Air Fryer .... Do you use one?
 

My other half has an interest in getting an air fryer, he saw a commercial on TV and thought the food looked awesome!

Does anyone have one, use one, what do you cook in it, what is your honest opinion of it, is it just another appliance taking up space?

Thanks ,,.

They are great!!

But, how great! Do the french fries taste like fries? Does food dry out in the air fryer? More information please. :)

I have one at the house up north. You have to think of them as being a small convection oven. So, anything you can cook in a regular oven, you can cook in an air fryer. I slice potatoes into steak fry shape, toss them with some oil and salt and cook them. They get brown and crispy, but they certainly don't taste like deep fried French Fries! You can make some mean roast veggies in an air fryer. I think it's great to be able to cook at high temps like that, but not heat up a big oven (and thus, your house). It's a large appliance, so storage has to be taken into consideration. Good luck!

I love mine and I use it often. Chicken wings are awesome... French fries are very tasty. I did a whole chicken also did cut up chicken that I marinated over night..very tasty. Coconut shrimp. Bought my air fryer at Sams Club..very happy with it

We use it often. No grease food taste great and yes French Fries taste like French Fries. Very easy clean up.

We use ours all the time. I slice small potatoes and toss them in a baggie with breadcrumbs and spices and just a teaspoon of olive oil. Into the air fryer and presto. Delicious side dish. The trick is to be sure to remove the tray and give the contents a good shake about halfway through the cooking time. This ensures even cooking. If you don't, food tends to come out dry and overcooked on one side and only partially cooked on the other. Snowbird here, and I have air fryers in both homes.

Have one and love it! I make many things in it - whole chicken, chicken breasts, butternut squash fries, sausage, hamburgers, etc. Things come out nice and tasty and clean up is easy. I agree, the air fryer is a bit big, so it does take up some storage space.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my post. I am still on the fence about purchasing one, but we shall see.

Hi Madelaine,

We bought an air fryer a few weeks ago.

Mr. Boomer likes kitchen gadgets because many years ago I convinced him they are power tools.

He looked into recommendations from “America’s Test Kitchen” and ended up buying a Philips.

It is the perfect size for us 2 people. Its footprint on the counter is approximately 9x9 inches, with the handle sticking out about 2 inches.

A friend’s husband bought one that she finally evicted. (Not her husband, the air fryer.) That one was so big it looked like R2-D2 was sitting there, staring at her, while taking up a whole lot of counter space. It was just too big for what they, or their counter, needed.

We have been using ours a lot for fish — salmon and also cod with and without panko crumbs. It might be my imagination, but I don’t think cooking fish in it smells up the kitchen like other methods.

(I have a nose like a hound dog. I am that lady in the store who makes the fish guy let her smell the fish before she buys it. I also give it a milk bath before it is cooked. But not everybody’s nose is as oddly persnickety as mine so that might be why I think there is a nuanced better smell from cooking fish in the air fryer. Weird. I know. :) I guess I should have been a perfumer instead of an English teacher. Oh, well.)

We have not expanded our repertoire a lot yet, but so far we like the air fryer, especially for its convenience. It is basically a little convection oven sitting politely in a corner of the counter. (I think that is one reason we are using it more than we would if we had to stash it away, which is what I do with most other things, like the big mixer and the food processor. (Haven’t used either in ages.)

The model number, or whatever it is, on the bottom of the Philips we have is HD9641/56.

And, also, this one is easy to clean. I don’t know about the others. My only input into Mr. Boomer’s research was to please not get a really big one because I did not want to have to lose a lot of counter space, even though I don’t have a lot of things sitting out. But this air fryer is inconspicuous in its corner waiting to be used. And it is used a lot.

We have a 5.3 qt. Air fryer by cooks essentials from QVC $79. Love it! We have cooked pork chops (3/4”) and ribeye steaks with wonderful results. Very juicy and brown. Have also cooked frozen spring rolls, potstickers and fries with great results. We chose the 5.3 so we don’t have to cook in batches. The key is to spray fries and similar frozen items with a little oil (any kind), shake fries and turn over other foods about halfway through.

Oh Boomer, I might have to unbend and get one after your eloquent dissertation on yours. I will definitely do a search on Phillips - my DIL works for them which means I might be able to get a discount!!!

Hi Madelaine,

Thank you. It made me smile when I read your post. I am so glad you liked my dissertation on our cozy, little Philips air fryer, just right for Mr. Boomer and me. :)

And what a coincidence that your DIL works for them.

She is actually on the medical side of the compay, great company to work for, excellent wages, benies, pension. Not many left in this day and age. Plus she gets to travel all over the world with them.

We bought an air fryer yesterday and love it. We wanted to look at the Phillips, but none around so we bought the Ninja 4 qt. Heads up, we paid $99 for it at Walmart with no extra grill stand. On Amazon same one is $89 with the grill stand. Oh well, ain't taking it back, I already used it.