Philips Airfryer £69.99~€95 for the next 12 Hours

Interested Observer · 04-10-2015 8:32pm

One more question before I probably pull the trigger - I don't have a dishwasher so what would cleaning the tray manually be like, doable?

theteal · 04-10-2015 8:40pm

The basket and the tray come out and get washed with the dishes here. They clean easier if still warm.

savemejebus · 04-10-2015 10:33pm

rubadub wrote: »

What timings did you use for cooking that, it looks amazing?

mirrorwall14 · 05-10-2015 6:16pm

How long does the steak take for medium rare? And a well done?

amber2 · 05-10-2015 6:28pm

Interested Observer wrote: »

One more question before I probably pull the trigger - I don't have a dishwasher so what would cleaning the tray manually be like, doable?

Lash of hot water and a dash of oven pride works a treat, no effort needed just give it a wipe out..... May be worth it to try to changing to Amazon.de or Amazon.fr with GBP conversion being so bad, haven't checked myself recently but has been worth it in the past.

mirrorwall14 · 05-10-2015 7:11pm

Ok steaks yum. Home made chips = fail. Frozen chips were yummy though. Will have to keep trying

killbillvol2 · 05-10-2015 7:27pm

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

How long does the steak take for medium rare? And a well done?

Well 8 minutes does a rare steak perfectly so I'd say 9 for medium rare.

Gulliver · 05-10-2015 8:47pm

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Ok steaks yum. Home made chips = fail. Frozen chips were yummy though. Will have to keep trying

I used Rooster potatoes. Soak for 30 minutes (or overnight if you're really prepared) to remove starch. Pat them dry. Put them into a bowl with a half tablespoon of rapeseed oil, some salt and pepper. Make sure all the chips are coated in the oil.

Preheat the airfryer then pop them in for 15 minutes at 160, 10 minutes at 180. Stir/shake a few times. They came out really crispy and tasty. Can't wait to try steak in it.

Glenbhoy · 05-10-2015 9:35pm

Just to add my tuppence worth, I bought an tefal actifry about 6 months ago on adverts (used onceish), and I bought this last week thanks to the OP's alert, I'm giving this on to my parents in the very near future.
To be honest, I talked my parents into wanting one, so that I could compare the two!!
We have been using the actifry very regularly and it's definitely an item, which if it broke, we'd be purchasing again asap. We find it great for chips, roast veg, sausages etc, haven't been too adventurous yet. The main plus is the capacity, we can cook for ourselves and the three kids in the one sitting (they're small kids!). Aside from ease, taste is excellent, maintenance is incredibly easy, it is tefal and there's never been an easier item to clean. The main con is that the paddle stirring around makes breaded items break up (we just take out the paddle though and give the thing a wee shake every now and then).
Now, on to the airfryer, again, excellent results with frozen chips, also tried a ribeye, very easy and great results too. But capacity is just way too small for our needs, it's also more awkward to use and clean. I'm passing it on to my parents and it'll meet their needs, but for me, capacity and maintenance are huge drawbacks when compared to the actifry. I'd also say that the airfryer gets hotter and therefore it's easier to give things too long (or burn them if you will), the actifry definitely takes longer, so there's more give and take (although of course capacity is at least 50% more).
I have it for another week, so I plan on doing the full fry this weekend!!

Interested Observer · 05-10-2015 10:02pm

Got an Airfryer today and cooked some chicken on it. The chicken came out really well but man it was tough to clean afterwards, which has me fairly concerned (I don't have a dishwasher). Skin and fat and what-have-you all got caught in the mesh of the basket and it took an age to get off.

Thargor · 05-10-2015 10:41pm

Buy a brush in Dealz or somewhere, I have the whole thing cleaned and back on the shelf while Im letting a steak rest. It doesnt have to be factory spotless every time, I find any grease I leave on it burns off the next time I heat it anyway

Interested Observer · 06-10-2015 9:08am

Thargor wrote: »

Buy a brush in Dealz or somewhere, I have the whole thing cleaned and back on the shelf while Im letting a steak rest. It doesnt have to be factory spotless every time, I find any grease I leave on it burns off the next time I heat it anyway

Yeah good idea will give that a go, thanks.

tonto24 · 06-10-2015 9:50am

Is this thing actually healthy? I can see its a replacement for deep fat fryer but that is possibly 1 of the worst things in the world health wise!

statto25 · 06-10-2015 9:52am

tonto24 wrote: »

Is this thing actually healthy? I can see its a replacement for deep fat fryer but that is possibly 1 of the worst things in the world health wise!

There is little or no oil involved at all so it is a lot more healthy. The food is cooked by circulating hot air rather than immersing the food in oil.

Casey78 · 06-10-2015 9:57am

Interested Observer wrote: »

Got an Airfryer today and cooked some chicken on it. The chicken came out really well but man it was tough to clean afterwards, which has me fairly concerned (I don't have a dishwasher). Skin and fat and what-have-you all got caught in the mesh of the basket and it took an age to get off.

Get a can of the low calorie spray oil and give it a few sprays into the Air fryer before you put the chicken in.

holdmybeer · 06-10-2015 5:20pm

After trying a few different brands of chips, in the Philips Acitfry 800g model, from Tesco and Aldi I found that the best ones that compare to that take away taste is the straight cut ones from Aldi in the green bag.

