Ultra Processed Foods - UPFs.

[Workingman]

Different strokes for different folks

Absolutely.

Kaz, your list is the same as my list except that my "air fryer" is a mini oven.

[Kaz]

[Suff]

We have a double oven (I made the cabinet for it), Mrs S uses the top oven a lot but when she is using the main oven she cooks in bulk and freezes. Then again we have two chest freezers and two uprights, one under counter and one full height. So cooking in bulk is not a problem for us but not for everyone.

I used the halogen oven for the best part of a year and found that it was limited. The Air fryer is more generally useful. I managed to get an 8.5l double drawer model with crisping trays. It cost £79 which is about twice what my halogen oven cost but I find it much more useful.

Mine has smart finish and match cook so you can cook two different things and have the cooker finish them at the same time. You can only do this with an oven by setting timers and putting things in at different times. Granted it is not perfect at everything but it is versatile for what I need. Also the drawers are coated with good quality teflon so cleaning is not an issue and I also have some silicon inserts to keep some of the cooking out of the drawer or even to allow me to fast switch without cleaning.

It is a fad, I agree. But it actually works in a lot of cases and it has got me away from pre packaged food in the microwave. Not that it is helping with the diet, I'm eating too much.....

Our kitchen at home is 2/3 the size of this entire flat. So options are different.

[Workingman]

Does it do a whole chicken or a roast, a 10 inch pizza or a cottage pie for four? My mini oven does.

I did a bit of a check on prices of these things (OMG!) and guess what... mini oven makers have now gone with the hype and have an 'air fryer' setting. They were always 'air fryers' but not sold as such. Oh, and the prices have shot up!

Mugs buy air fryers, sensible people get counter top mini ovens for a fraction of the price.

[Workingman]

Many top-end air fryers are about 12L or less and have two drawers and cost a fortune - a fortune.

Most of us who do cook do not use an oven on a daily basis, we mostly use the hob. We are in control of the ingredients; the rest of us reheat a bought in ready meal in the microwave.

My 19L mini oven is an 'air fryer' in all but name. It cost about £40. It has a fan and a light. Chips and nuggets are a doddle,

As for those 'healthy' oven chips - the main selling point of air fryers. You do know that they are steamed and flash fried before you give them an oil spray and 'air fry' them.

[Kaz]

Firstly, "mugs" is a bit rude I have cooked a small chicken in mine, you just have to turn it over halfway through. I haven't cooked pizza in it, as I'm not that keen, and my air fryer is big enough to cook cottage pie in a large Pyrex dish.

Oh and the air fryer makes great chips from fresh potato. You old grump!

[Suff]

In a simple answer, it does what I need. And one thing I Don't need is to eat Pizza...

Does a fantastic pork loin with crackling though. Drop in the foil container sprinkle with salt and a bit of oil, set and go. Veg set to a different time and heat in the other tray.

If I absolutely needed to cook a Pizza I'd cut it in 2 and do a half in each side.

Also cooking a chicken, small as it's just me, is fine on the crisper tray, no need to turn over with the tray. However I find that Chicken thighs are much easier to deal with and pretty cheap. I bought two large packs and dumped them in the freezer in ziploc bags and have been taking them out 2 at a time. Cooks perfectly.

[Workingman]

So, basically, everything you all cook in your super expensive air fryers can be done in the various cookers you already have, "Mugs" is correct.

I am not against air fryers, but I am against their hype.

I have a microwave, but it is not a cooker, nor are most for many of us, it's a defroster / reheater for ready meals. I could take things out of the freezer in the morning and they would be defrosted by tea time. I really do not need a microwave, but I have one. Modern life is now air fryers.

[Kaz]

Frank I can cook stuff in the air fryer in half the time of the main oven - don't see how saving electricity makes me a mug If I wanted to cook, say, jacket potatoes they take an hour in the main oven. I put mine in the microwave for 10 minutes, then crisp them up in the air fryer for 10

Nobody minds if you don't want to buy one, but mine saves me money.