I type...
Pre-battered and frozen chicken strips form Sams. Like 'em.

Watch for ease of use. Some require a doctorate degree, or a 13 year old kid, to figure out how to use it, especially if you want to do a non pre-programed cycle.

I know four people with air fryers., all retired.
All with health issues


Three of them use them on tons of unhealthy highly processed frozen foods
The fourth
Has purchased cook books for healthy diets only.

All of them have admired that
They don't need it at all, stove and microwave ovens already do it all

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
0-0, not related to air fryers, but FWIW a video by doctor Jason Fung treating and in some cases reversing diabetic patients that you and your wife might find interesting. I have no diabetic issue at all and I did.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEszxSqjyc4

Thank you for posting this. Might have to try it!

We've had an air fryer for about two years now. It's probably the least used appliance in our kitchen now. They can't be beat for wings and french fries but the wife and I just don't eat that much of those to be honest. And yes, they are a bitch to clean. We even use a silicone insert that helps some but it is hard to deal with when piping hot and also needs to be scrubbed or left to soak out when done. Maybe those disposable inserts posted above would make more sense.

We actually use our old NuWave cooker much more as salmon and cod come out more moist, tender and flakier in about the same amount of time and is a breeze to clean.