I just ordered the Phillips Airfryer

[Puffnstuff]

I wonder how long it will take for them to release a larger version of these devices? I've seen some that are only slightly larger but if they'd make the air fryer equivalent of a George Forman grill that could do family sized meal then more people might become interested in them.

 

[Kaido]

I wonder how long it will take for them to release a larger version of these devices? I've seen some that are only slightly larger but if they'd make the air fryer equivalent of a George Forman grill that could do family sized meal then more people might become interested in them.

The Breville Smart Oven Pro is probably what you want...it's basically a jumbo convection toaster oven (think 6 slices of toast flat, for capacity). My Philips XL is already HUGE; I definitely wouldn't want them to make a larger one because it would eat my counter lol. A square design like the Breville is probably the best option.

 

[Kaido]

I haven't cooked too many foods from raw in the halogen oven, but from what I recall (and this is a while back) that looks more or less what I would expect, but somewhat less crispy than "really crispy" depending on the specifics of the coating. The biggest diff I think is the halogens are more directional, the top crisp more than the bottom so you'll want to flip them over at least once. There's some inevitably food smell, but not terribly more so than a normal oven if you put it on the range under the fan.

Frankly for most people the halogens are the more realistic option simply due to the price gap. The way I look at that market in general, most folks are not going to buy in first at the philips price, they already consider $130 for the panny kind of pricey for a "toaster oven". The halogens are a cheap alternative they can try to see if they like that kind of mini-crisping-oven, and move up from there.

Yeah but with the Philips, you still have to flip, technically. It's supposed to have better airflow, but it still benefits from tossing the food over.

I know what you mean about more crispy but not super crispy, that's exactly what these do. Almost perfectly crispy! lol. Again, at some point I'll probably pickup the Oyama & BigBoss and see how they compare. I suspect there won't be much if any difference in cooking.

 

[HeXen]

I've had an air fryer for a year now. Got it on sale for $70. Tastes exactly like they came right out of the deep fryer minus the grease.

 

[agent00f]

I've had an air fryer for a year now. Got it on sale for $70. Tastes exactly like they came right out of the deep fryer minus the grease.

The process isn't quite the same. Frying works by raising the outside temp of the food, which these ovens can do, but it also displaces water near the surface with oil. Crispy fat is what makes the food delicious. The difference is most obvious in foods like french fries, which never quite taste great out of the air oven without somehow treating the surface with fats. Wings for example is less obvious because of the skin. Or meats with some fat in them which helps mask difference at the surface. In contrast frying a sous vide steak in super-hot oil is pretty awesome.

Fryer foods that come out "greasy" (almost a tad soggy, implying not really crispy) is symptomatic of low oil temp, which is not uncommon at home.

 

[Puffnstuff]

I wonder how much it would cost to add a rotating lower like a microwave to help distribute the air more evenly?

 

[agent00f]

There was the t-fal model mentioned that has a stirring paddle. It wouldn't be prohibitive to add a rotating tray, but the benefits are limited since it wouldn't increase surface hit by the IR much in the halogen design for example.

The tray is more useful in a microwave since the standing wave pattern within tend to create localized hotspots unless the chamber is carefully designed.

 

[Kaido]

I've had an air fryer for a year now. Got it on sale for $70. Tastes exactly like they came right out of the deep fryer minus the grease.

Which model did you get?

 

[Kaido]

I wonder how much it would cost to add a rotating lower like a microwave to help distribute the air more evenly?

There's a VonShef model (no longer sold) that had a rotating basket, was pretty well-reviewed on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/VonShef-10-5-QT-10-Litre-Health-Turbo/dp/B00P2HKW2C

 

[Kaido]

I also have a couple of the halogen fan ovens and the breville. The halogens are alright for quick and easy treatment of the outside, presumably not too much worse than the expensive philiops. The breville is a better complete replacement/alternative to the full oven, but not as good as the cheap panasonic for crisping up, particular bit soggy fridged food. They did introduce a few smaller models that are closer in price though.

I picked up the Breville last week...definitely does not compare to an air-fryer. Like you said, it is more of an oven replacement (which is what I wanted it for...I usually only bake small batches of cookies or single loaves of bread), despite having the convection feature & being fairly compact in size. We use the small Panasonic as a toaster & for frozen stuff or reheating and have been using the Breville for baking & doing crispy sandwiches (almost panini-style, but not smashed). Sooooo much less heat in my tiny kitchen!

