An expert has advised that, for health and safety reasons, you shouldn’t always cook with an air fryer instead of an oven.
The air fryer is a popular countertop appliance that rapidly circulates superheated air to crisp and cook foods while using little to no oil, making it a healthier fat-frying method than deep-frying while achieving a similar crunchy texture.
Well, now there is an expert warning about this appliance.
Money-saving expert Martin Lewis admitted he’s not a new fan of air fryers, leaving some surprised by his skeptical view.
“This is my new favorite phrase. I’ve been asked if it is better to air fry, roast, or microwave my dinner. Looks like I have to do a mathematical and physics assessment of what’s the best method to use before I eat! Half an hour of calculations before cooking!
I am going against his advice. I am air-frying everything now, even my cup of tea!
“He warned that if you were not going to quit using the oven for the air fryer, you would cost more.”
The energy-saving guru indicated that even though the device is excellent for making smaller, quicker meals, if you are going to use the device for multiple unassociated foods, doing so may increase energy consumption and elevate costs. “Efficiency is immediately reduced if you have to cram the air fryer.”
“Air fryers can be a great way to make smaller, quicker-cooking meals,” Lewis said on This Morning.
“If you have to use the air fryer 15 times to cook separate food items, there is a point to consider about using an air fryer rather than an oven; In an oven, you would most likely use more energy.
This is aligned with Which? Research also suggests that while air fryers can be more energy efficient for small portions, the savings are reduced for larger meals.
Steven Kipling from Which? Advised, “The savings for using an air fryer are considerably reduced if it requires multiple bakes. Air fryers have a smaller capacity than a conventional oven and stovetop; they also may not be the best energy-efficient option for larger volumes of food.
“And therefore, for larger meals, using an oven or stovetop may still be the better energy-efficient option.”
Lewis emphasized on This Morning that, “If you need to run your air fryer fifteen times for fifteen different things, you’d save more energy just with an oven.”
If you’re baking a jacket potato, it costs much less to microwave it for ten minutes than to put it in the oven for one and a half hours.
“For a roast dinner, typically an oven would be cheaper than microwaving multiple jackets. With a microwave, you need to cook items individually, so if you are cooking more, it would take much longer. In an oven, batch cooking gives better results with large meals.”
The running cost of an air fryer depends on its size and model age; newer models tend to use the least energy because they are more energy efficient. Furthermore, older or larger models tend to use more energy.
An 800W air fryer will cost approximately 9.8p per half an hour, £2.94 per month, or £35.77 annually (Go Compare) to run at 24.5p/kWh. Newer models are likely to be cheaper to run as well.
At 24.5p/kWh, a 1,400W air fryer will cost approximately 17.2p per half an hour, £5.15 per month, and £62.78 per year to run.
Some dual-compartment air fryers double that amount. Some models go as high as 2,000 W in power consumption.
