• @SinTacks@programming.dev
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    7 months ago

    Better efficiency but more importantly it heats almost instantly. Thing is like magic. No preheating for 5+ mins.

    Plus having a second oven is fucking awesome. I’m out there on thanksgiving with an oven full of turkey, baking dinner rolls on the side like an absolute gangster.

    • idunnololz
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      387 months ago

      The oven that comes with your stove is huge and it takes forever to preheat. I remember mine used to take like 20 minutes to preheat. For a lot of things that doubles the cooking time.

      A toaster oven has way less space to heat, together with the fast convection makes it heat up almost instantly and also evenly. It’s just such a huge quality of life improvement.

      • Flying Squid
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        27 months ago

        I wish we had space for either one. Assuming an air fryer can grill cheese as well as a toaster oven, I’d be fine with just the latter though. I miss my toaster oven.

        • idunnololz
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          7 months ago

          If you have the money, I’d definitely recommend a toaster oven with “air fryer” capabilities (air fryers are just convection ovens… with more convection). However they are more expensive than just an air fryer. Air fryers are also smaller so that can be a big pro if you are limited on space.

    • @ieatpillowtags@lemm.ee
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      287 months ago

      Our oven literally broke (screw you fridgidaire btw) and we made thanksgiving dinner in the air fryer/ toaster oven. Even the turkey! Came out great!

      • KSP Atlas
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        17 months ago

        Basically this for me but for christmas, the thermometer burnt out or something and caused the oven to turn into a charcoal oven, so we made the rest of the food in the air fryer

    • Remmock
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      97 months ago

      I don’t know how to tell you this, but…

      Thanksgiving was last week.

      • @Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works
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        7 months ago

        It sucks how immediately after Thanksgiving it’s illegal to cook turkey or bake dinner rolls. It’s particularly annoying that it’s like, a global rule even though Thanksgiving is a US thing.

        • Remmock
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          87 months ago

          I… what? They literally said they’re out here “on Thanksgiving”.

          • @fishos@lemmy.world
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            217 months ago

            If you’re going to be pedantic, the full quote is “out there on thanksgving”, not “out here on thanksgiving”. The “there” makes it implied past tense. But I’m sure it’s more important to nitpick trivial parts of someones comment on the internet.

            • @TheCannonball@lemmy.world
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              97 months ago

              Totally agree. We use “here” and “there” to imply distance. So saying “there on Thanksgiving” is implying distance in time from the “here and now”.

              I understood OP immediately and it actually took me time to figure out why the guy who replied mentioned Thanksgiving.

          • @Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works
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            87 months ago

            Hey would you look at that, you’re right. Totally missed that part, must have been too excited about the dinner rolls. Sentiment still stands though.

  • @Emerald@lemmy.world
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    1417 months ago

    Where did the recent air fryer trend come from anyway?

    Clearly you don’t own an air fryer

    • Pistcow
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      467 months ago

      Ok, sooo it’s not like a deep fryer and I feel like I can’t be the only one to learn that lesson. I battered up some cod, set it for 15 minutes, and ended up with flat fish pancakes. It’s really a mini convection oven.

      • @GombeenSysadmin@feddit.uk
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        297 months ago

        No but if you’d used breadcrumbs they come out great. It’s not a fryer, but it will elevate any oven-style “fried” food, like oven fried chicken, oven fries, etc. nothing wet, it will just blow it off.

      • @WetBeardHairs@lemmy.ml
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        217 months ago

        Yeah it just turns out that convection ovens make great bagged frozen fries.
        I wish my normal oven was a convection oven so I didn’t need an air fryer.

        • Pistcow
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          87 months ago

          I have a fancy oven with convection but it takes a while to heat up and often I just want a couple servings of fries.

          • Blackout
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            97 months ago

            People are just not getting it. No lengthy preheat times and you can stick a handful of fries in it to go with your sandwich and it will be done in under 10 minutes. Not inefficient if it can run for less than half the time of a big oven

            • @AA5B@lemmy.world
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              27 months ago

              The negative I always hear is people think you can only cook processed food like fries and chicken fingers. But it also works well with less processed food like chicken

              • @diannetea@lemmy.world
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                17 months ago

                Mine has a rotisserie function and I’ve made some great roasts in there

                It also has a popcorn basket and imo the popcorn turns out better than stovetop

        • @myplacedk@lemmy.world
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          47 months ago

          I wish my normal oven was a convection oven so I didn’t need an air fryer.

