You might be hearing from your friend Frank talk about his life changing since buying an air fryer, or how your cousin Janice has never tasted better chips in her life. However, you might – along with many people – not know where to start with these Back to The Future-like devices.

An air fryer is not another trendy kitchen appliance like an electric salt dispenser or an Avocado slicer: it’s an all-in-one cooking system requiring no oil-use to cook your favourite meals. So, if you’re looking for a timeless kitchen appliance to potentially replace your oven and microwave then this article is for you.

Types of Air Fryer

All air fryers work the same: air is heated then distributed inside – like an oven. Meaning, they can cook anything from chicken, cakes, cookies, banana bread and even brussels sprouts.

Where they differ is in space and design.

Air Fryers with Pull-Out Tray.

This Philips air fryer – and others like it – have a basket where you must pull out to check progress. The benefit of a pull-out fryer is that it offers an efficient way of shaking your chicken and fries.

Air Fryers with Bowl.

These kinds of air fryers, (Tefal Actifry), have a nice wide bowl with a transparent lid to check cooking process.

Air fryers for Different Budgets

Air fryer prices vary depending on internal space and functionality, but prices typically range from £35.99 to £249.99. Below are three categories: tight, medium, and high budget, so you can see which kind of air fryer fits within your wallet.

Tight Budget

If you’re single, living in a cheap flat/apartment and looking to save money where possible – or you just want a quick and straightforward cooking process after arriving from a tiresome day at work – then the Tower T17025 Vortex Compact Air Fryer is ideal. It has standard functions like a 30-minute timer and pull-out basket but has low power usage and a compact design. You can find it on Amazon for £37.23.

Medium Budget

If you’re a large family with a reasonable budget, but still want a spacious and powerful fryer, the Instant Pot Vortex is an ideal choice. It has a generous 5.7L capacity, fits a 1.8kg chicken and a 1kg bag of fries. It also has four modes: air fry, roast, reheat, and bake – for those days when you want to relax and make some soft and cosy banana bread. You can find it on Amazon for £79.99 and use the spare change to insure it through Zest so you won’t have to worry whether a play-doh steak gets placed inside.

High Budget

If you’re looking for a fryer with more functions and space, and thinking of replacing your oven and microwave altogether, the Ninja MAX Dual Zone Air Fryer AF400UK is the crème de la crème of air fryers. It cooks 2 meals at the same time, contains 6 ways to cook – Max Crisp, Roast, Bake, Reheat, Dehydrate and Air Fry, has a whopping 9.5L capacity, and is 75% faster than an oven. And although it doesn’t have transparent windows, its precise timing and temperature features will put you at ease.

It’s available on the official Ninja website for £229.99 – FREE next day delivery, too! And you can use the extra savings by covering your fryer through Zest – saving you £229.99 – and maybe using that extra money on a nice trip to Italy, France or Holland.

Energy Consumption – Air Fryer vs Oven

Air Fryer

Although energy consumption varies for every air fryer, using an average usage of 90 mins per day at 1400w presents an answer of 2.10 kWh per day, which – once put into a formula – translates to:

Cost Per Week: £8.94

Cost Per Month: £8.94

Cost Per year: £107.31

Oven

A standard oven has 2400w, using the same 90 mins per day and putting those numbers in a formula translates to:

Cost Per Week: £2.7375

Cost Per Month: £10.95

Cost Per Year: £131.41

Concluding that, if you completely switched to an air fryer of 1400w you would save £24.10p a year.

What To Do with Broken Air Fryer?

Around one million tonnes of electrical and electronic waste such as from air fryers are generated every year, according to Recycle Now. If your appliance has a plug, charger, or batteries, it’s eligible to be recycled – including your air fryer.

However, most times your air fryer isn’t broken but just faulty and needed to be covered – just like when we need to go to the dentist for a cavity – and a simple short chat with one of our Zest advisors will insure your new air fryer’s lifespan, so no unwelcome cavities pop up.

Hopefully, after reading this buyer’s guide you’ve learnt and now actively browsing the web for the best air fryer which fits your needs; and once purchased, use our Zest cover for your new Back-to-The-Future device.