Black + Decker Purify Air Fryer
Best for a budget Just getting started with air frying? Dip your toe in the water with the Black + Decker Purify Air Fryer, which is affordable, compact, and has basic air frying functionality.
- Accessories: 2 baskets included
Size: The Black + Decker Purify Air Fryer holds 2 quarts, making it slightly smaller than the other basket air fryers.
Look: This model comes in black and white, with a sleek design that would look nice on your countertop.
Function: The Black + Decker has basic air fryer functionality and temperature control, with indicator lights that display when the unit is on and preheated.
Peoplesay: People love the affordability of this air fryer, though some found the lettering too small and difficult to read.
How We Tested Air Fryers
What is the first thing you think of when you consider air fryers? Chips, of course, so our homemade fries test was crucial.
The key to crisp fries was to peel and soak the potatoes in cold water for half an hour to remove starch, before drying thoroughly. We used Maris Piper potatoes for all.
We looked at the manuals for each model and followed their directions for cooking temperature, time and the quantity of oil needed. If the type of oil wasn’t specified them we used vegetable.
Anything from the size of the cut to the variety of potato can make a difference here, so itâs always good to gauge things halfway through the time. But for the purpose of the test, we shook ingredients only when prompted too and scored the appliance based on its performance.
We tested the air fryers using set criteria and scored each one on the following core areas out of five. The average of all determined the overall star rating they achieved:
Quality of foodTo ensure fairness, we initially cooked chips in every fryer we tested. We looked at how evenly they âfriedâ and whether they were brown and crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.
Ease of useNo-one wants to resort to a YouTube video to work out how to use a new gadget. We looked for fryers with clear, simple instructions, so we could get them out of the box and cooking our dinner as quickly as possible. Fryers also scored highly if the icons or control buttons were easy to use and intuitive.
When To Replace Your Air Fryer
An air fryer will last for as long as you take care of it, although there are ways to make an air fryer last longer. There are reports of some breaking within a few months because there are things you should never put in an air fryer, while others last up to eight years. Most brands will offer around three years of warranty. The best way to extend the life of your air fryer is to keep it clean and wash it thoroughly between each use see our guide on how to clean an air fryer for more details. If you hand wash the basket and avoid using metal tools, the non-stick finish wonât take damage â this is one of the most common problems with air fryers.
Another common complaint is the handle breaking away from the basket. The answer to this, once again, is washing by hand, as being exposed to the high temperatures within a dishwasher wonât help the plastic. Try not to pull on the handle with too much force during everyday use as well. If your air fryer malfunctions, and itâs not under warranty, itâs best to replace it. If you request a repair quote, and find itâs more than half the price of a new air fryer, we recommend replacing the model.
If you’re looking at cast iron skillets, we have a guide on the best cast iron skillets to choose from.
Check out more of our appliance coverage:
Also Check: Multi Functional Air Fryer Toaster Oven
How Did We Choose The Best Air Fryer
When testing, Homes & Gardens took into account the following factors:
Noise: The noise of an air fryer can impact your ability to use it. Perhaps you like to cook while listening to the TV, or you live in a smaller home and the noise of an air fryer running would distract you as you work. If an air fryer is noisy, we make a note of it.
Speed: Air fryers promise to speed up cooking times, so when testing them we used standardized recipes to see how long they will take to cook classic recipes. While potato fries would typically take around 25 minutes in the air fryer, the speediest air fryers we tested have taken as little as 12 minutes to make crisp, evenly-cooked fries.
Looks: It’s going in your kitchen counters, so it has to look the part. You might not mind a less attractive air fryer as much as some other users, but any bulky features or unattractive elements such as smudging or busy display panels were noted during testing.
Cleaning: Cleaning an air fryer should be easy. Most have baskets that can go in the dishwasher, and it’s rare to find on without a non-stick inside. If we ran into any difficulties cleaning, we marked it down.
Some of the air fryers in our guide have been reviewed on other Future Homes websites, but they have all been reviewed by the same Editor, meaning she can still bring you all her inside knowledge even if you can’t click through to read the full review on Homes & Gardens.
Air Fryers We Reviewed But Didn’t Score As Well
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We’ve always loved Instant Pot. But if you’ve never used an air fryer before, we can’t recommend the Instant Vortex Plus . Its “Getting Started Guide” wasnt very helpful. We also found cooking with the included tray yielded better results than the basket the manufacturer suggested using. Still, if you don’t mind a lot of trial and error, this device can produce solid results.
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We’ve reviewed a few Krups models. We like the Krups Easy Fry Deluxe Digital a bit better than the Krups Fry Delight thanks to its design and cooking results. However, neither are very close to mimicking the crispiness of food that came out of a traditional deep fryer.
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Farberware 3.2 quart Digital Oil-Less Fryer is very inexpensive and does a decent job of crisping and browning, especially with frozen foods. However, the basket sticks and it’s a little confusing to use.
