An air fryer can make your late night meals more efficient and easier. It's easy and quick to prepare delicious food from the best ingredients. air fryers in your kitchen. They are not only healthier, but also use less energy than an oven. Check The Complete Guide to Air Fryers to learn more about this amazing kitchen appliance.
Pod-shaped fryers and air fryers
Air-fry toaster ovens have their advantages, but they usually take longer to cook and the interior can be difficult to clean if food splatters.
While the idea of ​​a toaster that doubles as an air fryer is a good one, and the air frying feature on many hybrid machines is good, some of the foods we love to cook in an air fryer are just too messy to cook in a toaster oven.
All air fryers have removable cooking baskets, and most have a non-stick coating. When you're cooking chicken thighs with gravy, or even vegetables drizzled with oil (to name a few favorites), splatters are inevitable. The air frying mode is intense, with high convection and rapid heat circulation. Do this in a toaster oven, which is significantly more difficult to clean, and after the first few dozen uses you'll be dealing with some serious caked-on gunk.
It will take you no more than 15 minutes to create this magic in the air fryer.
On the other hand, air fryers require very little effort to clean. Most air fryer baskets are now thicker and have a non-stick coating. Beware of thin wire baskets, which are more difficult to clean. Both types can be removed and placed in the sink, and some can be washed in the dishwasher. The same cannot be said about the inner walls of a tabletop oven.
If you're buying a toaster, there's no reason No To get one with air fryer function. It can still be used on foods less prone to splattering, such as potatoes, frozen empanadas, and salmon fillets, without much risk of spoilage.
Read more CNET's Complete Guide to Air Fryers.
Fryer size
Here's the tiny 2-quart Gourmia air fryer next to the more standard 4.25-quart Phillips model.
While there are several features to consider, the size of your air fryer is probably the most important decision you'll make. If you typically cook for one or two people, a 2- or 3-quart air fryer should be large enough. Consider adding an extra quart of capacity to your air fryer for each person you cook for regularly.
For example, a 5-liter model is suitable for a family of four or five people. If you plan to regularly cook full meals for your family, including meats and vegetables or side dishes, you may want to consider using a larger dual-basket air fryer like the Ninja DualZone.
With all that said, the smaller fryer you can use, the better. I have found that smaller air fryers, such as the 2- to 5-quart Magic Bullet model and the Instant Pot's Duo Crisp, produce better results because the food will heat up faster and more frequently than a larger model. Smaller air fryers mean less overall capacity, so you may have to cook in batches.
Power
We made sure every air fryer on our list can cook cauliflower, chicken wings, and potatoes to a crisp.
Most air fryers range between 1200 and 1800 watts. Larger air fryers typically have more watts, while smaller models tend to have fewer. Your mid-range 4-quart air fryer should be around 1500 watts. The small Magic Bullet and Gourmia air fryers have 1,300, but that's enough power to cook food in a small basket. Larger air fryers need to have about 100 more watts per liter so they can handle high temperatures of 400 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Air Fryer Accessories
Some fancy models may come with additional accessories, but all you need is an air fryer basket with a wire or nonstick grate. They come standard on most air fryer models and help super convection work evenly on all sides of your food. I prefer nonstick options since wire baskets are especially difficult to clean.
All of the air fryers we tested came with a wire basket or fryer tray. The Philips Essential Digital model is attached to the handle, making it easy to remove for cleaning.
Should you buy a regular deep fryer or a multifunctional model?
The Duo Crisp with Ultimate Lid produced crispy French fries just as well as a single-function single fryer in the same amount of time.
It depends on the type of cooking you are doing and what other appliances you already have. I love having a single air fryer, but I'm also a fan of the Instant Pot Duo Crisp, which functions as both an air fryer and a slow cooker (and a pressure cooker and a slow cooker).
Pay attention to what the air fryer looks like.
The Fritaire Glass Bowl Air Fryer is definitely an eye-catcher.
Air fryers don't need to be stored on the counter, but items larger than 3 quarts can be difficult to store when not in use. With this in mind, you should buy an air fryer that complements your kitchen. The Ninja and Cosori models are available in a variety of colors (Cosori has more). There are also deep fryers with glass bowl and much more modern cars.
It is difficult to cook Brussels sprouts well in the air fryer.
