Air fryer - These are the best products of 2024

The RendeljKínait team has been testing various small kitchen appliances for about 10 years, so countless models have already passed through our hands. One of the most popular products is the airfryer - the other is the blender - which is also called a hot air fryer or an oven. Its popularity is no accident, on the one hand, it is extremely easy to handle, you can cook in it almost without fat, which also contributes to a healthy lifestyle. We will now share our experiences during use with you, as well as whisper some tips and tricks.

contents

• These are the best air fryers on the market (2024)
• Why did air fryers, or hot air ovens, spread?
• Air fryer buying guide: what parameters to look for and why
• Advantages of air fryers
• Frequently Asked Questions

These are the best air fryers on the market (2024)

Some of the air fryers on our list are used on a daily basis. Tried and tested pieces with which we have gained years of experience, but of course the other best buy models could not be left out of the list either. The hot air fryers listed below were added to our list based on the following criteria:

• based on many years of our own experience, our tests and the air fryers owned by us and our families
• based on the experiences of our European and Far Eastern partners
• with the help of individual research, which is based on domestic and international customer opinions
• based on opinions read in various forums and special groups

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Why did air fryers, or hot air ovens, spread?

If you go back a few decades in your mind, deep fryers were basket-type devices that had to be filled with oil, the food was hung in a basket, and then, like French fries in fast food restaurants, the food was ready. Compared to this, today we call this product category an air fryer, the essence of which is clear from the name: hot air works instead of oil.

How much fat/oil do air fryers use?

Air fryers have basically spread due to several things. One is that, according to the current state of science, the physiological effects of cooking with cooking oil are not exactly favorable, but since this is not the subject of our article, those who are more interested in On this link you can read arguments supported by research. In other words, if we reduce the role of fats and oil in cooking, it will presumably have positive physiological effects. It is no coincidence that, for example, Philips models have the number "90" in their names, which shows that you need to use 90% less oil - or other fat - for cooking than in the case of traditional oil fryers.

What happens to the remaining 10%? This is the minimum amount needed to soften the food somewhat. Fryers - which are also called air fryers, hot air or convection ovens - do nothing but circulate hot air produced by a heating element around the food.

What does hot air do to food?

In the past, traditional fryers that used oil had to be completely filled with oil in order to cover the food, i.e. this was the heat transfer medium. On the other hand, air fryers circulate hot air in the cooking space, so in theory the heat penetrates the food much better, thereby ensuring more even cooking. This is also confirmed by our experience, with the proviso that in the case of zero fat, the hot air dries out the contents a little. It is also important to know that if several portions of food have been placed in the oven, the intermediate layers will be more difficult to cook through. That's why it's worth using a little fat - for example, extra virgin olive oil spray or coconut fat - in hot air fryers, and it's important to turn the contents of the basket over so that the hot air can pass through the overlapping layers sufficiently.

With air fryers, you can say goodbye to the smell of oil

One of the big problems with traditional oil ovens was the smell of oil, and the fact that the splashed oil stuck to everything. Not to mention that splashing hot liquid could cause burns and even be a fire hazard. A hot air oven solves these problems at the same time. Although, based on our experience, we cannot claim that they are completely odorless, because the circulating and blown air gives off a pleasant food smell, the smell of grease has largely disappeared or been reduced to a minimum.

Cleaning is much easier than before

There is hardly any oil in air fryers, so you don't have to worry about this in itself. The interior of most hot air ovens is coated with Teflon, and there is a grease drip tray in the middle, which drains the fatty liquid flowing from the food, so that it collects at the bottom of the oven and can be poured out. The drip tray usually "holds on" to the side of the oven with heat-resistant silicone pads, so it can be removed with one movement and washed in the washing machine, just like the basket. That way, you don't have to hide in the built-in oven and smooth the sides there, you don't have to put the oil after cooking in a bottle, pour it out or take it to a waste yard, where it is disposed of. The baking basket and its accessories - skewer holder, grease tray - can almost always be washed in the dishwasher.

