The Best Air Fryer Reviews in 2018 – Fried Food and Fat-Free
Have you ever felt guilty while eating French fries, since they are so unhealthy but delicious? Well, you can get that deliciousness without needing to endanger your health.
If you’ve ever wanted to make food with little to no oil or fat, but still nice and crispy like it was fried in a pan, then air fryers are for you. With these machines, you can get nice crispy and crunchy food without all those extra calories or the mess usually involved in deep frying food. If you’re looking to start eating healthy, this is a great investment.
In this article we will go over the benefits the best air fryers can bring to your kitchen as well as some of the top products on the market right now and why you should get one.
Why Buying an Air Fryer?
You might think that you don’t need an air fryer because you already have a deep frying machine and that is more than enough for you. But, of course, air fryers don’t perform the same function, and they offer plenty of upsides when compared to deep fryers. Some even consider them to be a superior replacement.
First off, deep frying uses a lot of oil which makes the food quite fatty and full of bad cholesterol. Besides fat, other dangerous chemicals are released into the food through deep frying, and all of that makes its way into your body. With an air fryer, that is not an issue since it requires little or no oil whatsoever to fry food, while still giving it that crispy and crunchy texture. You save money on buying oil, and you eat healthier food that doesn’t taste worse – what’s not to love?
Another reason to get an air fryer over a deep fryer is how easy it is to clean one of these appliances – you can clean them out in seconds since nothing sticks to them and there is no nasty oil residue. Deep fryers are notoriously difficult to clean, so an air fryer can save you a lot of time when it comes to the cleanup process.
They’re also easier to use than deep fryers, and anyone can operate them with little trouble. You also don’t have to worry about preheating or heating the oil to the right temperature and so on.
Overall, air fryers are just a healthier, simpler option than deep fryers and if you want delicious fried food without all the additional fat and unhealthy substances, this should be your go-to kitchen appliance.
Air Fryer is Healthy and Simple Option
While air fryers are great, some of them are not as good as others, and that’s a fact. We tested plenty of different models, and some were just unable to handle even the most basic of frying. It’s difficult to notice that without looking carefully though, and even the most experienced people could get a bad one by accident. Luckily, we are here to help, as we have determined some of the best products out there through weeks of testing – products which we will present to you right here. In addition to that, we will also talk about what makes a good air fryer and more. So, let’s get going!
Meet the Best Air Fryers
The Good: It has decent capacity, good power, and good temperature range while being highly adjustable and easy to use.
The Bad: Doesn’t seem sturdy, some foods stick to it, and it is quite large.
The Bottom Line: All in all, this is a decent appliance for an affordable price, and it is difficult to pass up despite some flaws it might have.
The Good: Cheap and has a huge capacity for cooking while being easy to use.
The Bad: Cooks slow and is badly constructed with lots of flimsy, easily breakable parts.
The Bottom Line: For the price, this is a decent unit, but you might want to think twice before buying it due to how flimsy it is.
The Good: It possesses quite a lot of power and has decent capacity while coming with a few nice extras.
The Bad: It’s large and heavy, and it dries out most food that you put in it. It’s also expensive.
The Bottom Line: verall, this is quite a good air fryer with one major flaw that you might be able to overcome. However, the price might be a sticking point.
This is just the short version – for the long, in-depth comparison, keep reading.
All of the Factors Considered
Air fryers are quite unconventional appliances, and most of your cooking knowledge goes out the window when trying to use one. People who never used an air fryer before might have trouble distinguishing a good one from a bad one, even if they are cooking experts. We know – our experts had trouble with that as well. But, through rigorous testing, we have come up with some of the most important things to consider when buying an air fryer.
Power
This is simple – the higher the wattage of an appliance like this, the stronger it is and the faster it can get things cooked. Higher wattage usually means a better, more efficient air fryer and it’s difficult to argue with that.
However, you should consider if your outlets can support a high wattage appliance before buying one since you might end up with a useless piece of machinery if they can’t.
