The Actifry & AirFryer Thread - Merged

Without getting to technical, how often is your main oven element on, compared to an airfryer? You are not accounting for this in your calculations.

In both cases they are probably not on 100% all of the time, let's say you main oven 70% to maintain temperature, and the airfryer 50% to maintain the same temperature. (made up values).

Looking at getting this for family 2 and a half with room for more when father calls over for dinner. Looking for recommendations or is it best to wait until Black Friday and use the oven till then?

Mainly for cooking simple things or quick things at the weekend or something when home from work

Any recommendations

So as a Philips air fryer user im a bit overwhelmed with all the airfryers on the market now.

I need to recommend two for 2 relatives.

What brands would you recommend that are easy to clean and have the best functionality.

Only resubscribed to this thread now since the boards facelift btw.

If i could add as i have the Philips Air Fryer for many years and solo cooking.

Others are mentioning the Ninja Foodi twin basket but it can only fry and no pressure cooking.

I have the 6ltr foodi twin lids as i can pc joints or can make a stew and can make bread and cakes.

Think of what meals you want to cook is most important and the Foodi are big and heavy with short mains power cord.

If your a short person there is more chance of burning your arms on the hot pot which is higher up than you think when taking food out of the pot so would advise to view one in local shop at your worktop height.

2.2L is very small.

looks great. With cooking times for frozen food like chips I generally knock 33% off the time it says on the packaging. So 18-20 minutes for frozen chips in an oven becomes 11-13 minutes in an airfryer. Start with the lower amount and if it needs an extra two minutes then do that.

The same principle doesnt hold true for cooking a full small chicken, it is still an hour to cook it fully through just like the oven. Smaller items like chips or nuggets benefit from the air being blown around at speed as it covers their surfaces more. But with bigger items like a chicken or loin of pork the cooking times are largely the same.

In my Philips air fryer i do chips and onion rings for 20 mins as like some colour on them and shake basket midway of cooking on max setting 200.

I guessing I should take these little rubber things off and they were for transport. Anyone know.

From this airfryer.

Not sure if in right Thread. Is there much difference in the Tower Vortex 4l and 4.3l Air Fryers anyone know... Please and t.i.a.

Im not sold on the design of those 2 in 1 airfryer & pressure cooker combos. The thing I like about a standard airfyer is its ease of use with the drawer system, it is quick and fast to just pull it out, dump your food in and shut it back closed again even while it is running. If you are cooking two foods with different timings the drawer system makes it really easy to add more food during cooking.

Whereas with the model linked above you've to remove a heavy lid that has the heating element contained within it and its going to be roasting hot on the underside and it is quite cumbersome to handle. After you remove the lid you've to fish out the inner basket with tongs or similar and thats going to be roasting hot too so you'll need to put it down on a surface that can handle the heat. Whereas with an airfryer drawer you can just tip your chips directly on to your dinner plate. Compared to the ease of use of an airfyers drawer I reckon one of those combo models would be a headwreck to use the airfryer function.

I love my Instant Pot and my airfryer but I use the airfryer perhaps 3-4 times more often than the Instant Pot so ease of use is important. Top loading an airfryer like that just looks like hassle to me. If either of my units ever break down Id just replace like for like, I wouldnt look at a combo model. Im lucky that I have a carousel shelf that the Instant Pot and deep fat fryer live on so I can just spin that around and grab it easily and then the airfryer stays on the kitchen countertop all the time as its used every second day or so.

The paddle issue came up in the Actifry years ago when it was first released, in fact if you go way back on this thread or find a way to use the search function properly on Boards you can find posts about peoples paddles breaking.

If you can buy a paddle and easily replace it that might be worth doing as the main unit is still working. But I wouldnt go buying a new Actifry for the reason that the paddle breaking is a known issue. And also because in a normal airfryer the air is moving around so fast inside it from all angles that it cooks the food evenly and there is no need for a paddle to agitate it. Given airfryers can be as cheap as 50 or 60 euro it might be worth your while just getting one to replace the Actifry altogether as its very much an old design and not a particulary good one either, Ive read other complaints that the paddle can knock the breading off breaded chicken so thats another downside when youve a mess left to clean up.

And yeah Id say an airfryer is healthier as all the fat sits in the lower basket, things like sausages dont come out of it greasy as they are not being cooked in their own fat like in the Actifry. The fat accumulating in the lower basket can also be handy sometimes, last week I did two breasts of duck in the airfryer and when they were done I poured all the duck fat over some potatoes and then started roasting them in the airfryer while the breasts of duck were resting.

Has anyone got the Philips Air Fryer XL and managed to keep the basket clean? We've had ours about 4 years now and the basket mesh is just caked with unremovable hardened grease. Tried lots of stuff including steel wool, brushes, soaking in boiling water, run through the dishwasher. Nothing has worked. The house stinks everytime we run the air fryer. Contemplating replacing the tray altogether but looking at upwards of 70/80euro after you factor in delivery from the UK and inevitable customs charges. So thinking of just replacing it altogether with this. My mother in law has it and the basket looks much easier to keep clean because it isn't mesh

Yes!

I don't use mine as much as I thought it would.

I find it good for small items that you want crispy - chips, toasted sambo, fish fingers, falafels, that sort of thing.

I hated a burger out of it, weird texture and needed to sear the outside anyway. Chicken breast was like a shell on the outside, nice on the inside though!

It's definitely a great alternative to the full oven for small things, but I'm very choosy about what I'll cook in it.

I have one over 10 years old and the base is worn/burnt off like paint gone.

pop out the mesh if you can and let soak in some dishwasher tablet overnight and clean the next day. My dishwasher cleans it on a 70c wash.

Why is all this grease in there as are you adding it to food inside.

I bet your ring above has splatters of oil and grease

How do I clean the gunk out of my air fryer?

Create a paste by mixing 3 parts baking soda and 1 part water. Let it sit in the air fryer for 30 minutes, scrub with a toothbrush, then rinse. You can use this mixture as a substitute for the Dawn Powerwash Spray. Personally, I like to use the Dawn Powerwash Spray instead.

How do you remove sticky residue from a deep fryer?

Add Water and Soap

1. Add a squirt of liquid dish soap to the inside of the deep fryer. ...
2. Mix up the dish soap and water.
3. Plug the fryer in and turn it on. ...
4. Let the water come to a boil so the soap solution can break down the remaining grease inside the unit.

Might only be a cupful or more just to cover the base and if your basket is in there it will stop it splashing up.

IF you put loads of water in yes then i would be concerned.

The JML halogen oven can be cleaned with about 2" of hot water and Fairy liquid and put on THAW setting and switch on for about 20 mins and when finished wipe the top and glass with a kitchen towel and the bowl if needed with a bristle brush in the sink and rinse with hot water.

AH I REMEMBER PUTTING THE BOILING WATER IN BUT FORGOT TO SAY UNIT WAS UNPLUGGED AND IT WAS THE STEAM THAT HELPED CLEAN ABOVE AROUND THE SMOKING ELEMENT.

I had mine in the dishwasher as base was dirty and the basket.

others could try a dishwashing tab thrown into it and add boiling water to soak overnight in the sink and scrub and rinse off and dry.

Did you read viewers comment as it can cook a small chicken of 1.5kg which is small.

Cooking for 2 might need bigger depending on your appetites.

Keep it well clear of objects with that higher heat setting and where you position it

I am lucky as when got new kitchen over the hob i got a wider extractor fan fitted for these times with stainless steel splashback and can put it on the hob with master switch off.

Customer reviews are handy to give you more that you not thought of.