Moreover, a significant part of modern air fryers has a touch screen, which means that the surface is flat and can be wiped with one movement, so cleaning them is really very easy.

Air fryer buying guide: what parameters to look for and why

Tonnage

One of the most important parameters of hot air fryers, it determines how much food can be placed in the frying basket. The basket size of an average deep fryer is roughly 4 liters, which, according to our experience, is enough space to prepare lunch for 2 people. Those larger than this can be considered large-capacity airfryer. Most hot air fryers accommodate 1 food basket, but there are also variants with double baskets.

They can be symmetrical or asymmetrical. The asymmetric ones follow the logic that the larger size usually goes with the meat - for example, a smaller chicken - while the side dish, say fries, goes next to it. Their capacity is usually around 8 liters or more.

Spy hole

The inspection hole is nothing more than a transparent surface at the front of the fryer. Its role is to monitor the baking process. Some kind of lighting is also included in such models.

Application

More expensive products usually have the ability to connect to smart devices via Bluetooth or WiFi. Such air fryers have a control application, which is usually good for two things: it contains recipes, and the parameters of the fryer can be set from it. The typical values ​​that can be modified are:

• baking time
• baking temperature
• the program based on which the fryer cooks
• timing of switching off and on

The hot air oven sends push messages to your phone when an event occurs, the most useful of which, in our opinion, are related to food rotation and the end of the baking process. In the case of the latter, there is no need to guard the fryer, as it indicates when the food is ready.

Performance

The performance of air fryers is usually somewhere between 1500 and 3000 W, it is roughly the same as iron plate table ovens - alias rezzo -, but they work much more efficiently than them. There is usually a heating element on top that heats up air that is circulated around the food with a fan. In two-basket fryers, there are usually two separate heating elements, so the two cooking spaces can be controlled separately and the cooking times can be synchronized.

Baking temperature and duration

Most hot air fryers can cook at 60 degrees Celsius for a maximum of 200 minutes, but some models can go up to 220 degrees Celsius. Our experience is that almost everything can be prepared in this time, but if not, the program can be restarted. Most oil-free fryers can turn themselves off if they overheat, so there is no risk in restarting them.

Control of air fryers

Modern hot air fryers can generally be controlled in two ways. One solution is the mechanical rotary switch, where a rotary switch must be turned to the correct position for operation. The advantage of this is that many people like the mechanics that work with a pleasant resistance, because it creates a premium feeling, but in return it is more difficult to clean.

The other solution is the touch screen, when a surface with pictograms is created on the flat front panel or on the upper part. Each function is always indicated by a different icon, and these are also backlit. It creates a modern effect, and if it gets dirty, it can be wiped off with a single movement. The two are often combined, for example in the case of some Philips products.

The smart fryers can also be controlled on the basis of an application, in which case the above functions are programmed into a software interface, the pressing of which causes exactly the same effect as if you pressed the rotary switches or the touch-sensitive surface of the air fryer.

Special functions of air fryers

More serious manufacturers not only compete in terms of performance and capacity, but also try to distinguish their products from the market with special functions. These are typically the following:

• Synchronization: Occurs with two-basket fryers, the contents of one basket are prepared at the same time as the other. This is achieved by having the air fryer start the program for food with a shorter cooking time later.
• Delay (timing): The fryer typically starts the program in a 24-hour interval, not immediately. For example, he bakes the food prepared in the morning for 12 o'clock, that is, for lunch.
• Keeping warm: The fryer keeps the food at the right temperature.
• Automatic switch-off: After the program has run, the hot air oven switches off.
• Drying: It dries at a not too high temperature, for example herbs and spices can be dried with it, as well as fruits.
• Grill: As the name suggests, it grills the food.
• Push message: Smart fryers can send a message to the phone when a status change occurs (e.g. the food is ready or needs to be rotated)
• Sound signal: A version of the previous one, only based on sound.

Combined appliances that are not only fryers

In the oil-free oven category, manufacturers like to call all kinds of combined equipment fryers or equip them with fryer functions. Since air fryers do nothing but circulate hot air, any portable oven can be an air fryer. Therefore, don't be fooled by the format, even if an oven has a tray or looks like a cooking pot, it can still work with hot air.