          Here, pretty much everybody has a convection oven. I wish I understood why air fryers are so popular here.

          I’ve heard one argument: “Mine can stir the fries”

          • @Croquette@sh.itjust.works
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            107 months ago

            It is a small efficient oven that is easy to use.

            It is great to re-heat food and the texture of the re-heated food is a lot better than a microwave.

            It’s great for breaded food and takes a lot less time than a conventional oven since it heats up pretty much instantly.

            For example, when I make Parmigiana Chicken, if I do it the air fryer, it takes about 15 minutes overall cooking time, including melting the cheese to a golden crips texture. If I use my conventional convection oven, it takes 10 minutes just to heat-up.

            It is also easy to clean.

            It does not replace the conventional oven for everything, but it does a lot of things faster with the same result. It’s a big boon.

          • @oatscoop@midwest.social
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            57 months ago

            Frying is all about quickly imparting heat into the surface of a food at high temperature. Air fryers mimic that by moving a much higher volume of hot air past the food – they’re “super convection” ovens.

      • @AA5B@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        It’s really a mini convection oven.

        Yes but more so. I don’t think there’s any objective criteria but where a convection oven blows hot air over food to brown it all around, sn air fryer blows more to crisp the food

        And for me the convenience is key. Like a microwave, just click a few buttons and wait for it to beep

        My only problem is the lack of recipes. A few processed snack foods have directions, but I’m still figuring out how to vobvert instructions for real food. “subtract 20° and 20% of the time” is inconsistent

        • Pistcow
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          7 months ago

          It’s nice that some freezer food is coming with air frier instructions. Lots of trial and error before that.

        • @diannetea@lemmy.world
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          17 months ago

          Usually I just go with whatever the instructions are for toaster ovens if they don’t have air fryer specific, I don’t think I’ve ever really had any issues doing it. If there are only conventional I go with that temp but check it early and add time if needed.

  • @steakmeout@lemmy.world
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    947 months ago

    Why is this even a meme? Omg why do can openers exist? 9 inch angle grinders already exist. We had a kids toy lolol

    • @Mr_Blott@lemmy.world
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      127 months ago

      My theory - they got popular in the US because everyone was still microwaving stuff like it was 1980 because their electricity is girly 110v so they can’t have good ovens. The air fryer is an improvement on both those things

      In modern countries with 240v, everyone bought an air fryer cos the yanks said they were amazing, and now they’re scared to admit they fell for marketing hype and it’s just the same as their fan oven that they’ve had for 20 years except it heats a bit faster and they can’t fit stuff in it

      • @Snoopey@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        Hate to break it to you, but most oven ranges in the US are 240V. They have 240V into the home which gets split into -120V and +120V lines with a neutral in the middle for regular appliances. Bigger appliances can get wired up for the full fat 240V experience

        I’m guessing its more to do with the size, ovens in the US are massive! Probably double the volume of a regular EU oven

      • @Klear@sh.itjust.works
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        87 months ago

        From what I’ve seen in the comments it’s “Americans discovered an alternative to a microwave”.

        • at_an_angle
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          37 months ago

          It’s more like our corporate overlords weren’t making enough on microwaves alone and decided to push air fryers.

      • @whofearsthenight@lemm.ee
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        87 months ago

        Also got a Ninja one, but we got the thing with dual baskets so you can optionally cook two foods at different temps. Really makes getting those tendies and fries much easier.

        • @Bronzie@sh.itjust.works
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          27 months ago

          Same. Picked it up on Black Friday.
          The fries are so much better than from the oven, and nuggets came out super crispy on the outside.

          Looking forward to testing more stuff.

    • @CCatMan
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      37 months ago

      I got some $15 one from bestbuy 8 months back I think and it gets used almost every day. I haven’t turned on the oven in so long I wonder if it even works…

    • @BorgDrone
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      7 months ago

      Biggest disadvantage is that you have another bulky piece of equipment taking up counter space. Best option is to get a convection oven with an air fryer setting. It’s even more convenient because it doesn’t take up additional space and you don’t have to move it in/out of storage. It’s always there ready for immediate use.

  • PatFusty
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    737 months ago

    Air fryers dont heat the entire house 5 degrees. Also they are like 15x faster to make food for 1.

    • @Rotten_potato@lemmy.world
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      137 months ago

      That just sounds like a shitty oven tbh. Modern electric ovens also have strong fans and can potentially draw much more current from a high-voltage outlet.

