Air Fryers: Yes or No?

Both me and my gf are keen cooks but our friends keep telling us we need an air fryer (I would have thought it would have been something for us two to decide, but hey-ho). I've seen them in the shops and online but it looks like an extra bit of kitchen kit which we might not use that much anyway. If you have one, how much (in £s) did you pay and what sort of stuff do you do with it?

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SooperSarah

I was about to get one when my oven got a software update to give if an air fry option. I assume all it did was add the air fry button and any convection oven can air fry.

dancingtongue · 80-89, M

@SooperSarah It's a case where marketing actually serves a useful communication function. My oven came with a convection oven option which I never took the time to try and figure out since all it seemed to do was save me time, which I had plenty of. When air fryers became popular it sounded like a convection oven to me, so I tried it on a few items and -- voila! -- I had myself an air fryer without costing me a penny. Granted, much bigger than I need and without a handy guide as to how to use on smaller amounts.

SooperSarah

@dancingtongue I haven't tried the air fry feature yet because I'm not sure how to adjust the temp and time on things I want to make. I'm the type that needs detailed instructions.

dancingtongue · 80-89, M

@SooperSarah My oven came with an automatic conversion feature on temp, which seems to drop the temp 25 degrees. Since I'm primarily using this for the roasting/crisping benefits rather than the saving time feature, I set the temp 25 degrees higher to cancel out this feature and figure the time will be about a half what I would do in the normal oven. It seems to give me a ballpark goal for roasting and crisping, if I keep an eye on it and adjust accordingly as I gain experience.