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The Air Fryer topic


Keith_W

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35 minutes ago, Anna N said:

I think it unfortunate that so many varied small kitchen appliances have been tagged with the air fryer monicker. It has been pointed out elsewhere that whatever you call them they are all simply powerful convection ovens.

 

So true.  What I really wanted/needed was a just a small convection oven, and the AF capability was kind of secondary.  I'm hoping to find it useful, though.

 

35 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Incidentally, the appliance for re-heating leftovers is the Cuisinart Steam Oven (CSO) now unfortunately discontinued! 

 

Yes, that would be ideal.  Also great for yeasted breads, which a convection oven isn't good at (unless the bread's in a covered vessel).  I used one once at a friend's house and it was superb little appliance.

 

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51 minutes ago, CookBot said:

 

So true.  What I really wanted/needed was a just a small convection oven, and the AF capability was kind of secondary.  I'm hoping to find it useful, though.

 

 

Yes, that would be ideal.  Also great for yeasted breads, which a convection oven isn't good at (unless the bread's in a covered vessel).  I used one once at a friend's house and it was superb little appliance.

 

 

Consider an Anova oven, though maybe not considered little.

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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1 hour ago, CookBot said:

 

So true.  What I really wanted/needed was a just a small convection oven, and the AF capability was kind of secondary.  I'm hoping to find it useful, though.

 

 

Yes, that would be ideal.  Also great for yeasted breads, which a convection oven isn't good at (unless the bread's in a covered vessel).  I used one once at a friend's house and it was superb little appliance.

 

Looks like Amazon still has

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1 minute ago, CookBot said:

 

Oh!  Did you see that, @Anna N ?

 

Too late for me, but thanks!  And good to know they're still around.

I am not in the market for one as I just love the one I already have! I see there are still opportunities to purchase it. There was certainly much talk of it beIng discontinued and many of our members bought a spare just in case. On the manufacturer’s Canadian site it is $399 Canadian! Happy to see it’s still available. 

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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15 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

I have one.   I'm still trying to figure out when/why to use it.   So far, it's great for roasting beets without heating up the big oven.    Else?    It's still almost virgin after 2-3 years.

 

Baking bread?  Steam broiling chicken?

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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Finally gave up trying to figure out which would be the best buy for our first air fryer...already it has to be considered the 'first' because it might be a terrible mistake... and Ed bought the T-fal which was on sale this week at Canadian Tire (Canada).  It had fairly good ratings, was half-price, and so we bit the bullet. 

 

And my apprehension level is currently sky-high.   We'll try homemade French Fries today having no frozen ones and being too far to casually drive into town to pick some up.  (Not only the time factor, but the cost of gasoline is beginning to impact our lives greatly.... :sad:)

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Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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2 hours ago, Okanagancook said:

If you are a bit apprehensive, try going on YouTube and search for air fryer recipes.  There are plenty of quick snack ideas just to get you started using it.  

We got it basically for French Fries.  Today's were not a great success but with some room for improvement which I know.  So I have that going for me.

Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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1 hour ago, palo said:

@Darienne - which model did you get - I hope it wasn't the Actifry, which I've heard mashes rather than stirs

 

p

Easy Fry Prestige XL.

 

Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

It seems to me that “air-fryer” and “air-fryer oven” are being treated as if they were one and the same. They are really quite different. 
 

@jimmywangsays his air fryer oven pretty much replaces his oven. Looking at the model he bought that is not too surprising. It includes a rotisserie among other things. It’s a very different appliance from the basket type air fryer that began this topic. 
I only comment on this because I can get excited about what people are making in their air fryer only to discover that what we are talking about is a souped up countertop convection oven. 
Let the reader beware!

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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1 hour ago, Anna N said:

to discover that what we are talking about is a souped up countertop convection oven. 
Let the reader beware!

In which case they should be compared to the CSO or BSOA or APO and their ilk

 

p

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Do convection ovens need to be preheated?

Or should it be called an air fryer oven, of course that's what the seller told me.

It's like a mini oven, I don't know if it needs to be preheated, do you have any experience?

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I came across a very new product, different from the countertop oven, he uses the technology of the air fryer, but uses the appearance of the countertop oven.