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The generic-looking Power Air XL has a small capacity, and its basket doesn’t glide out very smoothly.
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The Black and Decker 2L Purifry is a big appliance, but comes with a much smaller basket. With no digital controls and tiny numbers, it’s really difficult to set your temperature precisely.
Read Also: Lg Oven With Air Fryer
Instant Vortex Plus 10
The Instant Vortex Plus 10-Quart Air Fryer is a convection oven-style air fryer with two racks to maximize cooking space. Weinstein said that he loves this model, but noted that if you use both trays, youll need to swap your food halfway through cooking. The Instant Vortex Plus has a touchscreen to set the temperature and the time. It features seven functions, from air frying to dehydrating. It comes with a drip pan, cooking trays and a rotisserie spit that you can throw in the dishwasher, too. The Instant Vortex Plus has a 4.6-star average rating from 23,000 customer reviews on Amazon and comes with a one-year warranty.
What Is An Air Fryer
An air fryer is an all-purpose cooking appliance that can crisp nearly anything, from sweet potatoes to sizzling bacon. It provides a compact environment thats generally smaller and more lightweight than a microwave, for heated air to be blown around quickly in order to heat up and cook whatevers inside it. The hot air crisps the food actually frying the edges, Bruce Weinstein, author of the The Essential Air Fryer Cookbook, explained so you barely have to use any oil at all. But you must use some , he added.
Simply add a spritz of oil atop a slab of steak, for example, and put it in the air fryer. Its outsides will get crispy and the taste of the food will get more flavorful as the moisture evaporates and flavors condense.
Read Also: Emeril Lagasse Instant Pot Air Fryer
Best Two Basket: Ninja Foodi 6
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Smart Finish for coordinated finish time
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Extra space for large batches
If you’re looking for added space and the convenience of cooking two different foods at the same time, our reviewers highly recommend this model. With two separate 4-quart cooking baskets and heating zones, this Ninja air fryer enables you to cook different foods with separate cooking times and temperatures at the same time. You won’t have to choose between air frying wings or fries on game days and can prepare a complete meal, like air-fried chicken with crispy Brussels sprouts or sweet potato wedges on the side. Even with the “high-tech” feel of it and the multitude of options, our testers found it user-friendly.
The magic lies in the “Smart Finish” feature, which lets you program the air fryer with two cook times and temperatures for different foods. The air fryer will automatically start the basket with the shorter of the two cook times so both baskets are finished cooking at the same time. If you’re cooking a double batch of a single recipe, the “Match” feature quickly pairs both cooking baskets to the same settings. There are six cooking presets, including air fry, air broil, roast, bake, reheat, and dehydrate.
The Spruce Eats / Donna Currie
Capacity: 8 quarts | Power Rating: 1690 watts | Dimensions: 15.63 x 13.86 x 12.4 inches | Warranty: 1 year
How Exactly Does An Air Fryer Work
Air fryers essentially work their magic the same way a toaster oven doesby circulating hot air throughout an inner chamber, giving your food crunchier and crispier skin than if you’d tossed it into the oven.
“The beauty of an air fryer is that you don’t need to preheat it,” Theoktisto tells us. If you want to get your kids some crispy nuggets or chicken tenders on the table fast, this thing will do it. My mom recently purchased one and she finds it’s easier to cook for two people using it. I’d recommend it to empty nesters, working parents, and single people.”
Don’t Miss: Large Capacity Air Fryer Reviews
Best Air Fryers Review
We dug into every element of the air fryers on the market and found the 7 best air fryers based on budget, functionality, look, and buyer reviews :
- Accessories: not included
Size: Philips has a small air fryer as well as an XXL version . In both versions, buyers loved the roomy basket, which could fit two layers of food.
Look: The Philips AirFryer comes in black. Its compact design makes it easy to store, though it makes a slick addition to your countertop appliances.
Function: This air fryer produces some of the crispiest results due to the way air can flow through the basket. Its intuitive controls are easy to use, and there are many presets to make cooking even quicker.
People say: Most buyers love the Philips AirFryer, with the biggest complaints being the smaller capacity and the premium price.
How To Buy The Best Air Fryer For You
Look for easy-to-use controls for both temperature and time, as these are the most important features on any air fryer. Auto-stop and keep warm functions can be useful but chips, if left for any amount of time will soon lose their crispness. More expensive machines will feature touch screens rather than dial controls, which will help with accuracy.
The bigger the basket capacity, the more people youll be able to cook for. So if youve got a family, then a 5 litre machine is probably a must.
A loud beep to signal the end of cooking time is a good idea if youre using the time to wander off and do something else. Most air-fryers will only cook one food group at a time but some will cook a whole meal in one go if youre after a one-pot solution.
Also Check: Nuwave Brio Air Fryer 3 Quart
How Do You Clean An Air Fryer
Most removable parts on most air fryers are dishwasher safe. Check the owner’s manual of your air fryer for which parts, if any, are ok to run through the dishwasher.