 

[Puffnstuff]

There's a VonShef model (no longer sold) that had a rotating basket, was pretty well-reviewed on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/VonShef-10-5-QT-10-Litre-Health-Turbo/dp/B00P2HKW2C

Hey thanks for posting that cooker. I took a look and there are several other units that offer similar features.

 

[Kaido]

Hey thanks for posting that cooker. I took a look and there are several other units that offer similar features.

Yeah, there are some really interesting gadgets out there. Delonghi has a mixed fryer...it's not a full deep-fryer, but it's not an airfryer either. They advertise it as using only half of the oil as a normal fryer because it has a titled rotating basket, so your food doesn't just sit in the oil the whole time:

https://www.amazon.com/Delonghi-COOL-TOUCH-Electric-Adjustable-Thermostat/dp/B0141FUYWS

Bonus, it has an oil drain tube for convenience.

 

[Puffnstuff]

The tfal unit only requires a tablespoon of oil plus it has a rotating stir arm.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005GM15H...UTF8&colid=2AVUJ9TZ5S81S&coliid=ILIV0CV4ISB2C

 

[Kaido]

The tfal unit only requires a tablespoon of oil plus it has a rotating stir arm.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005GM15H...UTF8&colid=2AVUJ9TZ5S81S&coliid=ILIV0CV4ISB2C

Pricey, but half the cost of my Philips & probably just as good, based on the reviews.

My brother is picking up a BigBoss, so I'll have to compare it. I may pick up the Oyama (~$43) too.

 

[slag]

Yeah, there are some really interesting gadgets out there. Delonghi has a mixed fryer...it's not a full deep-fryer, but it's not an airfryer either. They advertise it as using only half of the oil as a normal fryer because it has a titled rotating basket, so your food doesn't just sit in the oil the whole time:

https://www.amazon.com/Delonghi-COOL-TOUCH-Electric-Adjustable-Thermostat/dp/B0141FUYWS

Bonus, it has an oil drain tube for convenience.

Plus you can use fully synthetic castrol or penzoil and get the same flavor as regular canola or 'vegetable' oil.

 

[Kaido]

Plus you can use fully synthetic castrol or penzoil and get the same flavor as regular canola or 'vegetable' oil.

Does that include free mummification for immortality??

 

[SaltyNuts]

Question for you guys: How does the Philips Air Fryer (or I guess any Air Fryer) differ from a Turbo Convection Oven, like the one I already ordered:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XJE60U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Are they materially different enough that it might warrant me purchasing an Air Fryer as well?

Thanks!

 

[agent00f]

Question for you guys: How does the Philips Air Fryer (or I guess any Air Fryer) differ from a Turbo Convection Oven, like the one I already ordered:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XJE60U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Are they materially different enough that it might warrant me purchasing an Air Fryer as well?

Thanks!

The halogen ovens use directly radiated heat in addition to forced convection. Given the price difference I would only get the philips if you want a better/prettier built version of more or less similar thing. There are apparently knockoffs of the philips, but they still seem to cost more, presumably due to the more complex molded body.

I would get the panasonic IR oven before anything above its price point, since it "fries" just as well in addition to other benefits.

 

[Kaido]

I got my Oyama in yesterday ($44 shipped). Realized I had a bunch of unused Amazon points, so I blew them on this puppy:

https://www.amazon.com/Oyama-TRO-110C-Turbo-Convection-White/dp/B003XJE60U/

Surprisingly good build quality for the money. It consists of a base, glass bowl, and lid. The base has plastic handles & believe a ceramic bottom. The glass bowl is just a jumbo glass ramekin. The lid has the hairdryer piece attached to a glass cover. Pretty straightforward design...plug it in, set the temp (up to 482F), set the timer (up to 60 minutes), then push the handle with the childproof safety button down to turn it on. Not much to it! It is a very large unit. It includes a few accessories:

1. Short rack
2. Tall rack
3. Lid stand
4. Plate tong

When you first get it, clean it out (soap & water), then run it at 482F for 10 minutes to do an initial cleaning pass to burn off any chemicals from the factory. Reading through the Amazon reviews, there are some good tricks, such as lining the bottom (or the rack itself) with aluminum foil so you don't have to clean up the entire unit after cooking with it & also pre-heating the unit like you would a regular oven. I threw in a dozen wings this morning for breakfast (because who doesn't like honey mustard wings for breakfast? 80 grams of protein, baby!) at 360F (to compare to my Philips) & they came out okay...cooked yes, but not super crispy (whereas the Philips comes out crispy, but dry). Will try at a much higher temp next time to see if I can get the crispy aspect nailed down.

