Air fryers are all the rage these days. There seem to be entire websites dedicated to recipes for using your air fryer. What to cook, how long to cook it, and what temperatures. And while the small table top air fryer is novel in its’ approach the technology itself and way of cooking is really nothing new. All an air fryer is, is a a toaster oven with a fan. Whether that fan is in in the back or in the top, the fan is the key thing that makes air frying work. But if you already spent the money on an induction range, then there is little need for you to buy an air fryer for your home.
Most induction ranges are already air fryers
The more expensive your slide in oven is, the better change that it is also a convection range. All a convection range is, is a typical oven with a fan in the back. That fan allows you to cook at higher temperatures faster. The fan is what makes the skin on your chicken nice and crispy. And it is not just at home. Most commercial restaurant ovens are also convection ovens. It is how they are able to cook food faster without it drying out or burning. And if you have a double oven at home, most times one of the ovens is a standard and the other is a convection oven.
Why you shouldn’t buy an air fryer if you have an induction range
I am personally a big fan of a quasi minimalist lifestyle. I don’t personally like buying lots of individual little tools or what chef Alton Brown would called uni-taskers. I like having a few top of the line items like great cookware, a nice high end stove and great knives. I don’t like lots of appliances all around. And since I always had an induction range with a convection oven, it never made sense to me to use something else. The other limiting factor is the lack of space in an air fryer. The ones we have tried have had space for one thing, either your protein, or your potatoes, but nothing else. Where your induction range you can fit an entire meal and since everything seems to take 20 minutes at 400 degrees, you can cook a meal for a whole family.
Why you should buy an air fryer even if you have an induction range.
We don’t have kids but I know my sister swears by her air fryer. When she wants to cook quick things for her kids, out comes the air fryer for them. Another reason would be someone like my mom that doesn’t want to heat up the whole kitchen to cook one little thing for herself. So if it is just you, an air fryer might make sense. Finally, if you live in an area that has expensive electricity (I am looking at you Hawaii), the air fryer should take up much less electricity than your big 50 amp electric range.
Which air fryer should you buy
If I was buying an air fryer, and wanted the most use out of it, I would not necessarily go with the traditional little slide out air fryer and I would definitely not use the top fan that has a clamshell design. Instead I would look for one that has a toaster oven form factor. And given my penchant for purchasing a few things of good quality, the one below is what I would buy.
- The Breville Smart Oven Pro with Element iQ System is a high performance countertop oven; Reduce your cooking time by up to 30% using the convection setting and choose from 10 cooking functions as an interior oven light guides you to perfection
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I like Breville products. I have their coffee maker and it works flawelessly. Their products tend to be well thought out and last. The only issue is they can be a tad bit expensive but for something you are going to use all the time, I have no issues spending the extra money.
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