      • @bfg9k@lemmy.world
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        407 months ago

        That’s not great when you’re paying for the power

        Air fryers are excellent at cooking up enough food just for 1 or 2 people, ovens are excellent at cooking up a family roast

        There’s a good reason they are popular lol, I can have a side of chips ready in 15 minutes flat versus waiting for the oven to heat up then waiting another 15 minutes for my chips to be ready. Plus heating up an entire oven just for 1 serve of chips is just inefficient

        • @Tikiporch@lemmy.world
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          67 months ago

          There is a good reason why they’re popular, but it’s mostly due to the foodie trend. You can cook one meal for one in an air fryer, or like two dozen meals for one in an oven (meal prep, divide, freeze).

  • @RalphFurley@lemmy.world
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    677 months ago

    Not everyone has a convection oven. They are portable convection ovens, not portable ovens.

    I have a toaster oven because I don’t need to heat my entire oven and use much more energy and time to heat the entire thing to reheat a slice of pizza.

    I use the convection function when I’m working with large amounts but for 1-2 people, the air fryer is much faster.

    • @droans@lemmy.world
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      197 months ago

      In my experience they work better than convection ovens. Air fryers can move much more air over the food.

        • @Pipoca@lemmy.world
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          187 months ago

          Fundamentally, yes.

          Practically, things labeled “air fryer” make different tradeoffs than things labeled “convection ovens”.

          In particular, air fryers have comparatively big fans, and vent way, way more air out the back to keep humidity down, so they make food much crispier than a convection oven does.

          • @I_Fart_Glitter@lemmy.world
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            37 months ago

            Yeah, I keep trying to use my convection toaster oven as an air fryer and it doesn’t work out and then I’m like “SEE?! AIR FRYERS ARE STUPID.” But really I’ve never tried one.

        • @funktion@lemm.ee
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          67 months ago

          Small, very concentrated convection ovens. I have both a medium sized convection oven and an air fryer. They do different things well.

          I can bake stuff in my convection oven but would never try to get a crisp fried chicken from it.

          • @douglasg14b@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            I should try this. We recently moved, and now have a gas stove, the over heats up INSANELY fast and I swear food cooks faster in it even with the fan off (Is there some humidity factor?).

            This was so uncanny I did some direct comparisons with the oven in our old house (Went back to clean it up for a weekend). And it actually cooks things faster, after preheat. Literally no idea why.

            • @Grass@sh.itjust.works
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              27 months ago

              It’s probably just a higher end appliance. After growing up with my family only ever getting used ovens and replacing with more used ovens when they broke, I finally tried a more expensive new unit and it was an induction stovetop with convection oven and it’s unreal how different it is. I still use the air fryer pot lid for various things though.

            • @JustAnotherUsername@feddit.uk
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              17 months ago

              Gas (UK) delivers heat much faster than electric does. This is part of our problem in changing over from “conventional” fuels to electric, and the reason why I remember my mother’s gas eye level grill so fondly. Cheese on toast under a gas grill was so much better than you can ever do under an electric one. Recent fan ovens help, but you’re still limited to the amount of KW compared with the insane calorific value of fossil fuels per unit of volume.

        • @BorgDrone
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          57 months ago

          Air fryers are convection ovens that circulate air much faster, resulting in a larger transfer of heat.

          My convection oven actually has an air fryer setting and it basically turns up the fan to 11.

        • @Grass@sh.itjust.works
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          47 months ago

          But convection ovens aren’t necessarily air fryers. To be fair though some air fryers I wouldn’t even consider air fryers. If they can’t turn something that already has a decent oil content to at least 60% of their deep fried version then it’s just a piece of junk.

    • @fujiwood@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Have you tried reheating pizza in a pan with a lid on the stove top?

      It’s kinda amazing.

    • @BorgDrone
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      27 months ago

      I use the convection function when I’m working with large amounts but for 1-2 people, the air fryer is much faster.

      In how much of a hurry are you if you can’t wait 4 minutes for the oven to warm up?

  • @A7thStone@lemmy.world
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    667 months ago

    No, it’s not an oven. It’s a convection oven, which has existed for decades but never caught on until they were rebranded as air fryers.

    • @Supervisor194@lemmy.world
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      877 months ago

      It’s not just a convection oven, it’s a particularly small convection oven. Due to the size, the air blows faster and the heat requires less energy. It’s absolutely brilliant for certain applications and it should be recognized as such.