These parts are also easily cleaned by hand with warm, soapy water and a non-abrasive sponge. If there’s any particularly difficult to remove grease or stuck-on food, let the parts soak in hot, soapy water first.
The interior and exterior of the air fryer can be wiped clean with a damp cloth, but should never be submerged in water since it contains electrical components.
If the heating element gets dirty, you can wipe it with a damp cloth when the unit is turned off, cooled, and unplugged.
Dash Compact Air Fryer Oven Cooker
Once again, this air fryer performed wellespecially considering its affordable pricebut it’s just too small to offer any real convenience to a home cook, regardless of the number of servings being made. Available in a few different shades, it is undeniably adorable, though, and as a bonus, it’s easy to use and clean.
Don’t Miss: Air Fryer Commercial On Tv
First And Foremost: Always Rinse Rice Before Cooking
No matter how you’re cooking your rice , it’s important to rinse those grains. Doing so removes excess starch. Left on the rice, the starch results in unappealing, gummy results. Some recipes will tell you to place the rice in a bowl and change the water several times, but we think the easiest technique is to rinse it in a fine mesh strainer. Agitate the grains with your hands as you run water over them to shower them evenly. When the water runs clear, you’re done rinsing. Having trouble seeing whether or not it’s clear? Put a clear bowl underneath the water draining off the rice, let any bubbles settle away and then take a look.
Food Network Kitchens How to Cook Rice: A Step-by-Step Guide.
Matt Armendariz
Are Air Fryers Worth It
Air fryers are worth it if you like to cook foods quickly with minimal cleanup. Sure, some are bulky and may feel like a usurper of your counter space, but most people who use them learn the benefits right away. They’re especially great for prepackaged frozen foods and leftovers, like french fries or dumplings, that would normally get soggy or rubbery in a microwave. In the Kitchen Appliances Lab, we like using ours for quick dinners. All types of proteins, like chicken, pork chops and salmon, cook up quickly and become golden brown and juicy veggies become nicely blistered or caramelized. We especially like air frying root vegetables, like mini potatoes and diced butternut squash and beets.
Also Check: Food In The Air Fryer
How Does An Air Fryer Work
Air fryers don’t fry food in the traditional sense. Instead of oil, air fryers use hot air to crisp and brown foods. All air fryers contain a heating mechanism and fan that keeps the heated air circulating around the food. The process is similar to a convection oven.
Air fryers contain a perforated or mesh basket that allows air to move around the food for even cooking. The only downside to this design is you can only air fry breaded foods since battered foods would drip through the perforated air fryer basket.
How Powerful Should An Air Fryer Be
Most air fryers are somewhere between 1,200 and 1,800 watts. Larger air fryers typically have more wattage and smaller models have less. Your midrange 4-quart air fryer should have about 1,500 watts. The small Magic Bullet air fryer has just 1,300, but that’s plenty of power to cook food in the petite basket. Larger air fryers should have about 100 more watts per quart to make sure they hit those hot temps of 400 degrees F.
Read Also: Dinner In The Air Fryer
Generously Proportioned Air Fryer At An Affordable Price Point
Instant Home
- Bringing soggy leftovers back to life
Skip if:
- You want a multifunctional gadget with lots of extra bells and whistles
For shoppers looking for a large, efficient and functional air fryer at an affordable price, the Instant Vortex 6-quart Air Fryer is an incredible value. Many of the other machines I tested have a few redundant functions that most cooks wont need. The Instant Vortex, in contrast, cuts out the noise by focusing on four main functions. Its a convenient machine that features a more straightforward control panel than some of the competitors, so you can easily select from four different presets. The control panel uses a digital screen with easy-to-read push buttons for each function, with a dial to manually increase time or temperature. Its also bigger than the Ninja if youd like to cook more food at a time.
The Instant Vortex yield crispy, crunchy foods in our tests.
Laura Denby
This is a great option for home cooks, but if youre looking to have more precise control over temperature in order to achieve super-crispy foods, having a machine with a higher temperature range might be helpful. It has a 1-year limited warranty, and replacement parts or accessorieslike a wire rack and pizza pan setcan be purchased separately.
Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven Review: Verdict
If youre space challenged in the kitchen and want one multitasking product rather than several, the Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven can fill the bill as long as you dont want to use it for baking. Unlike other toaster ovens we tested it cant substitute for a full size oven when it comes to turning out cookies, cake, and even frozen pizza. Although it doesnt air fry quite as well as a dedicated air fryer, it can also be used to make your morning toast and roasts of all kinds.
The Cuisinart is a good-looking appliance that you wont mind having permanently sitting on your countertop. Its easy to use, but a little challenging to clean. Be wary of how hot the glass door gets through, and make sure its out of reach of children.
Read Also: Air Fryers Sold At Walmart