Temperature Range
The wider the range of temperatures and air fryer can achieve, the more versatile it is and the more different dishes you can cook with it. Most will have a top temperature of somewhere around 400 degrees Fahrenheit, but the lowest possible temperature is also important for more delicate and precise cooking and frying that you might want to do.
You should also consider how adjustable the temperature is, can you adjust at every 20 or every 30 degrees, for example? If you want to cook at an extremely specific temperature for some dish, you want that adjustability.
Capacity
This refers to the amount of food that can fit in an air fryer. Most fryers can fit a decent amount of food in them, around 1.5 to 2 pounds, which can be enough for one or two people. However, if you intend to cook dishes that require a large amount of food or you want to cook for the entire family or a group of friends, you might want a larger unit. If you put too much food into a fryer and it gets cramped, it won’t fry well because there won’t be enough flowing air.
Still, you should consider the space you have available for your air fryer in the kitchen. You don’t want to buy a huge unit that you don’t need and that you can’t fit anywhere, so you should choose carefully. Also, if you buy a unit that’s too big and put only a little food in it, you might overcook it or burn it, so you should consider that as well.
Additional Features
Air fryers can come with a wide variety of additional features that can make them even more useful and convenient than they already are. These can take the form or different timers or handy additional compartments, removable parts for easy dishwasher cleaning and so on. Pick and choose the ones you might find useful, or if you just want an appliance with no additional distractions and just good core performance, you could go for that.
Now that you’re well-informed let’s present you with the top three products we picked and their rankings in these areas.
In-Depth Reviews of 3 Air Fryers
Key Features
Good Power
This air fryer has 1400 watts, ensuring that it will cook quickly and efficiently. It performs quite well when it comes to most foods and doesn’t seem to overcook or undercook, though it seems a bit slow at times.
Huge Temperature Range
The temperatures this fryer can achieve range from 175 up to 400 degrees. It’s a decent range and a bit better than similar products, allowing for the cooking of foods that require quite low temperatures.
Great Capacity
The capacity of this unit is 3.7 quarts, making it more than decent and allowing it to cook meals for around three to maybe four The problem is that it might be a bit difficult to clean when it comes to some foods.
Useful in-built Programs
The standout feature here is the fact that there are various inbuilt programs in this fryer that you can use for various That means it’s quite easy to use and you don’t have to fiddle around with it a lot unless you want something extremely specific.
Customer Reviews
Who Should Buy This Product
If you’re looking for an all-around good air fryer at a reasonable price point, this is the appliance you should buy. It offers ample power and quite a good capacity while it can achieve lower cooking temperatures than most other air fryers on the market. It’s also quite easy to use with a lot of options.
What to Watch Out For
While it does have a good capacity it also takes up quite a lot of space in the kitchen, so you should make sure that you have a good spot for it. In addition to that, some parts of it seem rather flimsy, and some substances might stick to it, like fried fish, making it more difficult to clean.
The Conclusion
When all is said and done, this is quite a decent product at a reasonable price that most people can afford and it is reliable. It does have its issues, the worst of which is how flimsy it seems, but it seems to offer quite a good bang for your buck and for that it is more than worth recommending.
Key Features
Not Powerful Enough
Despite having 1400 watts of power, this air fryer seems a bit underpowered as it takes a long time to fry or cook anything, far longer than you would expect. It also heats up quite a bit when working.
Good Temperature Range
The temperature range is 180 to 400, which is standard, but the real problem with this is that it is no incredibly adjustable due to not having a digital panel for temperature adjustment.
Huge Capacity
The capacity of this unit is 3.5 liters, which is far more than comparable products, making this the standout feature. The issue is that it can overheat and that it’s flimsy, meaning that you shouldn’t try to stuff too much into it.
Lacking Extra Features
This air fryer has almost no extra features to speak of. It has a timer, but that is about it, and besides that, it is a bare-bones appliance that can’t offer much besides cooking.