        • @Magnetar@feddit.de
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          57 months ago

          Fascinating. What country? The only non-convection oven I’ve ever seen in Germany was the fire fueled oven my grandma had, and I’m pretty sure that thing was pre-war.

          • @Peppycito@sh.itjust.works
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            27 months ago

            Canada. It’s a standard gas oven with a broiler inside. They’re for sale, but I’ve always lived in old houses.

            • @Magnetar@feddit.de
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              7 months ago

              I see. Gas ovens are quite rare here, overwhelming majority is electric.

              I looked it up: In 2014 7% of households in Germany used gas stoves, and 4% used gas ovens. So probably even less today.

        • @AA5B@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          Same here, in the US. Natural gas dominates where I live, and I’ve only seen it for electric ovens.

          It’s also still a “new” feature, in the context of major appliances lasting decades. My new oven is convection but I don’t remember it being a reasonable choice 18 years ago when I last did, it maybe that’s just natural gas

          And even today, this was a “premium” feature. Most low to midrange appliances do not seem to have it

          • @Peppycito@sh.itjust.works
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            17 months ago

            Right, 20 years ago I bought a gas oven. They were the “new big thing” the. But I’m not really a “new big thing” kinda guy.

      • @OpenPassageways@lemmy.zip
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        57 months ago

        Generally (in the US) the term convection oven is used to refer to an oven that forces hot air around with a fan, instead of an oven with the radiant heating elements.

        Someone else commented that all ovens are convection and the correct term is “fan forced”… which might be technically correct, but that’s just not how the terminology is commonly used at least in the US. Some newer ovens have options clearly labeled “convection” that turn on a fan, sometimes in addition to the radiant heating elements.

        The main reason I think people like convection ovens or air fryers is because the air circulation crisps the outside without overcooking the inside and without all the fatty oils required in a traditional deep fryer.

    • @the_third@feddit.de
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      227 months ago

      Wait, basically every kitchen I’ve been in after 1990 had a convection oven. That’s one of those ovens with a fan in the rear, right?

      • Karyoplasma
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        117 months ago

        Not having a convection fan is pretty much a US-only thing.

        • @Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world
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          47 months ago

          Most ovens in the past 15 years have convection. People didn’t notice the button on the oven until air friers became a big thing.

          • Karyoplasma
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            27 months ago

            Thanks for the context! I only know that if you are following a recipe from the US, you have to be careful because it will assume no convection (unless it explicitly tells you) while if you follow a recipe from somewhere else, it’s the other way around.

    • @Evotech@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Wait. People don’t have convection ovens in the US? I think every home over here has been equipped with one since the 1990s or something.

      • @poppy@lemm.ee
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        77 months ago

        Yeah they’re not very common in the US unless the kitchen was renovated for a “home chef” type. The average oven you go and just “pick off the shelf” in the US doesn’t have convection. I don’t know anyone with a convection oven, I’ve only seen home cooks/chefs on YouTube with them.

        • @Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          Convection has been standard for ovens for over 10 years. My 13 year old KitchAid oven from a big box store has convection. It wasn’t even promoted until air friers became popular.

          Also all microwaves with bake feature are convection ovens. Again it was normal, but now they put big “like air frier” stickers on them to let people know.

          • @poppy@lemm.ee
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            47 months ago

            I’ll take your word for that, I don’t know anyone who has bought an oven in the last decade. 😅 Every home/apartment I’ve lived in has had basic appliances and every home I’ve visited even with older mid-range hasn’t. I’ve also never seen a microwave with “bake” function in person. But I might live in a different circle than you as well.

            • @Peppycito@sh.itjust.works
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              27 months ago

              I bought my oven 20 years ago. Convection ovens were for sale but at a premium and I thought it was a gimmick and didn’t want to buy in. I’ve never used one either and I may have the same experience as you, old houses and poor friends? Lol.

          • @AA5B@lemmy.world
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            27 months ago

            I also haven’t seen many of those combo ovens, most people just use commodity microwaves

        • @Evotech@lemmy.world
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          27 months ago

          That’s pretty weird, wonder why that is. I bet it’s the opposite in Europe.

          No wonder Air Fryers were lauded as magical then

    • AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet
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      177 months ago

      What’s really strange to me is that every oven and every toaster oven I’ve ever owned has a connection setting. So people are buying these huge space-consuming appliances to do something that they can already do with what they have in their house.