These small kitchen appliances also provide extra services, for example you don't have to put the food in a baking basket, but on a tray, so it's easier to make chips, dry herbs or dry fruit cut into rings. One of the great extras of such hot air ovens is the rotisserie chicken rotator, when the meat dish has to be mounted on an axis and the equipment can rotate it. However, the operating principle is the same as in the case of traditional fryers: they circulate hot air.

The third category, in addition to ovens and deep fryers, is multifunctional cooking pots - electric pots - which used to be called "cookers" because most of them can cook food even under high pressure. The equipment works on the same principle as air fryers, hot air circulates in the cooking space, but special containers are added in which water can be poured, so that soups, stews and the like can also be cooked. By definition, if we omit the liquid, they function as a traditional hot air oven.

Advantages of air fryers

The use of hot air fryers has the following advantages compared to traditional, previously frequently used built-in and oil fryers:

• they warm up very quickly
• it is relatively easy to take out and pack away the fryers
• they are easy to use
• air fryers use very little fat/oil, which is not only healthier, but also cheaper to operate
• they are relatively cheap
• they prepare food faster than traditional built-in ovens or iron plate solutions
• they emit much less odor than oil fryers
• there are combined devices that can be used to steam, bake cookies, use as a pressure cooker, make yogurt with them, or even turn grilled chicken

In summary: they are comfortable, you don't have to pour tons of oil into them, and they aren't even particularly expensive.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the best air fryer?

This question comes up very often together with "Which air fryer should I buy?" The rule of thumb is that it is no longer worth buying a fryer where you have to dip the food in hot oil. You have to decide which equipment best suits your lifestyle. If you prepare simple dishes, the best air fryer is probably a cheaper two-basket solution. If you want to replace many devices at the same time, then multi-functional cooking pots. If you want to bake/cook in large quantities or prepare large dishes - for example grilled chicken - then you should buy large hot air ovens with trays. These are also perfect for the winter, but with some types you could also make toast, for example.

What is the difference between a fryer, an air fryer and a hot air oven?

Basically nothing. The main difference is between tools that work with oil or hot air. In English, air fryer - or air fryer, which is more popular in Hungarian - literally means frying with air. There are all kinds of combinations of these on the Internet, air fryer oven, oil-free oven, hot air fryer, but I have also seen steam fryer, the point is that it means the same product category.

Fryer itself is a general term for ovens, 10-20 years ago they operated with oil - in fast food restaurants to this day - so the new ones are usually called hot air fryers to make it clear which version it is. In other words, the manufacturers use the terms hot air, hot air mixing and similar to emphasize that you don't need oil for frying.

In fact, built-in ovens are also convection ovens, they work on the same principle as air fryers, only their capacity and shape are different - for example, they fit a Jena bowl or a Tálcány cookie - and, of course, they are on the market with a much higher price tag.

How much smell does an air fryer emit?

The most important thing is that it emits no or only a minimal smell of oil. Nevertheless, hot air ovens also blow out air on the back side, so all food odors - if you used fat, that too - will escape, and especially steam, so it's okay if you ventilate or turn on the odor extraction. It is personal experience, however, that the clothes hung in the hall will not smell of oil, as they did a few years ago.

How easy and safe are hot air fryers to use?

In short: very much. They are intuitive to use, they stop when the baking process is finished, the handle of each is made of heat-dissipating material, they automatically turn off when you pull out the oven compartment, and most of them are also protected against overheating. Since there is no hot oil in them, they cannot splash.

How much food can fit in a hot air oven?

The capacity of hot air fryers is basically given in liters, but food is measured in dekagrams. This makes it relatively difficult to compare the two, especially since a significant portion of frozen food is water. For example, a fish can easily lose half its mass by the time it thaws and cooks, and the same is roughly true for chicken breast. That's why it's much better to think in portions. An average 4-5 liter deep fryer can prepare lunch for roughly 2 people in one round. This includes the side dish and the meat dish. If the airfryer has two baskets, the topping and side dish can be prepared at the same time. The 8-liter fryers can provide a single meal for roughly 3-4 people.