Customer Reviews
Who Should Buy This Product
People looking to buy an air fryer on a budget will probably be satisfied with this product as it has decent power and can cook a whole load of food at once. It’s also quite easy to use and adjust meaning that you can get a lot out of it even if you don’t know much about cooking.
What to Watch Out For
There are multiple flaws with this air fryer, but the most prevalent and noticeable one is how flimsy and badly designed it is. Some parts are out of alignment or don’t fit well, and the plastic used for it seems like it will break at any moment. During our testing, some of it did break or chip. Even for the price, that isn’t quite acceptable.
The Conclusion
For a budget-priced product, this is quite fine, and it does the job, while also having the incredibly good capacity, better than most other comparable fryers. However, its cheapness shines through in how badly made it is and how shoddy the different parts are, making it difficult to recommend.
Key Features
Reasonably Powerful
Running at 1400 watts, this unit is rather powerful and can cook food quickly. The unfortunate tradeoff is that it dries out the food as well, which might be a huge problem with some dishes.
Decent Temperature Range
The temperatures this fryer achieves range from 180 to 400 degrees, rather standard, and it is reasonably adjustable. Though it has no digital adjustment, just an analog one, making it a bit fiddlier than is necessary.
Nice Capacity
With 3.7 quarts of capacity this air fryer is above average and can cook quite a lot of food, usually a meal for two or three people. Just make sure to fill it up Otherwise, the food might fly all over the place too much.
Useful Accessories
This air fryer comes with quite a few useful additions, including a cookbook and a frying pan add-on. Both are nothing exceptional but are quite handy when starting out.
Customer Reviews
This is big as well, and you can make a lot of food with it. It’s also quite easy to clean and comes with a good set of accessories and a neat cookbook. I can see a lot of potential here, and I’ll keep fiddling with it. I’m glad I bought it.
Who Should Buy This Product
If you’re looking for power in your air fryer, step right up as this is probably one of the most powerful ones out there. It can cook food in almost no time at all, and it has a decent capacity to boot. It also comes with a couple of neat extras that just spice up the already good deal.
What to Watch Out For
There are a few issues with this unit, like the fact that it is expensive and overly bulky, but there is one that stands above the rest. The air flow is too strong, and it dries up most of the food you put in it, which can ruin a lot of your dishes. With practice, you might get used to this and learn to compensate, but that makes it too difficult to use properly.
The Conclusion
This is quite a powerful air fryer, far more than others, but it comes at quite a high price, and it has other problems too. The fact that it dries out most foods is a large issue and can greatly affect your enjoyment of the dishes you prepare with it. It’s still worth considering if you can deal with that, as it is a quality product otherwise.
The Best Pick – GoWISE USA GW22621
Even though it took us some time to pick the best three products we would showcase in this article; we had the top product in mind almost from the start of our testing process. In the end, no other proved to be quite equal to it. The GoWISE USA GW22621 is the air fryer we consider to be the best one you can get right now, for a few different reasons.
First off, it’s far more reliable than most other fryers and will make food well on a consistent basis. Second of all, it has better extras and adjustment options, allowing you to do some more precise cooking. Lastly, it comes at an affordable price and doesn’t have any glaring flaws to come with that. Sure, it does have some, but they are easily overlooked due to the quality of the overall product. Because of that, it is our best pick for this article.
Video Review
The Conclusion
That is our pick for the best air fryer out there, and we stand by it. We truly believe there is no better air fryer you could get right now. However, that still doesn’t mean you should get it, or that it would fit you perfectly. You should simply use all the info here to make a good, informed purchase and get the air fryer you consider to be the best. Our intention was just to help you with that, and we hope we did a good job of that. If we managed to help you, please, feel free to share this article around so others can read it as well. We hope we were of some help, and have a good day!
Homyden
We are home and garden enthusiasts, we share our unique knowledge and expertise. If you have home and garden ideas, feel free to write for us. However, your articles must be unique, informative, made of short and straightforward sentences.