Size-wise, it's actually about the same size as the Philips, but the Philips is taller. Way more room in the Oyama. Higher temp, too (482F vs. 390F) & can go to any temp you want instead of 30-degree temperature jumps. I believe one of the reviews said that the Oyama takes about 10 minutes to pre-heat (will need to verify), whereas the Philips takes only 3. It's too early to really say for sure, but my initial impression is that this is a great buy at $44 & I wouldn't bother with a Philips AirFryer for 6x the price. Again, I need to cook a bunch more stuff with it to see how it handles, but reviewers are saying they can even cook stuff like bread in it without any issues, which is pretty awesome. I haven't used my Philips as much as I've wanted because if I'm doing something like sous vide, I've just restored to pan-searing it or breaking out my Searazall blowtorch to finish off small jobs. I will be baking a lot of cookies soon & will do some cross-comparison with my regular oven, my Breville convection toaster oven, and the Oyama to see how they each fare for baked goods.

First impression tho, great unit for $44. You definitely get your money's worth with this in terms of hardware!

 

[momeNt]

Has anybody ever calorie tested air fried chicken with skin on vs deep fried chicken with skin?

It was always kind of my personal belief that the skin on chicken is basically pure fat and very unhealthy, deep frying it doesn't make it more unhealthy, fat doesn't absorb fat. So by just air crisping what is already basically pure fat, you are tricking yourself into thinking its healthier.

 

[Puffnstuff]

I'm really enjoying all of the personal experiences being conveyed in this thread over these various cooking devices.

I may pick up the Oyama (~$43) too.

When I was walking through Walmart the other day I noticed that they've got a very inexpensive cooker for sale that caught my attention along the lines of that unit.

 

[Kaido]

Has anybody ever calorie tested air fried chicken with skin on vs deep fried chicken with skin?

It was always kind of my personal belief that the skin on chicken is basically pure fat and very unhealthy, deep frying it doesn't make it more unhealthy, fat doesn't absorb fat. So by just air crisping what is already basically pure fat, you are tricking yourself into thinking its healthier.

Fat isn't unhealthy though...my current macros include 100 grams a day. You need to eat it for your brain to operate properly!

One chicken wing has 5.4 grams of fat, so a dozen is 64.8 grams (I still need to eat 35 more grams today!). It looks like a fried chicken wing has 6.33 grams of fat (because it absorbs fat from the oil), so that would be an extra 11 grams if I had deep-fried it. I've read that air frying can reduce up to 80% of the fat you typically have in deep-fried food, but I'm sure that's to be balanced out with the type of oil, breading, quantity of food, etc. I think the goal of air frying is to make frying easier (just dump in & cook) as well as to make the junk you would normally eat anyway a little less bad for you, haha. I volunteer for a scientific study!

 

[Kaido]

I'm really enjoying all of the personal experiences being conveyed in this thread over these various cooking devices.

When I was walking through Walmart the other day I noticed that they've got a very inexpensive cooker for sale that caught my attention along the lines of that unit.

If I had more free time, I'd open up a Youtube channel just for reviewing appliances. There's a lot of amazing stuff out there that people just don't know about. I'll wax on & on about my Instant Pot, for example, because it's an amazing machine that saves me time & money and makes all of my food come out awesome.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Although our brains are 60% fat they require 130g of carbohydrates to work properly. I chose to get them through a healthy diet rather than through the specific ingestion of fatty foods. With that said I love fried chicken and chicken in general. Baked, bbq'd and grilled are all good with me too.

 

[momeNt]

Fat isn't unhealthy though...my current macros include 100 grams a day. You need to eat it for your brain to operate properly!

One chicken wing has 5.4 grams of fat, so a dozen is 64.8 grams (I still need to eat 35 more grams today!). It looks like a fried chicken wing has 6.33 grams of fat (because it absorbs fat from the oil), so that would be an extra 11 grams if I had deep-fried it. I've read that air frying can reduce up to 80% of the fat you typically have in deep-fried food, but I'm sure that's to be balanced out with the type of oil, breading, quantity of food, etc. I think the goal of air frying is to make frying easier (just dump in & cook) as well as to make the junk you would normally eat anyway a little less bad for you, haha. I volunteer for a scientific study!

Well, what I wanted to get at with this is that air fried chicken is going to yield the best results vs deep fried chicken, because the skin contains mostly fat, so the extra fat is is basically what oil gets trapped under the skin.

Contrast that to french fries which absorb a substantial amount of oil, and compare that to air fried results? You end up with something probably a lot closer to baked fries.

And I agree, I think this is more about the comparative ease and cleanup compared to deep frying food.