      • @EvacuateSoul@lemmy.world
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        417 months ago

        The convection is much stronger than on a regular oven, as someone who has a full sized convection oven, toaster oven with convection, and air fryer.

        Also you would have to use a mesh or rack with a cookie sheet on a lower shelf to expose the bottom of the food to the moving air in your oven without drips sticking.

        If you’ve tried both, you would see what I mean.

        • @NBJack@reddthat.com
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          197 months ago

          Can confirm. Had an oven that could ‘do’ convection. Didn’t seem to make a difference.

          Then I got an actual air fryer. Made a massive difference.

      • @11181514@lemm.ee
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        177 months ago

        Not every oven has a convection setting. I’d go so far as to say most rentals don’t. Every (electric) oven does have a broil setting. But for some reason you seem to think buying a toaster oven (a small broiler) is fine but an air fryer (a small convection oven) is strange? And an air fryer is “huge”? Are you confused about what an air fryer is? It’s like once square foot of countertop space at most.

      • @dmention7@lemm.ee
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        167 months ago

        Believe me, I thought the exact same thing until we were gifted one, so i get the skepticism! The convection bake setting on my oven is just not even comparable to a $75 air fryer.

        As another commenter posted, air fryers use a much more intense airflow. It’s nuts just how much faster and crisper things like chicken thighs and frozen snacks come out compared to the oven.

    • Kevin
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      7 months ago

      I’d argue it’s better than a convection oven. I think it’s the placement of the fan and the higher air flow rate that differentiates the two.

      My parents and SO’s parents have name-brand convection ovens but they’re no where as good as a dedicated air fryer. We’ve tried the same recipe (potato roasties) across them all and they achieve vastly different results.

      • @OpenPassageways@lemmy.zip
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        7 months ago

        This. It’s something to do with the fan placement or just the smaller volume of air in the air fryer. I’ve tried to use a convection oven and it both took way longer and the results were nowhere near as good.

      • @A7thStone@lemmy.world
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        17 months ago

        Absolutely. I just bought a new range that does convection oven, and it’s not as good as a countertop air fryer.

    • @Coasting0942@reddthat.com
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      37 months ago

      Actually closer to a sub category called impingement ovens.

      Wikipedia:

      Another form of a convection oven is called an impingement oven. This type of oven is often used to cook pizzas and lightly toast bread in restaurants, but it can also be used for other foods. Impingement ovens have a high flow rate of hot air from both above and below the food. The air flow is directed onto food that usually passes through the oven on a conveyor belt.

    • @jaidyn999@lemm.ee
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      37 months ago

      A convection oven is a normal oven. “Convection” means it radiates heat and it flows through the oven by convection currents - hot air rises and cold air falls. As opposed to a microwave oven. You probably mean a fan-forced oven - they have been standard in the US since the early 1970s.

  • @jackoneill@lemmy.world
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    597 months ago

    I cook chicken and steak in ours and it comes out way better than any other method I know and it’s easier than any other method I know

    Maybe it’s the wrong name but the device is amazing, it’s my favorite kitchen appliance by far

    • @schmidtster@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      It’s a mini convection oven. Many modern convection ovens come with an air fry mode.

      Toaster ovens are a popular thing, why is this one frowned upon?

      • Ataraxia
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        77 months ago

        Or just an enclosed heat gun. The basket kind is where it’s at.

      • @PunnyName@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        And it actually fries food, because it’s cooking your food with oil (generally), but much less than an actual fry attempt.

        Edit: uh, downvoting folks, you do realize that when you cook something in fat, you’re frying it, right? When you make browned butter, for instance, after the water is cooked off, the milk solids are being fried in the remaining butter fat.

        Frying is the cooking of food in oil or another fat.

        Frying techniques vary in the amount of fat required, the cooking time, the type of cooking vessel required, and the manipulation of the food. Sautéing, stir-frying, pan frying, shallow frying, deep frying, and air frying are all standard frying techniques.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frying

  • @OpenPassageways@lemmy.zip
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    567 months ago

    Even with an expensive convection oven I can’t get things to come out as good as they do with an air fryer. The small area through which the warm air circulates is probably the reason. The fan in my air fryer is the same size as the fan in a household oven with convection options, but a much smaller volume of air.

    Most people don’t actually have convection ovens. Whoever wrote that post probably doesn’t even understand that there’s a difference between a convection oven and a traditional oven in the first place.

