In the interest of saving time on cooking and money on energy, I have been thinking about buying an air fryer and perhaps a pressure cooker. Anyone using these two appliances regularly, in preference to the oven and hob and have any interesting recipes to share?
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Air Fryers & Pressure Cookers
- Thread starter Digby
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I have both an air fryer and an InstaPot. Both are excellent choices and can certainly greatly reduce energy bills and energy consumption. I don't use them enough, but in truth I don't cook much as of late, but absolutely you could essentially stop using the oven and stove as much, or altogether if wanted. There are many great sites for recipes and InstaPot has an app with lots of recipes.
Just think about size. My air fryer is too small, if I was buying new I would get the double basket models. I'm sure others will chime in, but yes, I love both devices and really feel they can save you both time and money.
Just think about size. My air fryer is too small, if I was buying new I would get the double basket models. I'm sure others will chime in, but yes, I love both devices and really feel they can save you both time and money.
Look at the ninja foodie range. Ours will air fry, bake, roast and pressure cook.
most of what i cook goes in that now. Great for two, less so for a family.
most of what i cook goes in that now. Great for two, less so for a family.
I have a pressure cooker and it works well, but I don't know any oven recipes which it could replace: different things. Preferred dish in the pressure cooking (when not used for just cooking stuff) is definitely dahl, in one of its many varieties.
As far as energy saving goes: it's an optimization problem in the end, so the standard 80/20 rule applies and personally I'd first assess what the options are, then sort according to viability. I mean I used to live in a place with single glazing and no insulation, giving up one or more hours of using the oven per week to save energy would have been quite low in the list.
As far as energy saving goes: it's an optimization problem in the end, so the standard 80/20 rule applies and personally I'd first assess what the options are, then sort according to viability. I mean I used to live in a place with single glazing and no insulation, giving up one or more hours of using the oven per week to save energy would have been quite low in the list.
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Waifu decided to try out an AF. We bought a popular brand from (I guess) a reputable store (it was before the CFO decided to jump off a building--you know there's probably something questionable going on when that happens). Anyhow, I noticed the frame was a soft touch plastic (although the cooking basket was what appeared to be aluminum).
On first cookout, the thing gave off a pretty disgusting 'plasticky' odor as it was heating up. When we returned it I checked out the store inventory and all of the brands were mostly plastic.
Now... take that for what it is worth. I'm not a fan of plastic appliances. Plastic may be safe and sound at high temps. I don't know. Just my reaction and preference. YMMV. That said, my guess is a pressure cooker would be mostly strongish metal.
On first cookout, the thing gave off a pretty disgusting 'plasticky' odor as it was heating up. When we returned it I checked out the store inventory and all of the brands were mostly plastic.
Now... take that for what it is worth. I'm not a fan of plastic appliances. Plastic may be safe and sound at high temps. I don't know. Just my reaction and preference. YMMV. That said, my guess is a pressure cooker would be mostly strongish metal.
restorer-john
Grand Contributor
Air fryers are basically fan forced mini ovens with their thermostats set very high. Be they in-wall ovens with an 'air fry' function. or standalone benchtop units.
Nothing special, and nothing game changing. We've had a 28Litre bench top 'air fryer' oven for several years. It saved us when our main oven finally died and it does fantastic potato gems (tater tots?), along with spring rolls, curry puffs, etc.
Primarily, I use it for re-heating pizza, grilled cheese fingers, maybe the odd melted thing etc.
Nothing special, and nothing game changing. We've had a 28Litre bench top 'air fryer' oven for several years. It saved us when our main oven finally died and it does fantastic potato gems (tater tots?), along with spring rolls, curry puffs, etc.
Primarily, I use it for re-heating pizza, grilled cheese fingers, maybe the odd melted thing etc.
Does the best oven chips also.
restorer-john
Grand Contributor
Yes! But for some reason, only straight cut, not crinkle cut.
Health conscious person... Still...
Frying is a process that impart a different taste to the food. Using real oil aka fat, bring up some flavors, that air fryers don't.. perhaps can't . Food through air fryers taste nothing like fried..
This coming from a health conscious person who eats fried food, very seldom perhaps once a year.
