Even if you haven’t got an air fryer, I’m sure you’ve heard of them. Air fryers are this magical appliance that creates healthy fried food. I know, now there’s an oxymoron if ever I heard one!

But what exactly is an air fryer and how does it fry with air?

An airfryer is similar to a convection oven, in that it circulates hot air around food to cook it quickly and evenly. The result is food that has the taste and texture of fried food but with a lot less fat and calories.

Magic, indeed. (Okay, it’s technically science, not magic, but magic is more fun.)

So, apart from an air fryer making healthy fried food, why else should you buy an airfryer?

Everyone loves gadgets

If you’re like me, you’ll want every handy gadget and appliance for the kitchen going. If you’re also like me, you might not have the space for yet another kitchen gadget but air fryers come in all shapes and sizes.

So, if you’ve got a small kitchen or maybe you just don’t want yet another appliance cluttering up your pristine Topsco worktop, don’t worry, air fryers come in compact versions too. The smaller versions are also perfect for those who live alone or have a small family and don’t need to make enough chips to feed ten people.

Air fryers are versatile

Although the first thing anyone does when they get an air fryer is cook homemade chips, fries or wedges in it and then marvel over how crispy they are even without oil, you don’t have to restrict yourself to fried food. Oh no.

Anything frozen can be heated up quicker in an air fryer than it would cook in your oven, you can make toasties in one and of course, a healthy diet needs vegetables and veggies in an air fryer are delicious.

Also, you can make sweet stuff like cakes, cookies and muffins in an air fryer too. Mmm, cake… You’re hovering over that ‘buy now’ button right now, aren’t you?

They’re easy to clean

If you’ve been put off buying a deep fat fryer because of the hassle of cleaning it, but hanker for deep fried deliciousness, you’re going to love an air fryer. The baskets in an air fryer are non-stick and therefore a breeze to clean. You can even put them in the dishwasher (just the basket, not the whole thing).

Airfryers are a safe way to fry food

It probably goes without saying but air fryers are a much safer way to fry food. I don’t know if chip pans are still a thing, or I’m just showing my age, but because an airfryer isn’t full of oil, it’s not going to catch fire and burn your house down if it gets too hot.

Even if chip pans are no longer a thing, you don’t have the danger of hot oil splattering up at you like you do from a frying pan.

(I’ve just looked up chip pans and they are still a thing. They’re also the largest cause of house fires in the UK.)

With an airfryer, you turn it on, set the timer, put the food in the basket and then you can walk away, leaving it to do its stuff while you do something else like prepare the rest of the dinner or look at cat videos on YouTube.

Now you know how brilliant air fryers are, all you have to do now is decide which one to buy and what to cook in it first!