    The things that consistently come out better for me in my air fryer (with less cook time) over the traditional oven are:

    Home fries Bacon Salmon Chicken thighs Any vegetable Leftover steak Leftover pizza

    There are actually very few things I care to use my traditional oven for, it’s all just quicker and comes out better in the air fryer. Pretty much anything where you want it to be browned/crispy without overcooking the inside or using a ton of butter will be better in the air fryer.

    • @Kelsenellenelvial@lemmy.ca
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      7 months ago

      Because it’s not just a convection oven that’s needed, it’s also venting the moisture that comes off the product being cooked. It also needs to be powerful enough to keep the temperature up while that moist air gets exchanged. That’s a lot easier with a small cavity like an air-fryer than a regular sized oven. Commercial combi-ovens can do the same thing, and maybe there’s some high end consumer models available, but it’s a lot easier on the pocketbook to get an air fryer than a full size oven. I’m not totally sure, but they might also use impingement(concentrated streams of hot air, as opposed to just regular convection), which is another thing that’s available commercially, usually in pizza ovens or things like the merry-chef/turbo-chef(Subway’s sandwich toasters) but not common in consumer equipment.

      • @OpenPassageways@lemmy.zip
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        57 months ago

        Haha yeah it’s tasty and effective for sure. I just find it a little too filling when I’m trying to bulk up and eat more protein so I use a Misto sprayer with either olive oil or canola oil. I’ve had the air fryer set off the smoke alarm a few times when I used butter so I prefer the oils with a higher smoke point.

    • @TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee
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      77 months ago

      In the vast majority of convection ovens the heating element is on the bottom. In airfryers the heating element is on top and it circulates the air a lot faster.

      They are actually making convection ovens with an airfryer mode now, where it uses a heating element on top and has a more high powered fan.

      • @OpenPassageways@lemmy.zip
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        37 months ago

        The household ovens with convection settings that I’ve seen had the fan at the back, in addition to the radiant heating element at the bottom, but I definitely found the air fryer to be better.

    • @Aux@lemmy.world
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      27 months ago

      I don’t know where you live and which ovens are common in your country, but convection ovens are the cheapest and most common thing in Europe. “Regular” oven mode is usually an extra feature for extra money. This is because convection is more energy efficient and the EU has strict efficiency rules.

      • @Kittenstix@lemmy.world
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        17 months ago

        Ah, yer in the US it’s the opposite, i recently bought a new oven with an induction cook top, spent $1k and even that one wasn’t convection.

    • @whofearsthenight@lemm.ee
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      27 months ago

      I have seriously thought about buying a second air fryer because there are quite a few things that it’s completely better for, the problem I run into is trying to do larger meals (5+ people.) You either have to do batches which means more time actually engaged in cooking, or you have to break some things into the oven, and some into the air fryer.

    • @CCatMan
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      27 months ago

      Tilapia is also great.

  • @Aggravationstation@lemmy.world
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    387 months ago

    I live alone. I can fit the same amount of stuff I would cook in my oven into my air fryer and cook it better with less electricity and less clean up.

      • @mycatiskai
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        87 months ago

        Do you clean your air fryer every time?

          • @mycatiskai
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            37 months ago

            That is probably less work since you are only wiping a little mess each time. I would be spending an hour to scrub mine because I have never cleaned it down to the bare metal since I bought it. I just toss the trays and fat catcher tray in the dishwashers.

            • @AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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              37 months ago

              I seasoned my fry basket the same way that one would do a cast iron skillet. It did require a small amount of disassembly, and reassembly, but after doing the seasoning process (baking it in the oven @ 275° F caked in oil-soaked salt for 30-45 minutes, repeat as needed), I can just wipe mine out with a paper towel. The grease tray I wash each time, but that’s just cause I don’t want my fries to taste of fish.

        • @AA5B@lemmy.world
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          47 months ago

          It’s just like cleaning a pan., very quick and easy.

          For me, the win is the programmability. I think of it more like a microwave, where you just click a few buttons and wait for the beep

  • @PotatoesFall@discuss.tchncs.de
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    317 months ago

    yeah they’re just small convection ovens. Great for heating bread rolls, we use ours more as a toaster than for “frying” (they don’t fry)

    • @Candelestine@lemmy.world
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      227 months ago

      Yep. Giant superpowered toaster. Useful for … anything that could do. Which is actually quite a bit.

