Any Love for Air Fryers?

Went to dinner last night and had veggies done in an air fryer. The advantages seem to be speed of cooking plus minimizing the amount of oil needed for cooking.

I have no experience with these (and am reluctant to add yet another gadget to my appliance barn) but thought I'd solicit opinions/experience on them here.

What say you?

[Jenise]

Never used one, Bill, nor even seen one in action. I have heard many good things about them from many people, but none that were hardcore cooks like us here. In every single case, the motivation has been reduced calories or doing something they perceive easier that way than by standard stovetop methods after seeing the Emeril Lagasse infomercial (put my BIL in this category, though he is in fact a good cook in his own right). Most things produced by this method would work just as well in a standard oven with a convection setting, a few oven pans which one has anyway, and racks that fit inside them. My BIL is mostly cooking frozen food in it--french fries, fish sticks, etc.

What were you served, and did you think it superior?

for those with access some of these looked good
https://www.nytimes.com/article/best-ai ... cipes.html

I'd be interested (plenty of times I have a short window for dinner prep, and more efficient than using full oven in convection mode), but our big constraint is counter space. All appliances (rice cooker, full size processor, etc) live in basement, only electric kettle and toaster allowed to stay full time on counter

[Robin Garr]

... All appliances (rice cooker, full size processor, etc) live in basement, only electric kettle and toaster allowed to stay full time on counter

Similar practice here, Dale, but we use the attached garage, which happily enters directly from the kitchen. It's like having a very large pantry that happens to have a car in it.

I had to remove our panini press from the appliance barn so I could fit in my coffee stuff (espresso machine, grinder, drip coffee) plus my mixer and maker and food processor) so I am not keen to add anything else that I have to stow away unless the advantages are clear.

The one used for the dinner I was at made very good sliced/roasted potatoes but so-so brussels sprouts. The chief attraction for people seems to be speed of preparation, plus (if you are a health...I was going to say 'nut' but was searching for a less judgemental term, the lowered use of fats).

For an idea of what these things are able to make, see https://www.aheadofthyme.com/25-easy-air-fryer-recipes/

French fries look great, green beans look dehydrated and shriveled.

I don't have one, of course, as I don't have room for an extra cocktail fork, never mind an appliance, but my understanding is that it is really just another form of a countertop oven.

[Jenise]

I had to remove our panini press from the appliance barn so I could fit in my coffee stuff (espresso machine, grinder, drip coffee) plus my mixer and maker and food processor) so I am not keen to add anything else

This is me. I keep the Kitchen Aid, the Food Processor, a bean grinder and a toaster oven on mine, and that's pretty much all I have room for. Wish I had room for the meat slicer and the Food Saver, neither of which was on my horizon when I designed the appliance bar. The considerations for anything new go well beyond the usefullness of a particular item. I have a Soda Stream that I would love to use but never do because it's too damned tall for any of my countertops.

Never used one. The closest I've come to an air fryer is my Orville Redenbacher hot air corn popper.

-Paul W.

We just use the microwave for popping duty - I have a 'thing' against buying anything that would be called a 'unitasker' (thanks Alton Brown). On the other hand I do own asparagus tongs, now marrow spoons and a number of other oddball unitasker utensils but I plead inheritance for many of them.

[Jenise]

I cook popcorn in a Dutch oven sized pan the old fashioned way--on the stove top.

After a conversation one day with a friend and her description of the air fryer her family of five use and how many times a week they used it, I was convinced I needed one. Even though I had resisted for a long time, without much thought I ordered the one she loved. The day it showed up on my porch in a very large box, I knew I had made a mistake. It did everything, bake, air fry, dehydrator, toast. I always have to have the best of any kitchen tool I tried it out twice...could not stand to see that thing sitting in my kitchen, as all appliances are kept in the two appliance garages, the Food Saver on the counter in laundry room, the rest in dedicated cabinets in laundry room for easy access. When I finally got my brain back and told myself, "you have two ovens which have convection, a great microwave, all the lovely pots and pans one could want, why do you need this?" I carefully packed it all back up and sent it down with my son to Sacramento where a newly married grandson, and his wife's mother who still has kids at home all use and love it I made a new rule in my house, that whenever I want to buy another thing for my kitchen, I refrain for 24 hours. Son thought that a very good idea.
Second son said, "mom, you just need an air fryer, you do not need one that does all the other stuff" Should have consulted him in the first place.

I've never seen one, and I don't think I know anyone who's got one. If they're like those benchtop ovens that were around a decade or two ago, I used to have one of those, and was extremely happy to see the back of it.

[Jenise]

I've never seen one, and I don't think I know anyone who's got one. If they're like those benchtop ovens that were around a decade or two ago, I used to have one of those, and was extremely happy to see the back of it.

There seems to have been a lot of improvement over the years in that department, no doubt on this side of the pond fueled by the number of new homes built with single oven ranges. It's only a matter of time before people realize they often need two, especially for holiday dinners. My brother and his partner couldn't live without one.

I have a toaster oven. Better for us than a conventional vertical toaster since I always toast bread already buttered. Medium sized as things called toaster oven go--not big enough to do a small turkey like my brother's, but big enough to do double duty as a salamander. I'd be lost without it. Great for melting a cheese topping or finishing a 10" skillet frittata. I probably use it more often than my big oven.

Yesterday evening, we went to dinner with the Francophile's daughter and her partner. They both love to cook, and it turns out, they have an air fryer. The son in law, who was trained as a chef and now works else-wise, said if theirs broke tomorrow, he'd go straight out and buy another one. They're convinced.
So, as a result of that, I'm doing some further research. Maybe I would find that I ought to have one. To justify its place in the kitchen, and in our meal preparation, it needs to be good for preparing food for two, easy to clean, and to deliver food that's crispy on the outside but moist inside.

Just in case you haven't seen it: COSORI air fryers are under a recall d/t fire and burn cases.