OTOH Pressure cooker is a different issue. Better to get a Stainless Steel stovetop model, those of the sort that can be used with an induction oven. The old mainstays, Presto, Cuisinart makes good ones and you can find the parts very easily... I am not fond of the electric models... They look fancy, are popular, some are programmable, some are even Wifi enabled but nothing replaces the control you get from a gas (better) or induction (good enough ) stove
...
Peace
Frying is a process that impart a different taste to the food. Using real oil aka fat, bring up some flavors, that air fryers don't.. perhaps can't . Food through air fryers taste nothing like fried..
This coming from a health conscious person who eats fried food, very seldom perhaps once a year.
OTOH Pressure cooker is a different issue. Better to get a Stainless Steel stovetop model, those of the sort that can be used with an induction oven. The old mainstays, Presto, Cuisinart makes good ones and you can find the parts very easily... I am not fond of the electric models... They look fancy, are popular, some are programmable, some are even Wifi enabled but nothing replaces the control you get from a gas (better) or induction (good enough ) stove
...
Peace
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I have used a pressure cooker for years and it is great for recipes that otherwise would take too long.
But i don't see how it can replace the oven. In my case, the sort of recipes i used it for were things you would cook in a normal cacerole otherwise, you need a good amount of water to build up the pressure. Maybe it depends on the cuisine.
PS: fully agree with second part of frantzm post.
But i don't see how it can replace the oven. In my case, the sort of recipes i used it for were things you would cook in a normal cacerole otherwise, you need a good amount of water to build up the pressure. Maybe it depends on the cuisine.
PS: fully agree with second part of frantzm post.
Pressure cooking is mandatory or highly recommended for chickpeas and legumes in general. It saves a lot of time. I can save time with pasta too, but that doesn't make a huge difference. For legumes, specially for chickpeas, is day and night. I use one of this once a week, rotating between chickpeas, lentils and local beans.
Air fryers, as others have said, are just ovens with the air projected directly to the food, small and easy to clean. A good solution to safe time if sacrificing a bit of taste is worth it, also if one wants to reduce the amount of fats. The main benefit to me is time saving. Frying something properly takes time, to cook and to clean, and space.
Air fryers, as others have said, are just ovens with the air projected directly to the food, small and easy to clean. A good solution to safe time if sacrificing a bit of taste is worth it, also if one wants to reduce the amount of fats. The main benefit to me is time saving. Frying something properly takes time, to cook and to clean, and space.
I bought a Ninja Foodie a couple of years ago. I have used the slow cooker and pressure cooker modes a few times but mainly use it as an air fryer. Very useful for cooking small items. Also for reheating food.
It is easier to reheat food in the microwave but for some things that seems to change the texture, for example chicken. Microwave can seem to toughen pastry cases of pies. So Ninja better for them.
I still use the oven for larger items - though it takes about twenty minutes to warm up.
It is easier to reheat food in the microwave but for some things that seems to change the texture, for example chicken. Microwave can seem to toughen pastry cases of pies. So Ninja better for them.
I still use the oven for larger items - though it takes about twenty minutes to warm up.
scottmckinney67
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I have a breville smart oven. It's convection, and air fry. So far no complaints.
I've been an Instant Pot user since 2017 and I bought an air fryer in January this year. I have the Cosori Air Fryer and Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1.
I would recommend getting the silicone accessories for the Instant Pot and parchment paper for the air fryer (e.g. squircular ones for my Cosari: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08HV7TKBT?th=1)
If you like Indian food, there's some great Instant Pot recipes here: https://myheartbeets.com/category/method-cooking-style/instant-pot/
I also have Panasonic combi-microwave oven, I use this and the air fryer in preference to switching on my traditional convection oven.
I found that Frozen Fries and Breaded Scampi take exactly the same time to cook in my air fryer. I can cook two portions of each, at the same time, in around 15 minutes
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Ah... yes... but for £10 you don't get "veil lifting". You'll have to settle for delicious (and fun) food.
That's a good point. Maybe I should get some cable lifters to add more 'air' to my fryer? Would my wife then notice the night and day difference from the lounge?
I've had a Breville Smart Oven for a long time. It does work really for toasting various things without burning. Once you figure out some different settings for certain things, the results are pretty repeatable. It also works really well for reheating. I don't tend to use it much for baking though, unless it's something small. The only complaint I have about it is that the convection fan is extremely noisy on mine, so I tend to not use that function much.
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