Air Fryers - are these all the same thing?

[ajprice]

I've got an air fryer on order with Amazon, and it's been delayed, its out of stock until Jan 10th. There are a few others on Amazon which are very very similar, are these all the same thing with a different logo and casing on the heater part?

What I've ordered, out of stock, has an extension collar to make the bowl 17l from 12l
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00NSKW8KE

A very similar Salter, without the extender.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B014FD8324

Elgento (never heard of them), lid casing looks different, and it's white.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00EE59A76

Other than the extension collar piece, they look the same, unless I'm missing something. So, stay with the order until the 10th, or change to one of the others which is in stock?

[Cotty]

I suppose the question is what do you want to cook in it? and how often would you use it?

[sgrimshaw]

Essentially, they are all basically the same ... but none are Air Fryers per se ... they are Halogen Ovens.

I have the Philips Air Fryer:

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/household-appliances/...

and also have a halogen oven (with extension rings, air fryer accessory).

They both get used for different things ... the biggest difference (and advantage of the Philips) is that with the Air Fryer you can easily shake the food to ensure even cooking.

Air Fryer is also used for heating "snack" foods, like bought sausage rolls, indian starters, spring rolls etc etc

[ajprice]

I'm happy with what I'm ordering, I was wondering whether those were versions of the same thing. Thanks.

[sgrimshaw]

ajprice said:

I'm happy with what I'm ordering, I was wondering whether those were versions of the same thing. Thanks.

Yup all same basically.

I find I use an extension ring a lot to move the halogen element up higher for more even cooking.

Also, if yours doesn't come with one, a stand for the lid makes things much easier and safer:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Halogen-Oven-Lid-Stand-Ho...

[hyphen]

So guys, are you till using them regularly and would you recommend?


Notice Aldi have them in this week, hence the question.

[sgrimshaw]

Yup still use my Halogen Oven (and Air Fryer) a lot.

The Halogen Oven is used in preference to the main oven whenever possible ... no heating up time for one thing!

Actually just bought another one to use in our garden room (bar!)

https://www.andrewjamesworldwide.com/kitchen-c1/sm...

Came with most of the needed accessories.

Added the Air Fryer ring as it's going to be doubling up as an Air Fryer in that room too:

https://www.andrewjamesworldwide.com/kitchen-c1/sm...

ETA - I just checked out the Aldi site, and I would not hesitate to pick one of those up, if I didn't already have two

[hyphen]

Will give one a go.

[C0ffin D0dger]

This has got me interested now. Do these things actually produce decent chips or is a deep fat fryer always going to be better? It's not like we're eating chips daily or anything (probably not even weekly) but when we do have some it would be nice if they were proper ones. At the moment it's McCain's HomeFries for us as these are the best oven chips I've had so far. Did also try the MCain's triple cooked but they have so much fat on them you might as well be frying them anyway (taste good though!).

[SVX]

We've had a Philips for several years now, and it's been brilliant (although its only been used sporadically). I find that when making chips or french fries, it works much better with fresh potatoes, than frozen items. It won't ever replace the taste/experience of a deep fat fryer, but suits our needs perfectly.

[sgrimshaw]

I've never made "real" chips in my Air Fryer or Halogen, but I do use them both for cooking frozen oven chips.

We usually have the Sainsburys Taste The Difference Maris Piper ones.

It took a couple of attempts to get them right, but we find 15-18 mins (depends on quantity) at 200 gives a good result with a crispy outer and fluffy inside.

Things like Wedges, Southern Fries etc also are good ..... expect to reduce cooking times by at least 20%.

With the halogen oven, I also reduce the temp too ... it's fierce heat !

We try to cook anything that you would cook on a tray in the oven in either device.

Things like Sausage Rolls and other "Party" foods come out so much better .... in the "normal" oven they rarely come out crispy, with these devices crispy is not a problem.

Another example, last night's dinner was a Pasta Bake cooked in the Halogen. Start to finish it took 40 mins. One of the big benefits of the Halogen is there is no wait for the oven to heat up, and if you need to flash the top of something to make it brown faster the Halogen goes up to 250c!

[Cotty]

sgrimshaw said:

I've never made "real" chips in my Air Fryer or Halogen, but I do use them both for cooking frozen oven chips.

I cook chips in my air fryer. I find the best way is to use maris piper potatoes with a proper chipper. Rinse them properly and then properly dry them on paper towels before you cook them.

[Cotty]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Simplistically I think one is a fryer the other is an oven (that can also fry but not as well)

https://www.quora.com/Which-is-better-halogen-oven...

Edited by Cotty on Wednesday 3rd January 12:15

[davek_964]

sgrimshaw said:

I've never made "real" chips in my Air Fryer or Halogen, but I do use them both for cooking frozen oven chips.

I very rarely ate oven chips before buying my Air Fryer a few years back. But when I did try it, it does such a good job with them that I now eat oven chips far more regularly. A supposedly healthy alternative has actually made my diet worse!

[SVX]

Cotty said:

sgrimshaw said:

I've never made "real" chips in my Air Fryer or Halogen, but I do use them both for cooking frozen oven chips.

I cook chips in my air fryer. I find the best way is to use maris piper potatoes with a proper chipper. Rinse them properly and then properly dry them on paper towels before you cook them.

Exactly that Paul, I tend to blanche mine, then refresh into iced water, pat dry and toss in a minimal (i.e. 1 teaspoon) amount of a light oil (current favourite is rice bran oil), then air fry - always turn out way better than frozen.

[condor]

I've bought myself an Aldi air fryer today - will see how I get on making chips with it.

[condor]

An update - my trial batch of chips were very poor, I couldn't eat them. I'd followed the instruction - 8 mins of par boiling then dried with kitchen towel and 20 mins in the fryer. The instructions also included turning the chips on a regular basis, which was a bit of a faff and more hassle than everyday oven chips which only need turning once. The wire basket tongs didn't hold the basket securely, so I nearly ended up with the chips on the floor - saved by me taking hold of the basket. The fryer turned itself on and off every 20 seconds or so, which was slightly disconcerting and made me think it might be faulty.

I returned my air fryer to Aldi yesterday and won't be considering another one.

[Cotty]

condor said:

The instructions also included turning the chips on a regular basis,

My ActiFry has a rotating paddle that turns the food, you don't need to keep opening the lid to turn things.

Oh you mean one of these https://www.aldi.co.uk/2-in-1-air-fryer/p/07445410... that looks more like a Halogen Oven

Edited by Cotty on Thursday 11th January 09:19

[DoctorX]

We won one of these in a raffle:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B071NZRMDH/ref...

Was sceptical, but actually anything that comes out of the freezer and usually gets heated in an oven tastes a damn sight better when using this. Oven chips are great. Real chips less so, but I’d use a deep fat fryer for those.

[Funkycoldribena]

DoctorX said:

We won one of these in a raffle:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B071NZRMDH/ref...

Was sceptical, but actually anything that comes out of the freezer and usually gets heated in an oven tastes a damn sight better when using this. Oven chips are great. Real chips less so, but I’d use a deep fat fryer for those.

I've got similar, oven chips,fish fingers,sausages, battered fish,chuck it in.
Tasted a bit different when I first used it but now completely used to it.
Definitely buy another if it broke.