I trieds McCains, Aldis and Dunness and thought these were the best after the rest.

06-10-2015 5:41pm

tonto24 wrote: »

Is this thing actually healthy? I can see its a replacement for deep fat fryer but that is possibly 1 of the worst things in the world health wise!

If you use no or little oil it should be even healthier than oven roasting (which requires a fair bit of oil) never mind deep fat frying.

I bought it to replace doing home made chips and roasted veg in the oven mostly. That will be its main use for me, hopefully will give it its first try this evening.

tglynn · 06-10-2015 5:42pm

Anyone buy the divider? link?

alias no.9 · 06-10-2015 7:15pm

I trimmed all the leftovers off a leg of lamb, diced it up and popped it into the air fryer to reheat for 5 minutes, the results were pretty fantastic, nice moist chunks of lamb.

Thargor · 06-10-2015 8:59pm

holdmybeer wrote: »

After trying a few different brands of chips, in the Philips Acitfry 800g model, from Tesco and Aldi I found that the best ones that compare to that take away taste is the straight cut ones from Aldi in the green bag.

I trieds McCains, Aldis and Dunness and thought these were the best after the rest.

Yes exact same for me, perfect chips:

danjo-xx · 06-10-2015 9:22pm

Thargor wrote: »

Yes exact same for me, perfect chips:

Are they by any chance, potato chips and therefore Gluten Free.

Thargor · 06-10-2015 9:27pm

Well they're definitely potato, they do have a kind of seasoning on them so not sure tbh:

https://www.aldi.co.uk/en/product-range/frozen/chips/chips-product-detail-page/ps/p/homestyle-fries/

Glenbhoy · 06-10-2015 10:10pm

Dunnes black bag crinkle cut or Aunt Bessies Crinkle cuts are my favourites, but it doesn't matter as much when airfrying as it does in the oven. For me, the vast majority of oven chips were barely worthy of the name, but each to their own etc...

The one thing about these devices (actifry or air fryer), they're the only way I can get thin cut french fry things edible.

Tinder Surprise · 07-10-2015 11:45am

is this a good price and good alternative?

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/9066650.htm?cmpid=COJUN&storeId=10152&_%24ja=tsid%3A30390|prd%3A7623798&referredURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.argos.ie%2Fstatic%2FProduct%2FpartNumber%2F9066650.htm&referrer=COJUN

padair · 07-10-2015 12:04pm

Tinder Surprise wrote:

is this a good price and good alternative?

My folks had that model and it burned out after a year of use.

Thargor · 07-10-2015 1:30pm

The Actifrys get good reviews for the food and bigger sizes than the Airfryer but its weird when you actually read the reviews you see people talking about them like they're some cheap disposeable gadget not a >€100 purchase, they're all saying things like "Im on my third one now after the first 2 gave up, great chips!", every single review seems to mention the paddle snapping off aswell.

07-10-2015 3:23pm

The Actifrys also are more of a low oil fryer than a no oil (if you chose) fryer than the airfryer so are not as healthy. Wasn't there stories of them going on fire too?

Lemlin · 07-10-2015 6:51pm

Bought an Actifryer in Argos today. Just had 1.2kg of chips from it with the wife and two kids and they were lovely.

Just a spoonful of oil is all that was needed.

Caovyn Lineah · 07-10-2015 7:22pm

Casey78 wrote: »

Boil some baby potatoes until they are just done.
Let them cool a little and chop them in half. Put them in a bowl and mix in a little oil and salt and pepper. Throw them in the Airfyer for about 10-15 mins.
Serve and enjoy. Come back onto boards to thank Casey78!!

Just had this with fillet steak from the butcher, incredible.

Glenbhoy · 08-10-2015 12:36pm

Porter Grumpy Morning wrote: »

The Actifrys also are more of a low oil fryer than a no oil (if you chose) fryer than the airfryer so are not as healthy. Wasn't there stories of them going on fire too?

You can put a spoon of oil into the airfryer, but personally I never have. I think like everything else, it depends on taste and what you're cooking. I'll often spray a little of the low cal oil spray on frozen chips, but really, there's no need (force of habit).
If I'm making roasted veg, I'll normally give them a quick dip in olive oil too.

The drawbacks of the actifryer are that it's pretty big to store and takes much longer to cook (although capacity is 50% higher). It's also not as versatile, in that it would be difficult to cook steaks and larger items such as cakes or a chicken in it, there are newer versions out which have a tray above the paddle which addresses this issue (maybe not for cakes and chickens though!).

The main plus is that it is incredibly easy to use and maintain, foodwise results are excellent and the fact that you can check on progress without opening it up is another advantage.

I have also read about the issues with the paddle, but, again, the paddle isn't essential and frequently we'll just take it out (when cooking breaded foods).

All I can say is that my wife and I are very happy with it thusfar (6 months in) and that the argos price is excellent.

If you're going to purchase in Argos and you're a tesco clubcard fan, it's worth thinking of buying 2 €50 argos vouchers in tesco as you get 150 points per €50, which if used on a clubcard deal could be worth up to €12 - it does take a day from purchase before the card can be used in Argos, so it could be more hassle than it's worth.

Philips Airfryer £69.99~€95 for the next 12 Hours

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