Which hot air fryer should you buy for a small kitchen?

Basically one that is taller than it is wide. In small kitchens, the problem is always that there is never enough space on the top of the kitchen furniture to prepare food. Therefore, a taller object placed on a given floor area is less disturbing than a flat but wide one, which is typically the case with hot plates. It is also not a problem if two work processes can be carried out with the fryer at the same time, so two-basket solutions are the best. We use an Ultenic K20 in the household, precisely because of the aforementioned parameters.

How fast is food preparation with an airfryer?

Since hot air fryers do not need to be preheated like older ovens, their volume is small, so food can be prepared very quickly in them. In practice, this means that if I prepare the same food in the built-in electric oven as in my air fryer, the same process will take approximately 15-20 minutes longer.

Hot plate or air fryer? Which one will you buy?

A hot plate is nothing more than a flat and wide, but not too high baking sheet, on which you have to spread fat, and this is how you prepare the food. In the countryside, the disc is used for this, only with gas heating. From this you can roughly guess the problem that this entails. On the one hand, the air does not circulate, so you have to constantly turn the food placed on it, on the other hand, it gives off a rather massive smell of oil, and the steam comes out on the side. Not to mention that it requires a lot of space and is quite fiddly to clean.

The only advantage of the hot plate is that since the water escaping from the food turns into steam under the lid, a kind of steaming is also created, which softens the food. That's the hot plate and the fryer In the Ultenic K10 test we compared.

Does the air fryer burn food?

The short answer is no. The reason for this is that you have to use zero or very little fat for the food, the inner surface has a non-stick coating, and the hot air technology is also gentler than frying in plain oil. On the other hand, it is more difficult for air to pass through foods that are stacked in layers, so it is worth turning them over at certain intervals. There are functions that alert you by default with an audio signal or via the application with a push message.

However, food can dry out from the hot air, so it is worth covering their surface with a minimum of fat. Frozen food can also be put into the airfryer in a frozen state, but in this case you should either turn on the defrost function before cooking or extend the cooking time.

How long and at what temperature should food be prepared in a deep fryer?

The answer to this is primarily that you have to experience and check the condition of the food as you go. It depends on many things, for example the thickness of the meat, its quality, or how old the particular animal was and could still be listed. It also depends on the frequency and thoroughness of the mixing. With gyro meat, we have experienced that the pieces of meat on the inside soften and cook through less than those on the edge, which is why you sometimes have to turn the food. It is worth preparing fried meats and French fries at a higher temperature, and fish at a slightly lower temperature, but there are predefined profiles for these that serve as guidelines for cooking.

Can a hot air fryer be used instead of a traditional, built-in oven?

When we accidentally broke the ceramic base of our traditional oven, we took out the Ultenic K20 as an emergency solution, which performed everyday tasks perfectly for months, until we replaced the original built-in solution. These small kitchen appliances cannot do two things: they cannot make soup - with the exception of multifunctional hot air ovens with a pressure cooker system - and it is much better to bake large quantities of cookies in a built-in oven that can fit two trays.

Baking paper: do we need to put it in the air fryer?

Baking paper is an old trick for collecting fat and food residues, as well as reducing burning. Basically, you don't have to put such things in air fryers, but it's not forbidden either, sometimes we do. It helps to remove food residues, they don't fall under the grill, so you don't have to take it out, so it's useful and can even withstand several bakings. The average baking paper can withstand 220 degrees Celsius, and deep fryers typically cannot go above 200 degrees Celsius, so the baking paper and the small machine go well with each other. However, we have not yet got our hands on dedicated air fryer baking paper.

If you couldn't find one of your questions in the FAQ, or if we didn't have a clear answer, then contact us at one of our contact numbers listed on the page or on Facebook. To the best of our knowledge, we try to answer all questions about air fryers!

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