I don't know if this post will be commented on, looking for someone who uses the same cooker as me and learned from the seller that it's an air fryer oven.

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10 hours ago, Tom1 said:

I don't know if this post will be commented on, looking for someone who uses the same cooker as me and learned from the seller that it's an air fryer oven.

 

If you are looking for a reply from someone who uses the same cooker, maybe share some more specifics (manufacturer, model or a photo)?

There are a lot of older threads here about countertop convection ovens like the Brevilles, some of which include "Air" in the name and claim to function like air fryers but they are not new so you must have something different. 

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On 10/19/2022 at 7:22 AM, Anna N said:

It seems to me that “air-fryer” and “air-fryer oven” are being treated as if they were one and the same. They are really quite different. 
 

@jimmywangsays his air fryer oven pretty much replaces his oven. Looking at the model he bought that is not too surprising. It includes a rotisserie among other things. It’s a very different appliance from the basket type air fryer that began this topic. 
I only comment on this because I can get excited about what people are making in their air fryer only to discover that what we are talking about is a souped up countertop convection oven. 
Let the reader beware!

Joining the blurring nomenclature, I noticed that in the most recent Wirecutter review of air fryers (annoying paywall, I’m sure) they chose a Cuisinart countertop convection oven as their top pick:

Quote

When we first tested air fryers in 2017, most models were pod-shaped appliances that looked more at home in a sci-fi movie than on a kitchen counter. They used the same technology as convection baking under the guise of a trendy new term: “air frying.” Since then, to stay on trend, some manufacturers have started calling their convection toaster ovens and electric ranges “air fryer ovens.” The Cuisinart Chef’s Convection Toaster Oven TOB-260N1 predates the air-fryer craze (so you won’t see that buzzword on the box), but we think it yields better results than any pod-shaped air fryer we’ve tested.


They acknowledge the difference between the two sorts of appliances this way:

Quote

Get the Cuisinart oven if:

  • You have room in your kitchen for a larger oven.
  • You have a family or larger household, and/or want to be able to cook larger portions of food at once.
  • You want to make a variety of foods, such as baked goods, toast, frozen pizzas up to 13 inches, or roast chicken as big as 6 pounds.
  • You want the option to adjust the convection fan’s speed or turn it off completely.
  • You don’t want to buy extra accessories (like baking trays or pizza stones) to get the most out of your appliance.
  • You don’t mind turning your food to achieve even browning while cooking.
  • You like to avoid nonstick coating, which lines the baskets in most pod-shaped air fryers and tends to wear off quickly.
  • You want faster cleanup.

Get a pod-shaped air fryer if:

  • You don’t have room in your kitchen for a larger oven.
  • You mainly want to cook frozen food or smaller portions of food.
  • You don’t want to bake, make toast, cook a 13-inch frozen pizza, or roast a large chicken.
  • You don’t mind having a single convection fan speed that you can’t adjust or turn off.
  • You don’t mind paying for extra accessories (like a rack or cake pan) in order to make full use of your air fryer.
  • You prefer a more casual approach to cooking your food, and you find tossing it in a basket to be less cumbersome than turning it by hand.
  • You’re okay with some uneven browning.
  • You don’t mind more cleanup—including the extra care necessary to prolong the life of the fryer basket’s nonstick coating.


I don’t have an air fryer so I don’t know if they’ve got it right or not. Clearly, there’s a huge price difference between their budget pick Cosori Pro pod fryer @ $85 and a toaster oven that runs close to $300. 
 

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I'm chiming in to say that I have the BSOA and the Vortex Plus.  They are each good at what they do but the one can't be compared to the other.  I have never been happy with the "Air" part of t he BSOA and now never use it for that purpose.  When it comes time to replace the BSOA, if I replace it with another Breville I would not get the "A" version.  Just my 2 cents worth.

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6 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

Joining the blurring nomenclature

Thanks for this. I own both (and then some as I have a CSO and a BSO) and consider my Cosori to be a very different appliance. 
Since I almost always use a container of some kind inside, my Cosori I find the clean up quite easy. Much easier than either of my countertop ovens. 
To reduce the confusion, I really wish we could have stuck with the name “air fryer” for the much smaller footprint appliance. 

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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