      Best way to reheat pizza for instance. It’s nice that they’re a little more energy efficient than doing it in the oven, and don’t leave it soggy like the microwave.

      Not better than stovetop, which is actually best imo, but that takes actual effort.

      • @enkille@lemmy.world
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        57 months ago

        I reheat pizza in my air fryer in a moderately involved way (but still low effort). Mine’s got a reheat setting, which I set at 200 degrees for like 20 minutes just to get it to slightly above room temperature throughout. Then I hit air broil for maybe 1.5 minutes. It bubbles up the cheese and the oil in the crust without causing anything to char. Tastes pretty great, you just have to be willing to wait 25 minutes.

        • Ataraxia
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          27 months ago

          How do you weigh down the bread so it’s not caught in the heat tornado?

          • @sneakattack@lemmy.ca
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            17 months ago

            Butter up the bread slices both sides and slap as much cheese as you want inbetween and put the whole thing in there. Flip it at 5-10 mins depending on your temp and device and let it go another minute or two. It takes a few tries to get all the timings perfect and you might even want to do the two bread slices open face with cheese and then slap them together halfway and finish.

    • @Pipoca@lemmy.world
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      17 months ago

      They’re a bit more than that.

      They’re convection ovens where the fan sounds like they’re trying to take off and they vent a ton of hot moist air out the back.

      If you put broccoli tossed in a bit of oil in an air fryer and a convection oven, it’ll come out way crisper in the air fryer.

  • monsieur_jean
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    307 months ago

    Decent air fryer : $300

    Air frying capable oven (lower range) : $600

    Good air frying capable oven : $1500+

      • @Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        47 months ago

        I got a toaster oven with a convection oven/air fry option that also folds up so that it takes up less space. The only down side is that you have to be vigilant about cleaning up crumbs, but I like having a motivator. Second favorite appliance, after the dishwasher.

    • Ataraxia
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      77 months ago

      Our ninja ir fryer wasnt that much at all and it does things our convection oven or any other appliance can do.

    • @Mr_Blott@lemmy.world
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      57 months ago

      My entire fan oven/hob/grill combo was €150

      Don’t tell me y’all get shafted for kitchen appliances too?!?

  • @picnic@lemmy.world
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    307 months ago

    Cause its so convenient, fast and efficient. I have kids so I can make food quickly (sous vide’d chicken I’ve done some days earlier, usually) and it doesnt draw electricity as much as my normal oven. I quite like it, and it makes my life easier.

    I orginally bought it like 6 years ago to make chicken wings, but nowadays I use it for pretty much everything.

    You dont have to like it, thats your prerogative.

      • @gmanlikescheese@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        Because most air fryers are countertop units that plug into a 15 amp outlet, vs most residential electric ovens that require 2x 240v 30 amp connections, or roughly 8x the available power…

        • ditty
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          37 months ago

          Plus the time savings of cooking faster in the air fryer than the regular oven to further compound those savings.

        • @Kelsenellenelvial@lemmy.ca
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          27 months ago

          That’s a bit of a stretch since most residential ovens also have a range on top, so the power requirements are to cover multiple elements, not the oven alone. It’s probably actually less efficient, but still lower energy because you’re heating a smaller cavity.

        • @barsoap@lemm.ee
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          17 months ago

          2x 240v 30 amp

          That’s 14kW a whole range doesn’t pull that much on full blast. There’s plenty of ovens in the 3600W range meaning they run off bog-standard 240V@16A lines here but chances are you’re in luck and your kitchen has 20A three-phase… also 14kW (in star configuration), intended precisely for the range, roughly divided into two for the top and one for the oven. Not much more copper so it became standard quite a while back, while 30A would be massive. Also more neutral wires.

      • @FriendlyBeagleDog@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        137 months ago

        Can’t speak for them, but I’ve had a smart monitor which shows live consumption. Took note of the consumption while using the oven against baseline consumption, and the same for the air fryer.

        Air fryer consumed approximately half the electricity for an equivalent amount of time in my case, but it’s made better by the air fryer needing less time to reach temperature and cook whatever it is I’m making.

      • @AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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        67 months ago

        I can monitor my power usage via my solar panels and powerwall. The app lets you see how much you’re using at any given time, so I just turned on one appliance at a time to test their power consumption.

      • AphoticDev
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        17 months ago

        My air fryer only draws enough power to spin the fan, all the heat comes from natural gas.