i have one with 3 trays. fries = 15 mins. you cannot pile things on top of each other. hence 3 trays is good.

Batman:

 

i have one with 3 trays. fries = 15 mins. you cannot pile things on top of each other. hence 3 trays is good.

 

I'm looking at this one: https://www.kmart.co.nz/product/11l-3-in-1-air-fryer-oven---black/3506306

I notice that all of the air fryers at Kmart are 1800W, is that about standard?

My oven (an old basic free-standing Simpson model) doesn't have a fan bake option, so I'm guessing that an air-fryer would get me better results? There's only the two of us so we're not cooking lots of stuff at once. Might an air fryer use less electricity than my oven?

MurrayM:

 

Might an air fryer use less electricity than my oven?

 

Smaller volume, so yes, it should unless it's got a gaping hole in it.

@MurrayM My airfryer is less than that and does everything in a matter of minutes.

Remember - they're better than an oven because of less volume to heat and no preheat resulting in less power used and more even cooking.

Compared to cooking in oil,  air fryers are much safer (and probably healthier).... I have seen the damage caused by a pot of oil boiling over.

As far as speed goes between air fryers and a fan bake oven... when finger food cooking time is 20 and 30 minutes... not much speed advantage with an airfryer.

For a larger family the smaller capacity of some air fryers could be a disadvantage.

Part of my decision not to get an air frier is based on several 'fad' reports I have read like this:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/kitchen/125518761/do-air-fryers-live-up-to-the-hype

Gordy7:

 

As far as speed goes between air fryers and a fan bake oven... when finger food cooking time is 20 and 30 minutes... not much speed advantage with an airfryer.

This is where I seriously disagree with you and why you need to try an airfryer yourself to test for yourself but airfryers don't have to really preheat, use less power and also can do most finger foods in 10-15mins from experience. You don't need to add oil normally which means they're also healthier.

They're however not faster than deep frying and some things you need to deep fry (like Croquettes) - but again, the health factor.

There is a huge time and energy saving. This isn't just a "fad" as I am considering potentially splurging and upgrading my airfryer to one of the Philips ones as we use it so much.

jonathan18: The large Philips units seem to be some of the more grunty ones - eg, the one I’m looking at is 2225w - but most seem to be in the range of 1500 to 1800w.

I too wondered whether this was too important, given our previous Philips was 2000w, so good to know it’s not too critical.

The dual-drawer Ninja model ( https://www.farmers.co.nz/6582326) is 1690w (for both drawers I assume), hence I’m interested to hear from @esawers how they find the heat-up and cooking times.

esawers: 2 defrosted mince savouries 5 minutes
500gm frozen chips 11 minutes
5 fresh carrots chopped in chip sizes 15 minutes until crispy
Most things the kids put in take about 8 minutes (frozen toppers, chicken bites, etc)


There is no ‘preheat’ on the Ninja, our neighbours have another brand which does a 5 minute preheat before you cook anything.

Gordy7:

 

Part of my decision not to get an air frier is based on several 'fad' reports I have read like this:

 

https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/kitchen/125518761/do-air-fryers-live-up-to-the-hype

 

I had been thinking on and off for a while as to whether or not to buy one, but couldn't decide if they are a 'fad' versus genuine value-added functionality in the kitchen.

Now, after reading the Stuff article, I've been put off. I can't see where an air fryer would add value over our conventional oven and none of the convenience food showcased in the article appeals to me (with the exception of the pork crackling).

And shortening cooking time is not a biggie for me, happy to wait using conventional ovens and elements. We ditched the microwave a couple of years ago for the same reason.

jonathan18: @Gordy7: You are totally entitled to not want to buy an air fryer, but your lack of actual experience with one does appear to be colouring your views.

Do have experience with daughter inlaw's air fryer... as I have said, my choice is also based on many expert reviews.