Air fryers

I cannot find it now but there was a bit from Martin Lewis about the real cost of air fryers basically advising to be care full about whether they actually save

Saw that JV which made we do a rethink on it.

Having the equipment that I already have + a gas hob I just can't justify spending more to save money 😟

The point he was making (Martin Lewis) was if you have to use an air fryer several times to cook a meal or doing batches of meals an oven may possibly be cheaper but if your meal can be cooked in one go in the air fryer it could be cheaper to use it.

With just us two now we plan meals now to utilise the advantages of our air fryer. Of course, if in the past a meal used both a hob ring and the oven it may still be best to use the Airfyer and that hob ring. Heating a whole oven space for smaller amounts compared to smaller space in the air fryer makes that difference. You just have to use the best method for both the meal and consider the cost effectiveness of how it is achieved. Oh, and he also suggested, if using an oven to leave the oven door open to utilise the heat stored within it to warm the room after cooking!

It's bliss when I leave the oven door open after a cooking session, always done that Micky! 

I've been interested to hear the comments. We have just had to replace our double oven and hob so I'm utilising this carefully and tend to fill the oven with extras that I can freeze etc. A new A rated oven is fairly economical used this way, it's certainly much faster than my old oven. With a new oven plus a slow cooker and a microwave it wouldn't be worth purchasing anything else but I think if you can get your meal cooked in one session I can see the savings of an air fryer too.

Yes, if the family come round for Sunday Dinner then we use the oven packed with all those delicious trimmings along side the roast. All that won’t fit in the air fryer in one go! Must say that the oven is used far less these days mind and we have noticed our electric bill go down. Not saying it’s all down to the Ninja but I do think every bit helps. Just wonder if this new found economy of thought amongst folk will translate to more of a mentality on the subject of thrift that our grandparents held. We have never had it so good and we may now have to pay for that or certainly have a serious rethink, this energy problem may go on for years!

Sorry, I meant electricity usage go down, not costs!😕

We do similar, if using the oven we generally do everything in there, and since our small oven is also a fan oven, with just the 2 of us we very rarely need to use the big oven these days.

Roasted veg does well in the air fryer, OH adds the veg when the potatoes are partly done, as do roast and baked potatoes, and of course fish and chips (with peas on the hob or in the microwave).  

Coated chicken fillets and similar are very good, also chicken kyiv, and uncoated chicken too of course.

OH has seen some silicone containers that can be used in the air fryer, so if there is a size that fits ours, we may invest to use for dishes that have the meat in a  sauce.

Which Air Fryer do you have, K? We have several silicone trays/dishes some collapsible to allow for differing amount of contents, Use these for ‘wet’ recipes and the space alongside for fried/baked veg. They also go in the oven when required. These air fryers are so versatile. 

We have the Salter Dual compartment model, seems of a similar size to the Ninja one, but have not yet  measured accurately

Sorry K, ours Ninja is the air fryer maxi grill  design, was going to recommend some silicone dishes but don’t think they will be suitable for your model. Apologies, thought I’d answered days ago.